Cold War Quiz terms Flashcards
Berlin Blockade Crisis
Joseph Stalin (Soviet Leader) imposed the Berlin Blockade June 1948-May 1949, it cut off all land and water transit between West Berlin and West Germany, it was an attempt to push the allying countries out of the city. allying countries being the U.S., France and Britan.
Connected to this was the Airlift. It was when the allying countries airlifted food, fuel, and other supplies into the city.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization created in 1949 by the U.S., Canada and several other Eurpoean nations, it was orginally to be for collective security against the Soviet Union. It is a political and military alliance. Commited to protecting each other from threats.
NORAD
North America Aerospace Defence Command is between Canada and the United States, main goal is to keep North America safe from aerospace and maritime threats. It was established in 1957 and signed in 1958.
Warsaw Pact
It was the Soviet Union’s response to NATO, it was a collective defence treaty established by the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states.
MAD
Is Mutual Assured Destruction, A military strategy that a nuclear attack from one superpower willl be met with a nuclear counter attack. This deterred the use of nuclear weapons because it would mean that neither the attacker or the defender would come out successful and that both sides would be annihilated.
Korean War
Happened in 1950-1953, North Korean armed forces entered South Korea, it divided the communist side North Korea and the non-communist side South Korea. The North Koreans were aided by China and the Soviet Union and the South Koreans were aided by the United Nations. That included the United states, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa.
UNEF
United Nations Emergency Force made in 1956. It was a military and peacekeeping operation. It was made by the United Nations to put an end to the Suez Crisis.
Suez Crisis
When the Egyptian president Nasser seized the French and British Company that built the Suez Canal. Worried Western countries because it was used to carry oil to Britain and if Egypt blocked that it would damage Britain’s economy. Egypt claimed that the reason why they took it was to use the shipping tolls to finance the construction of a dam to control flooding of the Nile. While the canal continued to operate as usual Britain, France and Israel began plotting a military response. Meanwhile Nesser was gaining military support from the Soviet Union. Britain, France and Israel plotted a military attack on Egypt after diplomacy failed. Israel attacked 42 km to the canal and when the British and the French ordered them both to retreat which was preplanned. When Nesser refused to retreat Britain and France bombed the Canal Zone. Canada’s secretary of state for foreign affairs Pearson had suggested the peace keeping force which was approved by the UN and the peace keeping force was known as the UNEF.
John F Kennedy
He was the 35th U.S. president and also the youngest he was the president from 1961-1963 when he died from an assassination. during the Cold War he promised to strengthen American military forces and their stance against the Soviet Union. He also pledged to focus on American nuclear forces seeing as the Soviet Union had. He stressed the contest between a free world and a communist one.
Vietnam War
It was a 20 year long (1955-1975) conflict that put the communist government of North Vietnam with support from Soviet Union against South Vietnam and their ally the United States.
Client War
The two main players part of the conflict (United States and the Soviet Union) never actually went to war with each other but they helped support others when it was Communist vs Non-Communist for example in the Vietnamese and Korean War
Draft Dodgers
A Draft Dodger is someone who illegally avoids joining the military after they were drafted to. Some used legal deferments to get out, meaning certain people could avoid joining the military, for example some professions. Another way they avoided it was feeling to Canada.
Cyprus
An Island divided by the Turkish and the Greek.
The United Kingdom used Cyprus to get oil and the United States used it to monitor Soviet Union missals. The Soviet Union wanted to gain power in the easter Mediterranean and they wanted to unify and demilitarized Cyprus. Turkey then formed a resistance group that grew the tension between the Greek and the Turkish. The battle between the two grew to be called the Cyprus Crisis in which it gave the Soviet Union a chance to attack NATO, soon after the U.S began to intervene because it was a threat to NATO’s security.
Veterans
A former member who served in the military, air force, or naval, who was discharged under conditions other than dishonourable.
Detente
It was a period of time in which the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were not as high. 1967-1979. Many things led to this such as the Cuban Missile Crisis which taught them that negotiation was better than attack. Another one was that both their economies were effected deeply due to the arms race. During this time trade increased between the two.
SALT one
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks agreement signed in 1972. It was aimed to put limitation on the amount of ICBM’s and SLBM’s (submarine launched ballistic missiles) that each side could possess
SALT two
It was the second part of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks signed in 1979 and it put a limit on the amount of nuclear weapons each side could have. It banned certain missiles and limited delivery weapons to 2250 for each side. Both countries honoured the agreement until 1986
Mikhail Gorbachev
He was a Soviet politician who was elected as leader in 1985, he was also the last Soviet Union leader. He supported democratic reforms and introduced ideas such as Glasnost and Perestroika. He is credited with ending the Cold War because his efforts led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990-1991.
Glasnost
It was under Gorbachev and it allowed the citizens of the Soviet Union to publicly discuss social and political problems and possible solutions to them. He encouraged them to scrutinize their leaders and allowed for some exposure by the mass media. The people became more aware of problems and corruption in their government. It also meant raising of the Iron Curtain
Perestroika
It was a series of political and economic reform attempts made by the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. It was made by Mikhail Gorbackev. It was meant to kick-start their economy but it was a failure.
Bay of Pigs
In April 1961, the United States and Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro, who was the Cuban leader, this attempt failed.
Cuban Missile Crisis
It was 13 days during October 1963 in which the United States and the Soviet Union came the closest to nuclear war. Both groups had their fingers hovering over the buttons, it was caused by the Soviet Union planting missiles in Cuba, which was close to the United States coast.
Star Wars
It was launched by Reagen and is also knows as the SDI (Strategic Defence Initiative), it was a technology program. The United States would be protected from enemy balisitic missiles because this space-based shield would detect and destroy them as soon as the launched.
Nuclear Parity
When the United States and the Soviet Union were roughly on the same level when it came to nuclear warfare and weapons. This created MAD
