Revealed: Historic War Game Unearths UK's Secret Doomsday Plans if Russia Strikes

Ever thought about time-traveling to witness the geopolitical chess game of old? Now, imagine flipping through a documentary from '76 only to find it eerily prescribes today's nail-biting suspense over nuclear risks—yep, like a scriptwriters’ perfect pitch for a doomsday movie that's all too real!

In a world where tensions breathe fire more intense than a scorching summer, this chillingly prophetic tease from ITN presents a curious what-if from an era lashed by the Cold War’s icy grip. This archived reel, unearthed like some cinematic treasure, shows Peter Snow guiding viewers through a grim, speculative journey where Cold War superpowers are eye-locked in a dance of destruction, a vertiginous tightrope where balance between peace and doom teeters on conventional armament and nuclear doctrine.

Envisioned are Soviet attacks by land, sea, and air, NATO’s menacing counterstroke, and, well, I guess we’re all still catching our breaths from the suspense.

Now, here’s where it gets wonderfully ironic: Despite their apocalyptic date-stamp, these simulations echo today’s geopolitical strife with uncanny accuracy. So, as Presidents Putin and Trump volley nuke-flavored words across the Atlantic, this flashback reminds us that we’ve been teetering ontright at the edge of something not too distant from World War III.

This history-poking timepiece is a humbling look through the retrospecto-scope, offering an in Bullet Time view at our teetering world—now with five billion lives hanging precariously in the balance, as some experts would chillingly predict.

Fascinated by this harrowing, yet fascinatingly accurate slice of documentary time-travel? LEARN MORE.

A resurfaced WW3 simulation is proving to be a chilling watch amid the ongoing threat of a nuclear world war.

ITN’s Peter Snow <a class="anchor_link__6t7IO" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="“>presented a number of special reports between 15 and 22 March 1976, which provided a worrying insight into how the UK could respond to a Soviet attack during the height of the Cold War.

The compilation consisted of political commentary, military reports and dramatisations of the various scenarios in the event of WW3.

At the time, there were massive geopolitical tensions with the Soviet Union and, pretty much, the rest of Europe.

Snow explained to viewers how an attack might unfold by land, sea and air. This consisted of surprise missile strikes and what a NATO response would look like.

“In the first of five reports, Snow looked at the military balance of power between the Cold War superpowers and their allies, the prevailing nuclear doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD), and how the Soviet Union’s growing arsenal of conventional weapons threatened to upset the precarious nuclear stalemate,” ITN explained.

“In the second report, Snow examined how British forces stationed in West Germany would respond to a Soviet land invasion of Central Europe.

ITN’s WW3 simulation in 1976 offered a chilling insight into how Britain would respond to a Soviet attack during the Cold War (ITN/Getty)

“Snow’s third report looked at the Soviets’ capability to attack with mines and missiles at sea, and the Royal Navy’s ability to counter the threat.

“Next, Snow reported on the strength of the USSR’s submarine fleet compared to the UK’s.

“And finally, Snow looked at the military balance in the air, and how the West’s air defence system would respond in the event of Russian attack.”

There was geopolitical tensions with the Soviet Union and, pretty much, the rest of Europe (ITN/Getty)

Now, the resurfaced footage has come as a reminder of how close the world came to WW3 and what things resonate with today.

At present, there is an ongoing trade war and a lot of unrest between the US, NATO, Russia, and Ukraine.

Talks of a third World War remain on the cards as Putin and Trump have openly threatened one another.

The US President told reporters on 13 February: “You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons.”

Meanwhile, the Russian President said last year that from ‘from a military-technical point of view’, they are ‘ready’ for nuclear war.

Geopolitical tensions, miscommunication, cyberattacks, or a first-strike decision are just some of the things that could cause a major conflict.

It comes after an expert said five billion people would die in 72 hours in the event of a nuclear war.