What If? Operation Unthinkable

As usual what most armchair generals dont consider is A) The Russians were running out of manpower to fill their human wave model infantry units B) The US strategic airforce would gut the Russian siberian factory complexes C) no more strategic or other imported material supplies to maintain or construct war materials D) Getting tactically nuked with no response available.

I've seen more optimistic evaluations of this wargame

The soviets were propped up in WW2 by donations of arms from other allied countries. I don’t see them fighting off the rest of the allies with what’s left of their donated equipment with such little time to make more.

Allied troops still hadn't withdrawn from the Soviet occupation zone by July, so the invasion would have been launched much deeper into Soviet territory.

Should of just allied with the Nazis in 1939, you imagine the outcome of Stalingrad if Hitler knew he had a Patton and Romell on the same side for operation Barberosa?!

We had atom bombs, they didn't

This plan would never have worked. It was logistically impossible and politically suicidal.

All while Japan is still on the playing field? Yeah, doubt that would have been wise, with or without the bomb. Soviets wouldnt have surrendered even with nukes being dropped.

Patton shakes fist in the air : "We have defeated the wrong enemy"
"NOW WHERE IS MY GAS !"

That would save nowadays headaches

Armchair historian proving that if you spend too long on the Internet you begin to believe the Russia Stronk, patriotic war propaganda 🙄

2024: NATO relations with Russia are the same.

I wonder what Eisenhower would have thought of this.

Operation unthinkable is the basis of NATO in today's Europe

Large scale ground offensives succeeding while the Allies have air superiority? Seems unlikely

Yeah I don't know about that have you ever heard of the Len lease program a lot of the equipment resources and natural resources came from the US the US supplied the allies of World War II and if we quit giving resources how would they acquire them when most of men are out front and their infrastructure is destroyed or non-existent

Drawing up a plan of a preemptive strike because you didn't like what YOUR ALLY said at a conference is crazy

If operation unthinkable took Japan into consideration, a second front could’ve been opened up in the East. China was still in its civil warm so it wouldn’t have been able to send reinforcement. Actually, there’s a chance that this portion of war could’ve served as a moral booster for the nationalist side, and could’ve helped them see more successes.


Something tells me scenario C is how the world in 1984 ended up that way.

"We fought the wrong enemy"... if only we listened we would not have the war in Europe we do now... instead we could have had peace and a very Russia sized parking lot

There's some huge wild cards not accounted here as the Soviets had moved 1.5m soldiers to Japan while the US had as many soldiers on top of several hundred warships including over 2,000 warplanes that could be deployed from carriers. Whether you skip over the invasion to Japan or not, that's a huge manpower factor.

😅Europe wouldn't have survived this one

IS3 tanks would be slaping some allied cheeks

Churchill was hitler 2.0

Ruined Germany: You have to be kidding me. WW2 just ended, and yet you war mongers are starting another war already? 🤦‍♂

I'm sorry, but saying that Japan stands against imperial agression together with the USSR is kinda ironic

this is really biased towards the sheer power of American industry would have crippled them. the amount of us planes at the end of ww2 (300,000) a lot of that being heavy bombers......

You got something on your forehead .

Ever see the movie Reanimater ?

I don't think Japanese would have much freedom as they were basically occupied by the USA at this time

It would never have worked. Stalin did not loose all those men to conquer Germany just to give it back to the U.K. and the U.S.
Additionally, the United States still had to finish off Japan and the atomic weapon had not been finalized. The American public was very tired of war and wanted peace.

watching this play out in these scenarios made me really realize that operation unthinkable and a continuation of WW2 would be incredibly unpopular. imagine how hated the truman and churchill/attlee administrations would be in a world where they, instead of bringing the boys home, immediately went to send them to a worse meat grinder against their former allies they fought alongside, THEN had the gall to conscript germans. if i was an american soldier, id honestly desert.

I wonder in this scenario if the German prisoners taken by the western allies would see redeployment in this scenario. Patton, Guderian, and Mannstein would be an interesting mix.

Scenario D: "all nightmare long" music video from Metallica

What about operation downfall X day the mainland invasion of Japan

The Western Allies would never stomach an extended war with the Soviets. Its not that they are not brave, but the UK has run out of men, and US forces are too full of green troops. The Soviets would just dig in and die in place, creating WWI trench warfare.

I firmly disagree with how this scenario went.

The allied lend lease made up the majority of soviet equipment and tools, and that would immediately dry up. Secondly, the allies had the material and manpower advantage. Thirdly, Detroit alone could outproduce the USSR and with the rest of the allies, they could outproduce the USSR 10 to 1. Lastly the allies had nukes.

There is no consievable way the USSR wins operation unthinkable.

B would be the most likely

So basically, the US and UK have no chance to win an outright war with the USSR, unless they use nukes? I think you are overestimating the USSR. Im not saying the US and UK sweep, but they have a really decent chance of winning (with a lot of bloodshed)

What you're missing in these scenarios are the impact of two very likely communist uprisings in France and Italy fueled by partisans

You know China was part of the allies. You ever think that maybe an attack from both sides of Russian could happen?

WTF is Great Patriotic WAR?

Love your content!

I live in Eastern Europe and am very interested in history, including World War II. The Radian Union itself could not have driven the Germans out of its territory without the help of the Allies, and here I see an incredible paradox where the mythical and invincible Radian Union, which lost more than 22 million soldiers, which lost more than 25% of its economy, which was already throwing 18-17 year olds into the war because the population was simply not enough for its size, which used automotive technology produced in the USA because it had no production, after the implementation of nuclear weapons, the destruction of the proverb, after the Thorn blockade (which at one time finished it off in the 80s) takes and just for fun defeats the Allies? Are you Koons or what? read the notes of the Radian generals from the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Polish, German desertions and see how stupidly and crookedly everything was arranged in the USSR

So far this dude almost don't know ow what he is talking about 😂

I am pretty sure we can all agree had Americans knew what was coming they would have all been all for this. If they had, think of where we would be technologically right now, without the Cold War driving virtually all the innovation we even to this day.

Maybe this comment comes a bit too late, but I think that you overlooked one of the most important aspects considering the Red side. There were almost all the eastern countries that still had armies that would have not sided with the soviets. Romanians, Czechs and some Polish troops at least, plus a lot of sabotage of the unwelcome soviet troops in those countries. There would have been LOTS of hot pockets behind the lines and their supply lines would be severely affected by these troops. Also Greece and Italy would have been important in helping the allies.

Basically this is what if Churchill did a General Shepherd and "Tied up his loose ends"