A declassified military plan reveals how the USA was prepared to annihilate the USSR with terrifying nuclear force
Developed in 1949, the declassified plans shed a terrifying light on America's Cold War strategy
DECLASSIFIED military documents reveal the chilling extent the USA was prepared to go to in the event of the Cold War hotting up.
Developed in 1949, Operation Dropshot sheds a terrifying light on America's Cold War strategy, envisioning the US response in the event of an all-out invasion by the USSR's Red Army.
Before the dust from the Second World War had even settled, the two global superpowers were anxiously developing contingency plans in the event of an invasion by the other.
Declassified in 1977, Operation Dropshot outlined America's strategy to repel an attack by the Soviet Union by utilising extreme force which could have ended civilisation as we know it.
Today, as the UK is developing a new Cold War nuclear attack warning system, the plans offer a more chilling insight than ever before.
In 1949 the United States Department of Defence was planning for an attack involving both conventional forces and nuclear weapons, which had been deployed in the war with Japan just four years previously.
However, since nuclear weapons were so new, generals weren't sure how heavily they could rely on America's atomic arsenal to defeat the USSR, which was predicted to invade Europe in 1957.
Instead, US forces planned to wage war with a terrifying array of conventional bombs, which would be dropped on key USSR targets.
Along with 300 nuclear weapons, 29,000 high-explosive bombs were to be dropped on 200 targets across 100 Soviet towns.
The conventional bomb sites were reportedly chosen to wipe out almost 85% of the Soviet Union's industrial capability in one stroke.
With Soviet industry crippled, the planners behind Operation Dropshot hoped they could beat off a full-scale Russian onslaught without needing to wage a bloody ground war.
Meanwhile, a further 100 nuclear weapons would be targeted to destroy USSR bombers before they could even take off, in order to prevent a devastating counter-attack.
The plans were shelved once military scientists developed cheaper intercontinental ballistic missiles, at which point American strategy shifted to place a greater focus on nuclear weaponry.
After their declassification, the plans were published as Dropshot: The American Plan for World War III Against Russia in 1957.
Meanwhile, British generals had been working on their own chilling battle plans, as part of a once secret project known as Operation Unthinkable.