Mexican Army Sourcebook complete

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Hiroshima - 13-18kt
Nagasaki - 21kt

Low yield yes, but both bombs where more than enough to totally flatten both cities.

Very true, but these attacks were airbursts. A ground burst is a different creature. Also, the location of the target's rail hub relative to the city makes a difference. If the rail hub is at city center, then the effects on the city will be much more pronounced than if the rail yards are near the outskirts. Also, Japanese cities were very tindery. If the target city has more brick and cinder block construction than a WW2-era Japanese city, the blast damage will be lessened. It's worth noting, too, that the loss of life at Hiroshima was greater than at Nagasaki, despite the higher yield of the Fat Man. The layout of the city and density of its population affect the impact of a given nuclear explosion. While I don't doubt that a 10kt ground burst at city center would result in major loss of life, a 10kt ground burst away from the city center in a city with some topographical features to deflect blast and heat and a high percentage of stone, brick, or cinder block housing will not have the same effects.

All of this said, a little research into the specifics at the major northern Mexican rail hubs should help answer some of the questions. I'll have to see if I can find a rail map of Mexico.


Webstral

[kalos72]

I always assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that an air burst was for more of an EMP / firestorm of oil refineries and such then any true damage. And a ground burst was for more physical direct damage and radiation...

[Legbreaker]

Regardless of air burst, ground burst, or target city layout, etc you're never going to be able to call a nuclear explosive a "precision attack"....

[Dog 6]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Regardless of air burst, ground burst, or target city layout, etc you're never going to be able to call a nuclear explosive a "precision attack"....

very true. even the smallest nukes. .01 kt will still blow the shit out of the heart of any city.

[headquarters]

with how amny tens of millions of Mexican background citizens and other south American citizens in the US - would using WMDs against the estados unidas de Mexico -and especially the big cities-be an option?

What could a possible backlash be ?

The need to evict any occupying force in a big hurry might not be there from a JCS chess game perspective.

Allowing the invaders to weaken over some time and then try to
a)bribe units and commanders
b) force them out through conventional warfare
c) limited use of WMDs to cut supply lines/build up areas

just a thought..

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by headquarters

with how amny tens of millions of Mexican background citizens and other south American citizens in the US - would using WMDs against the estados unidas de Mexico -and especially the big cities-be an option?

I tend to agree with HQ here...whilst I think tactical nuclear strikes on key military targets, supply lines etc is possible (perhaps even probable), I think the JCS might stop short of an attack on Mexico City...if the goal is simply to destroy Mexico's leadership, it's massively disproportionate; as well as HQ's argument, which I think is a good one, several other good reasons have already been put forth, not least the fact that the two countries have to live side by side after the War. Also, killing the Mexican Government may act as a barrier to future peace negotiations if there is no one on the Mexican side for the US to negotiate with? (I'm sure the original V1 timeline includes a statement about the European War after the first nuclear exchange that goes somewhere along the lines of "peace might have been possible but there were no Governments to talk to each other"?)

Just my tuppence worth...

[John Farson]

Very interesting debate here. I too have always thought that Mexico would get nuked in the Twilight War after the Mexican Army crosses the border with Division Cuba. It's the degree of the U.S. strike that's the question, ranging from a full-blown attack (i.e. nuke every Spanish-speaking person between the Rio Grande and the Yucatan) to a targeted one (hit the rail hubs, the troop concentrations, supply junctions, the Mexican government in Mexico City etc.) and watch the Mexican Army and Division Cuba quickly run out of gas and supplies and disintegrate in a wave of mass desertions and surrenders.

As others have already pointed out, the JCS would have various things to take into account. First of all the total annihilation option is out, because at the end of the day Mexico isn't the USSR/Russia. You don't really need THAT many nukes to render Mexico harmless. And it's quite obvious that not everyone in Mexican political and military circles would support this mad scheme anyway. Also, the JCS has to take into account that any nukes too close to the border would potentially also endanger Americans with the fallout. Also, nuking your worst opponent in retaliation for his nuking you is different from nuking a country without nukes. Having said that, I do add the caveat that certain other non-nuclear countries would have also been hit hard (e.g. Canada and Japan).

That being said, it's also out of the question that the JCS would withhold from using nukes at all to stop the Mexican advance. The Mexican government has essentially stabbed the U.S. in the back. The nuclear strikes of Nov./Dec. 1997 have decimated the U.S. military and U.S. forces in America are stretched thin as it is. They have no way of conventionally stopping the Mexican advance. Any prior reluctance in using nukes is out the window as the nuclear genie hasn't just been let out of the bottle, it's been smashed out of the bottle. So nukes is what they'll use, against the Mexican military, transportation hubs and the Mexican government. There will be an attempt to avoid excessive civilian deaths, but it has to be said that with the nukes, the civil war, famine, epidemics and general political and social breakdown that Mexico will be just as worse off as the U.S., if not even more so.

[swaghauler]

A very nice write up sir. I enjoyed it very much.