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Originally Posted by Raptor1
True, but the Pershing, as far as heavy tanks go, didn't really compare to the IS-3, which was already into mass production. As pointed out earlier, the Allied air force might have been slightly superior in a few areas, but not by so much that the Allies could rely on it to offset the Soviet ground superiority.
China in 1945 was devastated from the war, and was gearing up for civil war again, so there was no guarantee they would have stayed with the Allies if another war broke out with the Soviets. The Soviets also still had over a million men in the area from their invasion of Manchuria.
The Atomic bomb is a good point, but it most likely wouldn't have worked the same way on the Soviets as it did on the Japanese. Japan in 1945 was doomed to lose, and it's government was severely divided on whether to surrender, the nuclear bombs are what pushed them over the edge. On the other hand, the Soviets in 1945 were still very much able to fight and win against the Allies. The Soviets have also shown that the more devastation is brought to their land, the more they are willing to fight and destroy the enemy.
Another point is that the Allies might not have sent over a nuclear bomb in the first place. Unlike Japan, a nuclear-armed bomber would have to travel many hundreds of miles to reach any target of strategic importance (Most of which, as stated before, were beyond the effective range of Allied bombers), I would assume the Allied leaders would think it over very carefully before launching the attack, because there would a very real danger of the bomber being shot down and the bomb falling into Soviet hands.
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I'll grant you the Soviet tank superiority though we and the Russians just finished defeating an enemy that had technical superiority in many areas and that didn't help them. Also I think you seriously underestimate the power of our Air Forces in 1945. Remember we not only have the Mighty 8th we also have the fleets of B-29's from the Pacific at our disposal.
But I really don't get your thinking on the Atomic bomb. The main target of strategic importance would be the Red Army and they presumably would be massed on the front line in eastern Europe within easy reach of bombers flying out of England. Not that they'd really need it. By '45 thousand bomber raids were commonplace and would do far greater damage than a single A-bomb.