Cold War key events

Question 1

Tehran Conference

Answer 1

Nov 1943- Main objective is to plan the liberation of Nazi- occupied France. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. Also discussed the future of Eastern European countries and the creation of the UN

Question 2

The percentage agreement

Answer 2

Oct 1944, Churchill and Stalin meet in private o agree how to divide the Eastern European countries formally occupied by Nazi Germany. This was done on a napkin

Question 3

Yalta Conference

Answer 3

Feb 1945- Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill reach agreement on USSR entering war with Japan and in return, Stalin would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria. They also decided Germany would be split into 4 zones and are responsible for paying reparations to USSR. Leaders were all satisfied about the decisions reached

Question 4

Potsdam Conference

Answer 4

July 1945- Stalin, Truman and Attlee discuss Germany’s surrender, Although leaders were able to come to an agreement about denazification and demilitarisation of Germany and the location of German-Polish border, their relations had worsened since Yalta and they had conflicting ideas about reparations and areas of influence etc

Question 5

Iron Curtain Speech

Answer 5

1946- Churchill gives a speech in Missouri about Soviet action, He praises the US for standing “at the pinnacle of world power”. He also further criticised USSR insisting they were aggressive and their actions should be condemned. Stalin responded to the speech saying Churchill was a racist for mentioning the creation of an English- speaking world

Question 6

Truman Doctrine

Answer 6

US say they will support any country that wants to resist communism. They give $400 million to Green and Turkey to stop them going communism. The policy is to contain communism

Question 7

Marshall Plan

Answer 7

April 1948- Implemented 3 years after WW2. Aimed to strengthen Europes economy and create a more unified and stronger Europe. America wanted Europe to recover so quickly from the war so quickly so it could fight off communist ideas from the East. Lead to an agreement between West and US

Question 8

Berlin Blockade

Answer 8

1948- In June 1948, Allies united their zones to create new country, West Germany and created a new currency (Deutschmark). This scared Stalin as he didn’t want Germany becoming stronger and causing another war. The next day, Stalin cuts rail links and completely blocks off West Berlin. West see this as an attempt to starve Berlin into surrender.

Question 9

Berlin Airlift

Answer 9

In an attempt to threaten the American position in Europe, Stalin places a blockade on West Berlin. US decided to take to the air to transport goods and over 318 days, 275,000 planes transported 1.5mil tonnes of supplies with a plane landing every few minutes into Templehof airport. This infuriated Stalin and made him look very weak. The whole thing was known as Operation Vittles and Operation Plainfare

Question 10

NATO founded

Answer 10

4th April 1949- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty) was set up after the alliance was signed by 28 countries from both America and Europe. It was to stand against the USSR which was stronger in numbers than any other country. If any member of NATO country is attacked by a non-member, NATO will spend both political and military help

Question 11

China becoming communist

Answer 11

1949- After WW2, the alliance between Chinese communists and nationalists ended. In Oct, the chairman Mao Tse-Tung became the leader of a communist China. In Feb 1950. China and USSR sign a Treaty of Friendship. West saw this as a serious failure of the Truman Doctrine. USSR lent money to China and sent 20,000 Soviet experts to help the development of China at China’s expense. However, the advice was questioned as it only seemed to benefit USSR

Question 12

Korean War

Answer 12

1950-1953- North Korea (communist) are extremely successful at crossing the 38th parallel, capturing the Capital of Seoul. US get worried for South Korea (capitalist) and send UN troops to help fight. They manage to recapture Seoul and advance into North Korea. Then China get involved to help North Korea as they feel the invasion is getting closer to them and manage to go back and recapture Seoul. The UN fight back hard and push them back to where it all started at the 38th parallel. The US general in charge of the fighting, MacArthur wanted to carry on the war, invade China and use nuclear weapons on it but Truman felt saving South Korea was good enough. It also would have caused lots more tension with the USSR. In March 1951, MacArthur ingnores UN instructions and openly threats an attack on China so Truman removed him from position as commander and brings him home.

Question 13

The Vietnam War

Answer 13

1954-1975- Similar to Korea with a North communist and South Capitalist. North and South Vietnam start a war against eachother with the US backing the South in 1961. In 1964, they send US troops to start fighting. 58,000 US troops were killed. The US leaves the South in 1973 and the North wins in 1975.

Question 14

Failures of US in Vietnam War

Answer 14

Failure of Operation Rolling Thunder- US bombing campaign failed as their bonds often fell in empty jungles. North Vietnamese guerillas knew the jungles and used underground tunnels to shelter from US bombs and re-use unexplored ones against them.

Failure of Search and Destroy (My Lai Massacre)- Missions based in poor military intelligence. Brutal US tactics drove more Viatnamese civilians to the Vietcong. When searching for VC guerrillas, US soldiers raided My Lai village and killed 300 civilians

Question 15

Successes of the Vietcong in Vietnamese War

Answer 15

Guerrilla warfare- Vietcong used the cover of the jungle to their advantage. They fought a hit and run guerrilla war against inexperienced US soldiers. The threat of an invisible enemy and hidden traps had demoralising and psychological impacts on US troops.

