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Originally Posted by Benjamin
By the end of September, NATO began to use tactical nuclear weapons to stop the Soviets. The Soviets replied by using their own nuclear weapons."
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The Soviets first used nukes on the 9th of July 1997.
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On July 9th, with advanced elements of the 1st German Army on Soviet soil, the Soviets begin using tactical nuclear weapons. In the West, they are used sparingly at first, and for the first week are used only against troop concentrations no further than 50 kilometers from the Soviet border. In the Far East, however, they are used on a massive scale. Chinese mechanized columns are vaporized, caught in the open on the roads in imagined pursuit. Strike aircraft deliver warheads on the northern Chinese population and industrial centers still in Chinese hands. The Chinese response is immediate, but Soviet forward troop units are dispersed and well prepared.
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On the western front, the forward elements of both armies on the Soviet-Polish frontier are hit hard by tactical nuclear strikes, as NATO matched the Warsaw Pact warhead for warhead.
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A possible explanation for the differing date of Nato first use, is
how they were used.
In July, August and most of September, they were used by Nato on a one for one basis against targets of great value but behind the front lines (Divisional or Army HQs, supply depots, etc). This policy changed after Warsaw was relieved to use against the Soviet front lines in order to break up not just their logistical support, but the combat units (battalions and brigades/regiments) themselves. This change is a significant escalation in the use of nukes and could well be a major contributor towards the use of strategic weapons just two months later.