American intelligence gathers information (The Strath Report) on the consequences of a possible Soviet nuclear attack on Great Britain. The goal would be to destroy the British government and American bases, and render the country unusable as a base for a possible counterattack. The heat flash from a single H-bomb would ignite 100,000 fires, 150 kilometers in diameter from ground zero. If the Soviets detonated ten bombs on the West Coast, the prevailing eastward winds would irradiate much of the United Kingdom’s population. A third of the population would die almost immediately, water would be undrinkable, and fields would be rendered unusable for at least two months. Civil society would collapse, and the use of force would be necessary to maintain order. The document was kept secret. Even Churchill decided not to make any aspect of it public.