They were also well supplied with lots of foot and arms from the North

Question 16

Death of Stalin and ‘De-Stalinisation’

Answer 16

Stalin dies in 1953. Khrushchev takes over in 1955. He ‘de-stalinasises’ USSR by shutting down prison camps and restricting the power of the secret police. He makes a secret speech in 1956 denouncing Stalin as a tyrant

Question 17

Warsaw Pact

Answer 17

1955- The USSR’s retaliation to NATO but formed six years later. It has the same applications as NATO that all countries have to help each other in war. Both sides have military alliances backing them up

Question 18

Hungarian Uprising

Answer 18

The Stalin-like leader of Hungary, Rakosi is sacked by Khrushchev and Gero becomes the new leader. Mass protests happen in Hungary for Nagy to be prime minister and a statue of Stalin is pulled down during this as they are unhappy with their lack of free speech. Nagy is then made prime minister by Khrushchev. He then releases political prisoners and shuts down the AVO (secret police). Nagy tells Khrushchev that Hungary will leave Warsaw Pact so Khrushchev attacks Budapest. 30,000 are killed and Nagy is executed.

Question 19

The Arms Race

Answer 19

1945-1963- When US and USSR competed over who was the best with the most weapons. The Timeline is:

1945- US tests and uses atomic bomb (Hiroshima and Nagasaki)
1949- USSR tests it’s first atomic bomb
1952- US tests more powerful hydrogen bombs
1953- USSR tests hydrogen bomb
1957- USSR develops worlds first ICBM’s (missiles carrying multiple nuclear bombs)
1958- US tests ICMBs
1966- USSR build ABM (missiles shooting down ICBMs)
1968- US developed ABMs

Question 20

The Space Race

Answer 20

Timeline:

Oct 1957- SPUTNIK I launched by USSR
Nov 1957- SPUTNIK II with Laika the dog launched by USSR
Dec 1958- US satellite is launched
Apr 1961- First man in space Yuri Gagarin (USSR)
1961-1969- US Apollo program to get a man on the moon
July 1969- US first man on the moon
July 1975- First joint space mission Apollo- Soyuz (US and USSR)

Question 21

Paris Peace Summit

Answer 21

Before U2 crisis, USSR and Khrushchev seemed to be on board with tension lifting and better relations with US. The Paris peace summit was a chance for this until one week before the crisis ruined it all

Question 22

U2 crisis

Answer 22

May 1st 1960- A US pilot Gary Powers was flying his U2 spy plane to gather intelligence on USSR development. He was met with soviets new anti-aircraft guns which shot him down and captured him. The US claimed the plane was only to gather weather data and accidentally got in their territory but Soviets disproved this. President Eisenhower accepted it was a spay but refused to apologise or promise it wouldn’t happen again. This infuriated Khrushchev who left the peace summit after one day refusing to cooperate with the US further

Question 23

1960 US election

Answer 23

US public feel their government look weak. Eisenhower is not elected back as president and replaced with John F Kennedy in Nov 1960. He promises to build more missiles and be tougher with USSR

Question 24

Why the Berlin Wall was built

Answer 24

-“Brain Drain”- 15 to 20% of people move from East to West Germany for a better life, more money, and more freedom

-Espionage- Berlin was a Western island in a communist sea, ideal place for US spies to gather intelligence in USSR military

-Imbalance in Cold War superpowers- Communism looks weak and for Khrushchev, pressurising Berlin was a way of evening up the sides

Question 25

The building of the Berlin Wall

Answer 25

Before 1961, Khrushchev was keen to avoid any wall between East and West as he didn’t want communism to be seen as a prison. However, early on 13th August 1961, East German troops lined borders so no East could pass, Barbed wire fences put up and trains couldn’t cross. Over the next week, a concrete wall was built around West Berlin. Soviet tanks waited few miles outside ready to intervene. There were no protests and most people stayed at home. It split families as it was illegal to cross. It kept the city divided for almost 30 years. Both sides claimed victory for the Berlin Wall

Question 26

Checkpoint Charlie

Answer 26

Oct 27th 1961- Red Army ranks pull up refusing to let Americans pass into the East. All day long, the sides face each other in a tense stand-off lasting 18 hours until a diplomatic agreement was reached and both slowly backed down. The fact the US didn’t take immediate action made Khruschev think Kennedy was weak and could be pushed around, even though the US had already resumed nuclear testing.

