WI Nazi Germany developes "the bomb" first?
- Thread starter Locke
- Start date
Not likely. One of the major reasons the island hopping campaign came in handy for the US is because we didn't have ICBM capability at the time to deliver a nuclear weapon that could cross the Pacific. I speculated in another thread that Third Reich would have needed to have the bomb by early 1944 for it to do any good.
I was about to say that. In this TL, Germany invests more in developing longer-range fighters and bombers. In the case of my Nazi flying wing used for delivery, the pilot would have to ditch somewhere in the Atlantic after he dropped the load-presumably to be picked up by a waiting U-boat.
I would have thought U-boat delivery would get New York and anywhere else on the East Coast, or West Coast. How about Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Seattle, Pearl Harbor?
It all depends of when they got it.
If before 1942, they win the war, but too unreallistic.
If in 1942-43, they bomb Moscow, or Leningrad, or some concentration of soviet troops, maybe at Kursk.
If in 1944, I think they would probably attack London, or Normandy Beaches if the invasion has already begun. After Bagration, the soviets won't stop just by being nuked once or twice. But the western allies might agree to a kind of peace to avoid nuclear destruction of England. And then the germans could concentrate on the east.
After the bulge, I doubt any german nuclear attack would do more than delay their defeat by some weeks.
But in the autum of 1944, the nuclear destruction of London would certainly paralize allied advance, already stopped by supplies problems. A lot of key figures in the allied staff would probably die, too. If combined with a Bulge style offensive, the western front can be severly damaged. If the britihs are convinced that four or five of their cityes are going to be leveled before the war ends, they migth agree to a truce, specially if Churchill is not around.
If before 1942, they win the war, but too unreallistic.
If in 1942-43, they bomb Moscow, or Leningrad, or some concentration of soviet troops, maybe at Kursk.
If in 1944, I think they would probably attack London, or Normandy Beaches if the invasion has already begun. After Bagration, the soviets won't stop just by being nuked once or twice. But the western allies might agree to a kind of peace to avoid nuclear destruction of England. And then the germans could concentrate on the east.
After the bulge, I doubt any german nuclear attack would do more than delay their defeat by some weeks.
But in the autum of 1944, the nuclear destruction of London would certainly paralize allied advance, already stopped by supplies problems. A lot of key figures in the allied staff would probably die, too. If combined with a Bulge style offensive, the western front can be severly damaged. If the britihs are convinced that four or five of their cityes are going to be leveled before the war ends, they migth agree to a truce, specially if Churchill is not around.
Or the population could be so damn furious they would stop at nothing to see Germany defeated.
That's possible. One idea that occured to me was to send out a series of U-boats to Washington, Boston, New York and Halifax with a nuke on their decks and deploy them like mines in the harbour. Could be very messy.
Not submerged, you can't. Shallows off the NW Virginia banks of the Potomac reduce the river's channel to around 27-29 feet. You could sail up on the surface under cover of night, and you'd have the advantage of the US not really having anything on the river that could take on a U-boat... but be sure they'd be bringing artillery/tanks to blow your tower off before you could reach DC.
While it wouldn't be quite the political target that Washington would be, a better strategic target would be the naval shipyards at Norfolk (and any strike on NYC would do well to take out the Brooklyn Naval Yards as well).
While it wouldn't be quite the political target that Washington would be, a better strategic target would be the naval shipyards at Norfolk (and any strike on NYC would do well to take out the Brooklyn Naval Yards as well).
You can get to New York. I do think the Germans would use any A-bomb against the Soviets before they look to the West. Either pulling out and setting it off as a large Red Army comes by, or using the bombers mentioned above.
How would they get there? I mean I doubt they will have the bomb in 42, more likely 44, or 45.
Again, in 44-45, nuking Moscow won't stop the 12 million red army soldiers on the gates of Berlin. But they would be even more angry that they were in OTL. Nuking NY would be Hitler's wet dream, but Why do it when you can reach much more easily London? In late war, the only ones that can be convinced to sign peace by nuking them twice or three times are the british, and they might convice the americnas too as they were one team. As has been said, they might choose to keep on fighting in spite of all, but may be the price would be too high.
Any time after D-Day, and the only practical targets become London (sting the Brits so hard they quit) or spite bombings of Paris and Moscow (we're going to lose but at least we'll take your cities). Even with a long-range bomber, even if the crew took it on as a one-way mission, I think the likelihood of a mission against NYC is slim to none.
If it could be used against the Normandy beachhead, it could very well turn the tide of the war back in Germany's favor. What survivors manage to limp back to England from the French coast would have harrowing tales, to say nothing of radiation poisoning and other horrific injuries; furthermore, the mushroom cloud(s) could be seen clearly from Dover. The Allies would be unable to mount a second invasion of that magnitude for at least a year, during which Germany would ramp up bomb production while also demanding an English exit from the war under threat of nuclear bombardment of its cities.
German forces could then work on bottling up Italy and shoring up the Eastern front, reinforced with the certain a-bombing of Moscow and Leningrad.
If it could be used against the Normandy beachhead, it could very well turn the tide of the war back in Germany's favor. What survivors manage to limp back to England from the French coast would have harrowing tales, to say nothing of radiation poisoning and other horrific injuries; furthermore, the mushroom cloud(s) could be seen clearly from Dover. The Allies would be unable to mount a second invasion of that magnitude for at least a year, during which Germany would ramp up bomb production while also demanding an English exit from the war under threat of nuclear bombardment of its cities.
German forces could then work on bottling up Italy and shoring up the Eastern front, reinforced with the certain a-bombing of Moscow and Leningrad.
