> In the invasion of Western Europe scenario, I think it's hard to say exactly how it would have played out. The Soviets had huge numerical superiority on the ground and in the air. The West had a qualitative advantage.

The invasion of western Europe happened in 1940 from the east and then in 1944 from the west. This talk of "invasion of western Europe" is ahistorical. In 1956 the communists had 103 seats in the French parliament, the next largest party - the socialists - had 95. The US interventions in Italy's 1948 election exceeded Russian interference in Czechoslovakia in 1948 (the events of which were precipitated by the February resignation of the opposition from the ministry). Up until 1976 the communist party won over one third of the vote in Italy.

This notion of a united "West" fearing an invasion from the east is popular in some quarters, but is not what was the reality in Western Europe, and few western Europeans of the time had this view.