In this video youtube narrator says that:
"During Cold War Soviet Union considered American battle-group such a dire threat that they predicted the only way to defend against them would be by use of tactical nuclear weapons <...>"
So my questions would be:
- Is that really a thing? Did the Soviet Union fear these battle-groups so much, that atomic bombs weren't off limits?
- Let's say they did use one against one of the groups. Would that mean full-blown atomic war or neither side would want to push this further (one would come to mind) because of MAD? Since this wouldn't be a full-scale attack, it could easily be pulled off, because of many incidents, that involved one side seeing, that other launched few missiles towards them.
Yes, second question might or is categorized as "What If" question, but I don't think I read/heard anyone mentioning about the particular scenario and the repercussion of it.