The only time Nukes were ever used in a battle scenario was to induce the surrender of a foreign combatant, though. I suppose that's sort of a "deterrent to continue war" but it wasn't defensive at all.
MAD might make that less pertinent in these times, but I don't think it's valid to say they're only useful as a deterrent. There's a whole category of low-yield nukes envisioned for tactical no defensive purposes, too. They're non-practical in todays world because of international law and image... but not useless for these purposes.
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