If Truman decided a nuclear strike in Korea?

[President Johnson]

When the Chinese entered the Korean War in 1950, General Douglas MacArthur called for the use of an atomic bomb to win the war. President Truman decided against it. What if the president had followed the general's demand? Would we have ended up with World War III? Did Stalin really want to risk this because of North Korea? Any thoughts?

[ag]

When the Chinese entered the Korean War in 1950, General Douglas MacArthur called for the use of an atomic bomb to win the war. President Truman decided against it. What if the president had followed the general's demand? Would we have ended up with World War III? Did Stalin really want to risk this because of North Korea? Any thoughts?

Possibly. But, in any case, it would have broken the flood on actual usage of the bomb. So, even if we would not have had a full-blown WWIII right there and then, I think we would have been looking back at quite a few instances of nuclear obliteration in the last 70 years.

[Kingpoleon]

I would assume the Soviet response would not be adequate enough to handle a full fledged invasion, alongside any nuclear bombing of large military forces. The resulting instability in Germany and Eastern Europe could easily lead to monarchies being reinstated and borderlines changed again. The return of the Hohenzollerns in Romania and Germany would be very possible.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

There weren't any good targets for nukes in the Korean War. Or at least, none in Korea. We'd have had to expand the war into China to have made their use worthwhile.