“the KGB went into a tizzy thinking it might be WW III, you can imagine that probably happened that day.”
That was the day Gen Al Haig, Sec of State, said he was “in control (not charge) here”. He later explained he did so because he was concerned the Ruskies would misread what had happened and be afraid this was the beginning of a coup leading to an attack on the USSR.
Haig, a true war hero was lambasted over that and never truly recovered politically. He knew that Bush was in charge while Reagan was down. As you said that was his concern, as I recall last years episode, the KGB agents were also thinking this was a coup attempt. It makes sense they would think that from their perspective. They weren’t used to our stable democracy. Coups were rife throughout their history so naturally they assumed that we had coups also.
That is one of the reasons I find this show so interesting. I think they truly give us the enemies perspective on the cold war. I find it fascinating to get a glimpse into Russian thinking at that time.
Well, it hadn’t been that many years since the JFK assassination, which is looking more like a coup by LBJ as new evidence emerges. If they knew about that, their concern would be justified.