Hitler had the Atom Bomb

[panzer228]

I have always thought what would happened if Hitler had the atom bomb and the allied forces didn't. Would this change the course of the war or would Germany still be beaten at a slower rate? Hmmm......

[cyberia]

If Hitler had the bomb, I think the war would ended just as it did.

This is someone who misused advanced technology, replaced competent commanders with yes men, enforced polices that turned possible allies into enemies, issued "stand or fall" orders that were more a death a sentence for his own troops than strategy, planned campaigns based on egotistical whims, placed more thought (for lack of a better word) on the annihilation of innocents rather than military targets, refused any advice from front line commanders and in the end, blamed his own nation for failing him.

If Hitler had the bomb, would have figured out a way to screw it up.

[panzer228]

Yes, I agree that Hitler would have abused it too.

[Wustenfuchs]

If Hitler had the bomb, I think the war would ended just as it did.

This is someone who misused advanced technology, replaced competent commanders with yes men, enforced polices that turned possible allies into enemies, issued "stand or fall" orders that were more a death a sentence for his own troops than strategy, planned campaigns based on egotistical whims, placed more thought (for lack of a better word) on the annihilation of innocents rather than military targets, refused any advice from front line commanders and in the end, blamed his own nation for failing him.

If Hitler had the bomb, would have figured out a way to screw it up.

That's like the most amazingly correct picture of Hitler I've seen in so few words! Thanks Paul!

[TRDG]

So the Alllies could have withstood multiple atom bomb strikes? I'm really not that confident on that one, the first I bet would have been dropped on Russia, sad to say........

Cheers, thank god this NEVER happened, the Germans and a functional "bomb", now that would be a "wonder weapon"!! YIKES!!!

[cyberia]

So the Alllies could have withstood multiple atom bomb strikes?

Tom, what thread are you reading?

[Roddoss72]

Salutations All

One question to Panzer228 how many atomics are you talking about.

Well if i were Hitler and had a supply of atomics on hand, they would be delivered as such.

Day one.

1st Atomic on Cambridge or Oxford (these are cultural and academic centres), the 2nd Atomic would be dropped on either Southampton (Idustrial and a major Royal Naval Port) or Birmingham (a key industrial centre).

Day two.

3rd and 4th Atomics would be dropped on Moscow (key military/political/economic/communications and Transportation centre) on the same day.

Day three.

5th, 6th and 7th Atomics would be dropped on Manhatten (Civilian/Ecconomical), Chicago (Industrial) and Washington DC (Political).

Regards

Roddoss72

[panzer228]

Wow Roddoss72,
Good tatic right there.

[Roddoss72]

Wow Roddoss72,
Good tatic right there.

Salutations Panzer228

Thanx for the compliment and to finish.

4th Day Germany issues the Governments of Britain, Soviet Union (Remnants), and USA ultimatums of Unconditional Surrender, to enforce this stance 8th, 9th and 10th atomics are dropped on Manchester (Idustrial), Stalingrad (Symbolic) and Norfolk (military).

5th Day Britain and Soviet Union surrender.

6th Day last atomic attack of the war as Boston is razed.

7th Day United States of America surrenders to Germany.

Ironically the Germans had beaten the Americans and their Manhatten project by a week.

Regards

Roddoss72

[Jim O]

So you are assuming that Hitler would have been patient enough to wait until he had amassed 10 working bombs? Not like Hitler at all.

Another fly in that ointment is where does all of that uranium come from? Most uranium is mined at U-238 and needs to be enriched to U-235 to be useful in a nuclear fission device. That is time consuming, energy intensive, and requires a lot of U-238. U-235 constitutes less than 1% of naturally occurring uranium. To create "weapons grade" uranium, you need about 15%-20% U-235. As an example, the Hiroshima bomb was 64kg of weapons grade material. Trying to make ten times that amount in a country that wasn't even in a "war economy" until 1943 would have required a major commitment, one that Germany's leaders were not willing to make.

So, what year are we discussing? Since the US is in the war, I'm thinking at least 1942. It would have had to be before mid/late-1943 because by then Hitler had little means to deliver bombs to UK or deep in Soviet territory given that the Luftwaffe had lost control over enemy skies. And remember, even the relatively "small" bombs dropped on Japan weighed almost 10,000 pounds each. That's a lot of load to carry across the Atlantic to... Chicago (considering fuel load, etc), not escorted by fighters most of the way.

Remember, with all of its effort, the US could only produce two working weapons, and that by 1945. It's doubtful that Germany, even with focus, could have developed 10 of them by even mid-1944, one year sooner. All that Hitler would have accomplished with one or two devices is symbolic damage in already bombed out cities. The idea that he would have landed a nuke over DC, New York, Chicago, or Norfolk is pretty laughable. Chicago especially.That's a pretty long flight from any territory that the Third Reich or its allies controlled at any point in time. And it assumes no coastal air defenses over the US east coast. Just north of Norfolk is a large Air Force base, and just to the southeast is a one of the largest Naval Air Stations in the US. Langley Air Force base in Hampton, Virginia dates to the World War I era, and is more or less directly across the James River from NOB Norfolk. NAS Oceana was present in Virginia Beach prior to World War II, about 15-20 miles southeast of NOB Norfolk. Additionally, there are several air bases that protect the DC area.

I'm sorry, but honestly, that scenario might as well be called Disney comes to Nazi Germany, because Mickey Mouse would have a better chance of pulling it off than would have Adolf Hitler.

A better chance would have been if he had actually had a working weapon or two in 1942, when he could possibly have detonated one over Moscow and another over Leningrad. That might have forced Stalin to retreat back to the Urals, if he even survived the blast, and to sue for peace. With the USSR out of the war, it might well have ended differently.