Cold War Rivalries, 1955-63 Flashcards
1
Q
What were Eisenhower’s aims for the arms race?
A
- to get “more bang for the buck” = strategy aimed at reducing military costs while maximising effectiveness = associated With his new look policy which emphasised nuclear deterrence over expensive conventional forces
- advocated for a stronger reliance on nuclear weapons and strategic air power - believed it would provide a more cost effective way to deter soviet aggression
- hoped the proposals of massive retaliation would deter the Soviets from expansionist activities
- hoped that the possession of a large nuclear army would encourage Soviets to behave
2
Q
What were Khrushchev’s aims in the arms race?
A
- went for the nuclear option to reduce his reliance on costly conventional forces
- intended to facilitate the fulfilment of peaceful co-existence
- nuclear parity with the west - sought to close the nuclear gap with the west by expanding the soviet nuclear arsenal
- reducing conventional military costs while maximising- shift in society defence strategy from large conventional forces to nuclear deterrence
3
Q
Why was there such an emphasis on stockpiling weapons in the USSR?
A
- Mao’s challenge to Khrushchev’s claim on leadership of the communist world
4
Q
When did the USA test a lithium based H bomb?
A
- march 1954
- 1500 times more powerful than the bomb used at Hiroshima
5
Q
When did the USSR catch up to the lithium based H bomb?
A
- by 1955 - also tested an airborne H-bomb that was 100 times more powerful than their first attempts
6
Q
What was the strategic aid air command?
A
- set up in 1948- an organisation set up to serve as a primary defence system for the USA
- role was to provide 24 hour readiness to respond to a nuclear threat
- responsible for the deployment and management of the USA’s nuclear force
7
Q
What was the November 1957 Gaither report?
A
- aimed to investigate the state of US-societ capability
- popular view was that the Soviets were catching up with the USA
- revealed an alleged 100-30 missile gap in ICBMS
8
Q
When did the Soviets successfully test the first ICBMS?
A
- by summer 1957
9
Q
What did the May 1960 U-2 spy plane reveal?
A
- revealed the slow rate of nuclear production in the USSR
- deployment of Soviet ICBMS was limited
Eg - by 1959, only 10 SS-6 ICBMS had been deployed
10
Q
How else did Eisenhower strengthen the USA’s nuclear capacity?
A
- 1957= negotiated an agreement with Britain at he Bermuda conference that enabled the USA to station IRBMs in Britain
- similar agreement reached with NATO in December 1957
11
Q
What other nuclear technology was developed in 1959?
A
- submarine launched ballistic missile Polaris (SLBM)
12
Q
What comment did Khruschev make in November 1956
A
- “we’ll bury you” - in a room full of western diplomats
13
Q
What was the nature of the space race?
A
- it was a continuation of nuclear proliferation - theorised that the ability to build a satellite would give the developer superiority in the arms race
14
Q
When was Sputnik?
A
- October 4th 1957
- symbolised the first victory in the technological arms race
15
Q
Why was Sputnik significant?
A
It demonstrated that Soviet ICBMs were capable of reaching any point on the planet
16
Q
When did the space race begin?
A
- July 1955 - when the eisenhower administration announced that it intended to launch a satellite bay the end of 1958
17
Q
When was Sputnik II?
A
- November 1957, dog (Lanka) launched into space for a 10 day orbit
18
Q
What was the significance of Sputnik II?
A
- convinced the USA that the ussr had the technology to launch nuclear missiles against it + was convinced that the only reason the Sputnik programme was created was to act as a nuclear threat to the USA
19
Q
Why was Sputnik so problematic for Eisenhower?
A
- the democrats began to pressure the Eisenhower administration because they accused them of allowing the USSR to take a lead in the space race in order to cut costs
20
Q
How much did the US authorise for technological developments in space following Sputnik?
A
- September 1958 - authorised $1 billion
21
Q
What was a disaster for the USA in December 1957?
A
- the USA’s navy vanguard rocket crashed on its take off from cape Canaveral
- referred to as flopnik
22
Q
Who led the soviet space programme?
