Arms Race Flashcards
Define the Arms Race
The development of Nuclear weaponry across superpowers, causing competition for superiority
Context of the Arms Race
Began around 6th August 1945 - America secretly develops atomic bomb technology in New Mexico (Manhattan Project) culminating in the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima
Factors for the causes of the Arms Race
The growth of international tensions
National and personal considerations
Domestic factors
Factors for the Impact of the Arms Race
CMC = ‘hotline’ and Test Ban Treaty 1963
MAD
Impact on conventional arms
Important civilian consequences
Key events of the arms race
When abouts did the Arms Race begin
6th August 1945
Key events of the arms race
What year did the UN fail to control development of atomic weaponry = distrust on both sides
1946
Key events of the arms race
When did the Russians test their own nuclear weaponry?
1949
Key events of the arms race
When did the USA and USSR develop their lithium bombs?
USSR = 1953, USA = 1954
Key events of the arms race
When did the Space Race begin and what launched to mark the start?
Sputnik launched by the USSR in 1957
Key events of the arms race
When was Sputnik II and Laika the Dog launched? (month and year)
November 1957
Key events of the arms race
What decade did spy technology become developed?
1950s
Key events of the arms race
When was the Cuban Missile Crisis and why did it happen?
1959-1962
Occurred when Fidel Castro assumes power and openly aligns Cuba with the Soviet Union and its policies - Khrushchev vs. JFK
Key events of the arms race
When and how did the Cuban Missile Crisis end?
October 18th 1962 - Khrushchev announces over Radio Moscow that he’d agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba. US agrees to remove missiles in Turkey - ending CMC
Causes of the Arms Race
Growth of international tension
> Arms viewed as a necessity to safeguard interests - as destructive power increased, so did feeling of vulnerability
Influences that made the USA develop the atomic bomb:
1. Soviet challenge over Berlin in 1948-1949
2. Communist takeover in China in 1949
3. Korean War in 1950
Convinced that nuclear superiority was the only way of guaranteeing defensive needs
Causes of the Arms Race
National and Personal Considerations
> Both sides –> Arms Race = opportunity to raise national prestige
BY 1950s both sides were trying to impress the third world in an attempt to benefit communist/capitalist support - therefore they could not be viewed as inferior
Causes of the Arms Race
Domestic factors
> Created opportunity for economic benefit due to lucrative orders
Incentive for both sides to continue
Attempts to cut arms threatened power of military
USA’s military Industrial Complex
- Concerns expressed by Eisenhower
- Economy was becoming reliant
- Anti communist propaganda became a necessity
Impact of the Arms Race
Cuban Missile Crisis (immediate Result)
> Kennedy able to prove he was able to fight communism - propaganda-wise it was a success in the US
Khrushchev saw it as successful despite it being a military humiliation - seen as the first to back down (contributing factor for his dismissal as Soviet leader in 1964)
‘Hotline’ (1963) = used to prevent misunderstandings in a crisis - used by Brezhnev and Nixon during the India-Pakistan war
Test Ban Treaty (1963) = Signed by USA, UK and USSR - similar attempts rejected by USSR in 1961
Impact of the Arms Race
MAD - restrained direct, armed confrontation
> By Early 1960s; both sides possessed enough missiles to destroy the other and effective counter-strike systems
Both sides recognised limitations of all-or-nothing response-decided on more flexible strategies
‘counterforce’ = smaller targeted missiles to provide the option of using a more limited action to achieve specific objective
Impact of the Arms Race
Impact on conventional arms
> Conventional arms remained central to military strategy - due to unimaginable devastation of nuclear weaponry if deployed
Both Eisenhower and Khrushchev attempted to reduce conventional arms - thought nuclear was a cheaper alternative
Korea and Vietnam Wars were fought using conventional arms and highlighted the importance of keeping a numerical advantage
This allowed each side an alternative to nuclear missiles - a strategy Kennedy referred to as ‘flexible response’
Impact of the Arms Race
Important civilian consequences
> Innovation it prompted led to computer and space technology - significant civilian applications
Vast economic cost of Arms Race = strain on both populations
Civilian sectors of their respective economies were held back
The development of nuclear arms was to become a weapon by which the economic resources of the opponent could be stretched to breaking point
