I think what Legbreaker is ignoring is logistics. Sure, you may have the units to administer that decisive stroke...but it does you no good if you cannot support them, and the Soviets and NATO suffer some unique and serious logistical problems in the European theater alone (not to mention the almost critical logistical problems the Soviets are beginning to feel in China) that are a limiting factor on the war as a whole. In fact, it is a measure of the logistical problems that makes the TDM a reality. The Soviets begin to realize that they cannot match a United States on a war footing with a relatively undamaged economy and industrial base. And, Soviet Long-Range Aviation doesn't have a realistic option of commencing a conventional strategic bombing campaign against North America. (Alaska, maybe, but even there, casualties are heavy). Thus, nuclear weapons become the only option.
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