The doctrine to use nuclear weapons in response to an overwhelming conventional attack isn't really anything that new. It originates from the early part of the

The doctrine to use nuclear weapons in response to an overwhelming conventional attack isn't really anything that new. It originates from the early part of the Cold War when NATO had inferior conventional forces to the Red Army and were afraid they would be overrun quickly if the Soviets attacked [1]. Everything old is new again I suppose. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulda_Gap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulda_Gap "In response to the quantitative superiority of the Soviet forces, the U.S. deployed Atomic Demolition Mines for many years in the Fulda Gap. In the early '60s, the Fulda Gap was also protected by V Corps Artillery units equipped with the medium-range MGM-5 Corporal guided missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads."