Cold War Hot 1958: An Alternate History Through 1957

This may be a little pre-mature, as the impact of Covid-19 is interrupting my progress a little on my Cold War project, but I thought I'd post this in a lead up to my first games in the coming weeks.  The following is an (slightly) alternative history of the Cold war through 1957 from a mostly Soviet perspective, leading up to my campaign starting in 1958:

The early years of the Cold War were rough for the Soviet Union.  The close of World War II had allowed the USSR to build a buffer zone out of eastern Europe, but it was a buffer zone largely ravaged by the world war.  As the Soviet Union itself had suffered beyond measure, raising the communist paradise from the ashes of the war was a nearly impossible task.

Their counterpart in the west, the United States, had not endured anything close to the that of the Soviet Union.  It had been spared the ravages of warfare on its own soil, and as a nation, had benefited tremendously as a result of the global conflict.  World War two had created two “superpowers”, one severely wounded and yet victorious, and the other nearly unscathed and blinded by its own self-righteousness.

In the years following the war, the west unified into a block whose purpose was to stifle the will of Stalin and the Soviets; while, the Soviets tried to build a shield that would protect Mother Russia from a repeat of the Nazi invasion..  

The United States had an unfair hand in the game.   They bristled with new industry and endless resources, had a monopoly on nuclear weapons delivery, had the lead in most military technology and the ability to produce and project it, while the only real Soviet counter to this was numbers and an advanced spy network.  So, the Soviets countered with their numbers, posting a huge conventional army in eastern Europe, at tremendous expense to the Soviets Union.  And, they relied on that spy network to keep the west from springing any surprises.

The 1950s arrived, and the western world was shocked by the coming of the Korean War.  Korea exposed the weaknesses of the west, and despite North Korea’s inability to achieve their goals, the technologically and materially advanced west, even with its nuclear monopoly, was not able to gain advantage either, when all was said and done.

Soviet leadership transitioned from Stalin to Khrushchev, and Soviet character changed with the transition.  Khrushchev instituted reforms, and established a stronger dialog with the United States.  He combined Soviet advances in military technology with a bluffing game that often brought about apparent Soviet victories in the struggle with the West.

Unfortunately, each apparent victory came with a new burden.  Massive conventional forces in the east, lead to an alliance in the west.  The advances of nuclear technology in the east, resulted in the expansion of nuclear weapons in the west.  The bluff of the bomber gap, resulted in the west producing a greater nuclear threat, and the bombers to better project that threat.  Reduction of convention force strength in the east was met with the re-armament of Germany, and during this time, western aircraft overflew Soviet territory almost at will.

By 1957, Khrushchev’s agricultural and economic plans, his draw-down of conventional forces, and his liberal reforms had not yielded the desired results, and some leadership within the Soviet Union saw a need for change. 

Malenkov lead a coup that might not have succeeded, had it not been for Zhukov deciding to not support Khrushchev at the last moment.  The reason for Zhukov’s change in loyalty is not known, but it was a deciding factor in the success of the coup.

Surprisingly, Khrushchev was allowed to live, and was assigned to a position far from Moscow, while the new leadership moved to reverse the proclamations of the “secret speech” and the direction of the nation.  The new leaders quickly went to work reversing many of Khrushchev’s failed actions and reforms.

While Malenkov may have had reservations about nuclear weapons, he understood their roll in the Cold War, and the Soviet Union’s need for them. So he initiated even greater emphasis on developing and deploying them as soon as possible.

Molotov returned to his old role as foreign secretary and was as tough as ever in his negotiations with the west.  Demands were made for Western withdrawal from Berlin, support was granted for revolutionaries in Africa, and South and Central America, and actions were taken to protest US overflights of Soviet air space without drawing Soviet public attention.

In all, the new Soviet Leadership was far more Stalinist and militant than was Khrushchev, and Washington grew more concerned than ever about the situation in Europe, and the world.