The Cold War threatened to enter a "hot" phase long before the Cuban missile crisis. After World War II, while the USSR was developing the atomic bomb, the Pentagon planned a massive bomb attack on 100 Soviet cities.
Rising competition
The industrial potential of the United States during wartime increased due to military orders; by the end of 1945, the United States accounted for 2/3 of world industrial production, and half of the world's steel was smelted in the United States. American military hegemony could only be resisted by one power - the USSR. The American government understood this even during the war.
On May 16, 1944, the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff (CSH) of the United States prepared a report in which the Soviet Union was recognized as the second pole of geopolitical influence.
Already two months after the surrender of Japan, on November 3, 1945, report No. 329 of the Joint Intelligence Committee was submitted to the US KNS. In its first paragraph it was clearly stated: "Select approximately 20 targets suitable for strategic atomic bombing of the USSR."
The upcoming confrontation was inexorably gaining momentum.
On December 14, 1945, the United States' Joint Defense Planning Committee issued Directive No. 432 / d, which indicated that the atomic bombs the United States possessed was recognized as the most effective weapon for striking the USSR.
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Hot Cold War Threat
After Churchill's Fulton speech (March 5, 1946), there was no doubt that the world entered another cold war. The Americans had the main trump card in their hands - the atomic bomb, but American intelligence reported that the USSR was also developing this weapon.
In the US military, new plans for an attack on the Soviet Union were issued with machine-gun speed.
The first plan was called "Pinscher", it was prepared on March 2, 1946. Then came the plans of Bushwecker, Crankshaft, Houghmun, Cogwill, Offtech. In 1948, the "Chariotir" was developed, according to which 70 Soviet cities were to be attacked, it was planned to drop 200 atomic bombs on them. The Cold War threatened to enter a "hot phase".
It means NATO
The USA could not enter into confrontation with the USSR without international support. On April 4, 1949, the creation of NATO was announced. In this way, more and more countries were involved in the anti-Soviet coalition, respectively, both the number of warheads and the scale of the alleged aggression grew.
Finally, on December 19, 1949, the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff approved the "Dropshot" plan, according to which a large-scale operation of NATO forces could begin on January 1, 1957, the beginning of it was to bombard 100 Soviet cities with 300 atomic bombs with 250 thousand tons of conventional bombs.
Advantage in the sky
By the early 1950s, the United States had absolute superiority over the USSR in nuclear potential, in the naval forces, and in the number of strategic bombers. US bombers B36 Peacemaker B47Stratojet could, having taken off from a base in Great Britain or Japan, reach the central regions of the USSR, the lighter AJ-2, A-3 and A-4 bombers could hypothetically strike the peripheral Union.
Murmansk, Tallinn, Kaliningrad, Sevastopol, Odessa were hit by American carrier-based aircraft.
At this time, the USSR was armed with strategic bombers "Tu-4", but the range of their flight, based on the territory of the USSR, was not enough for large-scale bombing of a potential enemy. The Tu-16 bombers also did not have sufficient range.
Probable occupation
According to the plans of American strategists, the defeated Soviet Union was subject to occupation and had to be divided into four "zones of responsibility": the Western part of the USSR, the Caucasus - Ukraine, the Urals - Western Siberia - Turkestan, Eastern Siberia - Transbaikalia - Primorye.
These territories were divided into 22 more "areas of responsibility". Two American divisions were to be deployed in Moscow, one each in Leningrad, Minsk, Murmansk, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Kiev, and in 15 other cities of the USSR.
Disruption of plans
Joseph Stalin knew about the Pentagon's plans, but remained icy calm. At the end of August 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested the RDS-1 Soviet atomic bomb.
The United States never dared to carry out its plans. American military analysts came to the conclusion that the chances of a successful attack are extremely small - 70%, the disabling of nine strategic regions of the USSR could entail the loss of 55% of bombers, which was critical for the country's defense.
In 1955, the Berkut air defense system was commissioned in the USSR. It included B-200 radar stations, Kama all-round radar, B-300 radio-controlled missiles and S-25 anti-aircraft systems. This system was a real triumph for its time. The US plans were thwarted.