Synopsis for WW3

[GarfunkeL]

I'm planning to run with Able Archer '83 but using only that would mean purely nuclear exchange and setting requires extensive conventional operations as well, I intend to spice it up a little by the following:

After Soviets learn about Able Archer and decide that its likely to be maskirovka for nuclear first strike, they mobilize A- and B-grade units. NATO sees this and when Warsaw Pact doesn't back down after couple of days, NATO partially mobilizes as well. This means that REFORGER units will be ready and in place in Europe but NG is still stateside (except the rotational units) and European Members have their regular troops ready as well. Then, in a fit of insanity, Able Archer is not cancelled (Reagan is a blowhard), the exercise reaches its climax. But this time KGB does not ask for confirmation from its stations after they send mixed and confusing reports but rather alerts Soviet leadership, who in turn are convinced that USA first strike is imminent and decide to preempt it, ordering troops to attacks. So we have two big juggernauts slugging it out in Germany while nuclear missiles fly overhead. While USA and USSR are pretty much destroyed and big chunks of Europe has been turned into craters, the armies by military logic and SOP (which I'm very familiar with), continue trading punches and ravaging the landscape until exhaustion and casualties force them to stop.

I'll go into more detail in the actual history but the theme is insanity of war and that there's no clear guilty party - it's all miscommunication and misunderstandings.

Any obvious holes?

Note: I finally have complete OOB's for both sides. They are dated either 1987 or 1989 but should be accurate enough for our purposes. I'll stay on army/divisional level. If it's needed, I'll go into more details about the troops that are gonna be fighting in Scandinavia.

[Gaspard]

I'm cool with that 

If it's needed, I'll go into more details about the troops that are gonna be fighting in Scandinavia.

A more detailed background for the said region would definitely open up some storylines for the time when the game takes place (while narrowing down some too extreme flights of imagination). Wandering or settled down troops would probably have a strong impact on the development of the new settlements + the majority of higher-tech weaponry would come from these guys or from places they would know about

[Lamoot]

Sounds cool to me And as Gaspard already mentioned, it would be cool to pay attention to how ww3 army remnants affected "today's" PARPG demographics/factions.


Also:
Depending how much you'll get into the details, can there be some room left for the visual artists, to include more crazy and non-conventional vehicles and other designs? This page at the wiki lists many link to various interesting designs and images we could use in PARPG to make it visually more unique and fresh. I know such details are too detailly at this stage, but I thought it should be mentioned so we don't get too tied up later on.

[Rippig]

I like what I've read so far.

So this is going to be based around as if Stanislav Petrov didn't recognize the false alarm or something along those lines?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov

The Soviet and US Nuclear systems basically worked off an automatic "feedback" system (I can't find the paper by a Russian scientist about the design of the system, I read it Computer Science Ethics class, I'll keep looking).  A Russian spy satellite presumes that America is preparing for first strike, which begins preparations by the Russians, which is then interpreted by the American's as preparations for strike, which just snowballs into all out war.

[GarfunkeL]

Yes, very similar. Eerily, Petrov's actions happened only 2 months before Able Archer started. Good thing that I checked the dates, since I realized that the invasion of Grenada is ongoing and will tie 82nd AB into that island. Doesn't really change the big picture though.

Re: sci-fi equipment

Much of the existing soviet equipment is pretty fantastic looking to a modern, western person anyway  But yes, both sides were introducing new equipment during this time, though that equipment is nowadays quite common.


M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley were slowly coming into usage, as was BMP-3 and Leopard 2. F-117 stealth fighter/bomber was very hush-hush and not in use yet either.

Hmm, I think I'll try to dig up some pictures for that thread.

[zenbitz]

garfunkle, you are my hero!

Try not to let your finnish anti-russian bias get too much of a head of steam!

[DK]

garfunkle, you are my hero!

Try not to let your finnish anti-russian bias get too much of a head of steam!

fixed
much much more fun

[zenbitz]

garfunkle, you are my hero!

Try not to let your finnish anti-russian bias get too much of a head of steam!

fixed
much much more fun

Dang it!  Now I have to go recruit a bunch of russian writers!