The Third World War, June 13, 1958

The combined forces of Belgium, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States prepared to launch operation Titus, the relief of West Berlin, on the morning of 14 June, 1958. 

Forces of the united Kingdom would lead an attack from the North,  US and West German forces would lead an attack in central Germany, and US forces from the south.  The remaining NATO forces would defend the inner German border against any Warsaw Pact intrusion and protect the flanks of the three allied columns.

The US agreed to avoid employing atomic weapons, if possible, on German soil, but retained  right to readily use them elsewhere, dependent on Soviet response and escalation.  The general hope was that the fighting would be limited to German soil, though that would clearly depend on the Soviets.  

All NATO forces involved in the action, started from deployment in West Germany, and initially at least, targets of opportunity in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere were not to be engaged.  The Warsaw Pact doctrine did not oblige in kind, with Polish, Czech, and Soviet air and naval bases involved even before the start of hostilities. 

NATO hoped that the events in Germany would be embraced as a localized conflict of limited scope, and believed that early NATO success, and social unrest in the various Warpac nations would work to NATO's favor.  Both northern and southern NATO partners, while still in a state of alert and on a war footing, would not take part in the limited offensive.

Thus far, the Soviets saw what was happening as at least a European, if not Global event.  The current actions were obviously part of NATO's bigger plan .  By June 10, Soviet intelligence was convinced that the western threat was in no way a bluff, and additional urgency and preparations were initiated.  On 11 June, at the last moment possible,  Moscow adjusted their plan accordingly.

As always, both sides misunderstood, and misjudged their counterpart, and now many people would pay more dearly than ever for these failings. In the early morning hours of Friday, June 13, 1958,  World War III began, with NATO forces in the field, largely surprised as Soviet and Warsaw Pact Forces poured across the inner German border.