In the years following the end of World War II, relations between the former allies in the fight against fascism deteriorated sharply due to numerous ideological contradictions. By 1949, the conflict had become so aggravated that the US military command developed a plan to attack the USSR, which included the use of nuclear weapons.
Confrontation of yesterday's allies
These strategic developments, dubbed the "Dropshot" plan, were the result of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the states of the capitalist world. The confrontation was largely provoked by the obvious attempts of the USSR to extend its influence over the entire territory of Western Europe.
The plan for the destruction of the USSR began to be developed at the end of 1945, when the Soviet leadership refused the demand of the world community to withdraw its occupying troops from the territory of Iran and created a puppet government there. After, under pressure from the United States and Great Britain, Stalin nevertheless released the capturedearlier territory, there was a threat of invasion of Soviet troops into Turkey.
The cause of the conflict was the territories of the Transcaucasus, which from the end of the 19th century were part of the Russian Empire, but in 1921 were ceded to Turkey. In early August 1946, after a note presented to the Turkish government by representatives of the Soviet Foreign Ministry, the outbreak of war seemed inevitable, and only the intervention of the Western allies made it possible to avoid bloodshed.
The political contradictions between the socialist camp and its Western opponents became especially acute after Moscow's attempts to establish in 1948-1949. blockade of West Berlin. This measure, which runs counter to generally accepted international norms, was intended to prevent the division of Germany and ensure Stalin's control over its entire territory.
Reasoning the fears of the Western world
At the same time, pro-Soviet regimes were being established in Eastern Europe. It ended in 1955 with the signing of the Warsaw Pact, and the creation of a powerful military bloc directed against the countries of the Western world, which was experiencing at that time the activation of communist movements that had strengthened in it.
All these facts aroused fears among the leadership of a number of countries that the Soviet Union, having sufficient military potential, would try to undertake an unexpected and large-scale seizure of the territory of Western Europe. In this case, only the United States, which by that time hadnuclear weapons. Such fears gave rise to the Dropshot plan developed by the US military.
Early concepts that determined the course of a possible war with the USSR
It should be noted that the plan for a nuclear strike against the USSR ("Dropshot") created in 1949 was not the first among such projects. In 1945, when the Iranian conflict became extremely aggravated, Eisenhower's headquarters developed the concept of a possible war with the Soviet Union, which went down in history under its code name Totality. Four years later, the blockade of West Berlin became the impetus for the creation of another plan to counter the alleged aggression, called Charioteer, which, like its predecessor, remained on paper.
And, finally, the largest development, anticipating the notorious "Dropshot" plan, was a memorandum created by the Security Council under the American president, defining the tasks facing the government and the armed forces in relation to the USSR.
Main provisions of the memorandum
This document provided for the division of all upcoming tasks into two groups - peaceful and military. The first section included measures to suppress the ideological pressure of the Soviet Union, exerted by it against the countries of the socialist community. The second part of the memorandum considered possible ways to change the political system throughout the USSR and change the government.
Despite the fact that the basic concept outlined init did not involve a long-term occupation of the country and the forced imposition of democratic principles in it, it pursued very far-reaching goals. Among them was the reduction of the military potential of the USSR, the establishment of its economic dependence on the Western world, the removal of the Iron Curtain and the granting of autonomy to the national minorities that were part of it.
The goals of the creators of military projects
This memorandum became the basis for many subsequent US strategic developments. The Dropshot program was one of them. The creators of the projects saw the way to achieve their goals in conducting large-scale nuclear bombardments of the territory of the Soviet Union. Their result was to be the undermining of the country's economic potential and the creation of prerequisites for the emergence of a psychological shock among the population.
However, there were also realists among the developers who were familiar with the psychology of the Soviet people and argued that such bombings would, in all likelihood, cause them to rally even closer around the communist party and government. The chance to check the correctness of such judgments, fortunately, did not present itself.
The notorious plan to destroy the Soviet Union
In December 1949, the so-called "Dropshot" plan was approved by the command of the American armed forces. How the United States wanted to destroy the USSR was stated in it with all frankness. Its creators proceeded from the fact that the political leaders of the Soviet Union, striving for world domination,pose a real threat not only to the security of America, but to the entire civilization as a whole. Despite the fact that the military industry of the USSR at that time had not yet gained sufficient power after the end of the war, the threat of its creation of atomic weapons in the near future was very high.
Among the threats posed by the countries of the socialist camp, possible attacks using nuclear, chemical and bacteriological weapons were considered. It was for delivering a preemptive strike in the event of the inevitability of the outbreak of the Third World War that the Dropshot plan was developed. The list of cities indicated in it as primary targets for destruction was compiled taking into account their strategic importance.
Plan highlights
According to the creators of the plan, the greatest probability of the outbreak of war could have been formed by the beginning of 1957. The countries of the socialist camp, as well as a number of states that were in close economic cooperation with it, were to come out on the side of the USSR. Among them, in the first place, the part of China under the control of the communists, as well as Manchuria, Finland and Korea were noted.
As their opponents, the "Dropshot" plan assumed, except for the United States, all the countries that were part of the NATO bloc, as well as the states of the British Commonwe alth and the non-communist part of China. Those states that wished to remain neutral had to give NATO access to their resources. Among them could be the countries of Latin America and the Middle East.
When the Soviettroops, the same plan provided for the creation of a powerful defensive line on the Rhine-Alps-Piave line. In the event of an enemy invasion of the Middle East region, he was supposed to be stopped by a contingent of troops stationed in Turkey and Iran. Intense air strikes, intensification of economic and psychological warfare were expected in all areas of military operations. The main task was to carry out a massive offensive in Europe, the purpose of which was the destruction of Soviet troops and the complete occupation of the territory of the USSR.
Soviet response
In response, the Soviet military industry made every effort to produce weapons systems capable of holding back the Western world in its militaristic aspirations. First of all, these include the creation of a powerful nuclear shield, which ensured the much-needed balance of power in the world, and a number of modern types of offensive weapons that do not allow our potential adversaries to rely on the use of force in resolving contentious issues.
