2023 AFHF Air Power History Book Prize Winner
Emergency War Plan examines the theory and practice of American nuclear deterrence and its evolution during the Cold War. Previous examinations of nuclear strategy during this time have, for the most part, categorized American efforts as “massive retaliation” and “mutually assured destruction,” blunt instruments to be casually dismissed in favor of more flexible approaches or summed up in inflammatory and judgmental terms like “MAD.” These descriptors evolved into slogans, and any nuanced discussion of the efficacy of the actual strategies withered due to a variety of political and social factors.
Drawing on newly released weapons effects information along with new information about Soviet capabilities as well as risky and covert espionage missions, Emergency War Plan provides a completely new examination of American nuclear deterrence strategy during the first fifteen years of the Cold War, the first such study since the 1980s. Ultimately what emerges is a picture of a gargantuan and potentially devastating enterprise that was understood at the time by the public in only the vaguest terms but that was not as out of control as has been alleged and was more nuanced than previously understood.
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Kami no itte: Nuclear Targeting and Japan, 1945
2. Per Ardua ad Atomica: Ur-Nuclear Targeting, 1946–49
3. Imminence of War I: Targeting the Soviet Union, 1950–53
4. Imminence of War II: Targeting Europe and the Far East, 1950–53
5. Four Horsemen I: Targeting the Soviet Union, 1954–56
6. Four Horsemen II: Targeting Europe and the Far East, 1954–56
7. Increasing the Deterrent Margin: Strategic Air Command and the Soviet Union, 1956–58
8. Prosteishiy Sputnik: Midcourse Corrections, 1957–59
9. Coming Together: The Basic War Plan, 1958–60
10. Megadeath Musings: Alternative Undertaking and Deterrence, 1958–60
11. The Acme of Skill: The Basic War Plan, the General Emergency Operations Plan, and the Far East, 1957–60
Conclusion
Appendix A: SAC Emergency War Plan 1-49 and 1-51 Targets
Appendix B: Soviet Cities and Population, 1960 Estimates
Notes
Bibliography
Index
