Alternate Reality: Time Travel and Nuclear Warfare in 1939

The world as we know it was irrevocably changed by World War II. If, hypothetically, one were to travel back in time to September 4, 1939, with a bomber plane and a nuclear weapon, and nuked key European capitals like London, Paris, Berlin, and Warsaw, how might the ensuing events unfold?

Suspicion and Espionage

The incalculable disruption of these cities, where governments were hostile to the Soviet Union, would have led to immediate suspicion of Soviet involvement. Given the geopolitical climate of 1939, the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact was likely a tactical move by both Hitler and Stalin. This pact was a play for time, each hoping to delay their inevitable conflict with the other. The secretive nature of the pact only fueled speculation and paranoia.

Britannia's Arsenal and Post-Apocalyptic Response

London, London's destruction would prompt the British government to accelerate its atomic bomb project. Sir Rudolf Peierls, among others, was part of the MAUD Committee, which proposed the viability of a nuclear bomb. The British government would initiate a crash program, with facilities built underground to withstand further attacks. Winston Churchill, inspecting Royal Navy ships at Scapa Flow when the crisis struck, would become a driving force behind this urgent change.

Germany's Counterattack

Germany's scientific community was at the forefront of nuclear research, and their military engineering capabilities would be directed towards constructing underground facilities and developing nuclear weapons. If Hitler perished, a successor or duplicate might take over, ensuring the continuation of the nuclear program. A Fuhrer Directive would be issued to marshal all remaining scientific and industrial resources for nuclear weapons production.

France and Poland's Response

The French cyclotron in Paris would be destroyed, but France's stockpiles of uranium would provide a foundation for a nuclear program. Similarly, the lack of a dedicated nuclear institute did not hinder the Polish intellectuals. Scientists like Joseph Rotblat and Stanislaw Ulam would likely join the British project or lead their own efforts to create an atomic bomb.

The Race for the Bomb

The initial conventional war would commence on September 1, 1939, just days before the proposed nuclear attack. Shock and confusion would reign, and most operations would grind to a halt as nations sought to understand the situation. However, cooler heads might prevail, preventing immediate surrender to the Soviets. Instead, the major powers would race to develop nuclear weapons.

Global Impact and New World Order

A coordinated attack on Moscow and other Soviet cities by British bombers would likely follow. Leningrad and Kiev would soon fall, leading to the Soviet Union's collapse. The global balance of power would shift dramatically. The British Empire would soar, and the Cold War era might never have occurred, as the US would remain isolationist, developing its first bomb in the 1950s. Germany, under the leadership of Bundeskanzler Erwin Rommel, with the support of prominent rocket scientists like Werner von Braun and Walter Dornberger, would focus on space exploration, achieving a moon landing by 1965.