Question 27

Kennedy’s speech in Berlin

Answer 27

June 1953- Kennedy travels to West Berlin to give him the chance to get his foreign policy back on track. He made a speech to 120,000 West Berliners talking about the evils of communism and the need to protect the freedom of West Berlin. He made it clear his commitment to fighting communism sending a clear message to Khrushchev and USSR

Question 28

Cuban revolution

Answer 28

The Cuban Revolution (1953-1959) was a social and armed conflict led by Fidel Castro to overthrow the government of the corrupt, capitalists dictator Batista. Many people in Cuba were unhappy with the social and racial inequality, the corruption, and the lack of justice of Batista’s regime.

Question 29

The Bay of Pigs

Answer 29

The US weren’t happy with the Cuban revolution as it was turning Cuba communist. So, they trained a large group of Cuban exiles in Florida to invade Cuba to inspire the Cubans (who US assumed hated Castro) to revolt and overthrow the regime, Shortly before the invasion, it became clear most Cubans supported Castro making Us doubt the plan and fear military disaster. Because they spent a decent amount of money on it, the CIA couldn’t abound on it and agreed it should be launched. So, Cuban exiles landed on the beach of the Bay of Pigs on the 17th April 1961. The plan was a huge backfire though, unsurprisingly. Cuba supports soviets and tension increases. Kennedy looks weak

Question 30

Cuban Missle Crisis

Answer 30

1962- USSR was thrilled to have a communist friendship with Cuba as it neighboured the US, he saw it as an opportunity to instal nuclear missiles in Cuba close enough to hit the US. The Us had already set up nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy, close enough to the USSR. Kennedy was told a US spy plane had photographed sites in Cuba installing missiles, confirming suspicions. After initially thinking about invasion with the ExComm, Kennedy decided on a less extreme response. He made a speech publicly to US saying about the missiles and announced a naval blockade from all countries on Cuba to quarantine them and stop the problem.

Question 31

Outcomes of Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 31

Short term- Increased tension to the maximum (DEFCOM 3 only 2 levels below nuclear war). During crisis, US and USSR exchange letterings finally stopping the crisis.

Long term- Direct phone link between them to discuss Nuclear weaponary. Eventually led to 1963 Test Ban theory (end of nuclear testing). In 1969, Non-Proliferation of Nuclear weapons Treaty where both superpowers promoted ‘peaceful co-existence’ . Helped to enter into SALT in 1960s

Question 32

Cuban Missile Crisis after Naval blockade announcement

Answer 32

Kennedy receives a letter from Khrushchev saying Soviet ships will force their way through. The next day (Oct 24th) soviets get there but decide to turn back due to the huge defence by the US. U2 spy planes report increased missile launch sites in Cuba. Khrushchev sends Kennedy another letter promising to remove launch sites if US agrees to lift blockade and promise not to invade Cuba. He then says theirs will only be removed if US removes theirs too. USSR publicly declares to remove missiles making it look weaker when it was sort of the other way around

Question 33

Prague Spring

Answer 33

1968- Brezhnev becomes USSR leader in Oct 1964. Czechoslovakia was a country in central Europe behind iron curtain as it turned communist in 1945. By 1960s, people were unhappy as many were out of work and goods were poor quality. Alexander Dubček became leader in 1968 for a year as he was forced from power and expelled from communist party. As leader, he called his new communism ‘socialism with a human face’ meaning more freedom of speech, less censorship, and no secret police. These were popular and felt like a new beginning, known as the ‘Prague Spring’. He promised Brezhnev the country would stay communism

Question 34

Soviet response to Prague Spring

Answer 34

The no censorship caused communism to be criticised on TV and freedom of speech meant communist politicians were criticised in newspapers. At a meeting in Bratislava on the 3rd of August 1968, Brezhnev read out ‘a letter from Czech communists asking for help’. He announced Brezhnev Doctrine saying it wouldn’t allow any Eastern European countries to reject communism. Over 2 weeks later, 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czech who’d dint fight back

Question 35

Communist response to Prague Spring

Answer 35

Communism around the world were outraged by soviet action in Czech. Non communist countries especially in Europe, saw it is a betrayals of communist values and an act of imperialism. Protests happened in China and Yugoslavia who weren’t under USSR sphere of influence. US were quick to condemn Soviet action but took little action on the situation as they were more concerned with US soldiers dying in Vietnam War. US and USSR had been on better terms since the missile crisis and didn’t want to interfere with that

Question 36

Détente

Answer 36

The period from 1969 to 1980; when relations between US and USSR improved and tensions decreased (easing of hostilities). It was a policy started by President Nixon and Brezhnev

Question 37

Reasons for Détente

Answer 37

-Relations between most powerful communist states USSR and China had began to deteriorate and eventually broke down. This meant they were both more willing to work with US which were happy about this

-Nixon knew war in Vietnam needed to end

-Arms race was expensive and money would be better off improving living conditions

Question 38

What did Détente look like

Answer 38

-SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) - Negotiations with both sides agreeing to limit number of ABMs and ICBMs signed in May 1972 by Nixon and Brezhev
-1975, US astronauts and USSR cosmonauts shook hands in space
-1975, Helsinki agreement, singing for basic human rights in countries