A
- Sergei P korolev
23
Q
When did the USSR launch a satellite to orbit the moon?
A
- October 1959
24
Q
When did the USSR launch launch the first manned satellite to orbit?
A
- April 1961
- Yuri Gagarin was the first Soviet cosmonaut
25
How many space missions had the USA launched by 1962 as opposed to the USSR?
- 63, USSR only launched 15
26
What other space developments did the USA make by august 1960?
- the US discoverer satellite programme was providing long-ranging intelligence gathering photos from space
- enabled the USA to gain more coverage on one capsule than the combined 4 years of U-2 coverage
27
Why was the space race important to the US?
- belief that control of space would lead to global control
28
When was NASA established?
- 1958
29
Did the space race allow for an effective peaceful coexistence?
- to a degree, no
- USA began to feel as though their influence was being undermined - the success of Sputnik is what pushed the US to develop their own space programme, in fear that Soviet satellites would impose a nuclear threat too
30
What was the result of the arms and space race?
- by the mid 1960s, both the US and the USSR had enough nuclear power to obliterate their opponent
- became known as mutual assured destruction = both sides knew that any attack upon the other opponent would be devastating to themselves - thus restraining them from attacking each other
31
How did both sides hope to use nuclear weapons ?
- as a way to extract concessions from each others, or other parties such as china
32
What were the motivations behind the first Berlin ultimatum?
- having just defeated ‘reformists’ in both Poland and Hungary - ulbricht knew that Khrushchev would have to support his hardline brand of communism = aimed to revive his “building socialism” programme i.e imposing Stalinist economic policies
- late October 1958 - ulbricht launched an attack on the west + west Berlin’s right to exist - called the west to recognise the GDR
33
How many East Germans had fled by 1958?
- 2 million
34
What else motivated khruschev to issue the ultimatum?
- he had quickly bounced back from his propaganda embarrassment of having to send tanks into Hungary to save Socalism
- confident in USSR’s economy - “we’ll bury you”
- space success - Sputnik 1 + 2
- development of long ranging missiles meant that the USA was no longer protected by distance
- fresh from defeating the anti-party coup organised by his rivals in the politburo
35
How did Khrushchev describe Berlin?
- publicly - “bone in his throat”
- privately - “testicles of the west”
36
When and what was the Berlin ultimatum issued?
- 27th November 1958 in his first formal press conference in the Kremlin
- declared he had to remove the “malignant tumour” of Berlin
- west had to agree to a German peace treaty within 6 months - it must also liquidate the occupation regime and turn Berlin into a demilitarised free city
- if the west did not agree to this, Khrushchev would unilaterally sign a treaty with the GDR and turn over all control of access to Berlin to the East Germans
37
What was the USA’s response to the ultimatum?
- Eisenhower made it clear that access to western sectors of Berlin remained central to American policy
-
38
How much of the East German population fled by 1961?
- 3.5 million, about 25% of the population especially bad due to heavy loss of engineers, professors, technicians etc
39
When was the deadline for the ultimatum?
- 27th may 1959 - Khrushchev quietly allowed it to pass
- pretended there had never been an ultimatum and the west simply misunderstood him
- Khrushchev then visited the USA in September at camp David
40
What was this significance of the first Berlin ultimatum?
- seemed like American brinkmanship had been successful - Khrushchev backing down was largely due to him recognising the USA’s determination to maintain the established set up in Berlin, and the USA’s willingness to risk nuclear war to do so
41
Why did Khrushchev reissue the ultimatum in June 1961?
- reissued during a meeting with Kennedy in Vienna
-large amount of desertions
- fear of the bundeswehr advancing to the borders of Poland and Czechoslovakia + therefore USSR borders - also feared the collapse of east Germany would leave a power vaccum for the West Germans to fill
42
What was kennedy’s response to the reissuing of the ultimatum ?
- increased defence budget by $3.2 bison and $207 million for fallout shelter programmes
43
When was the standoff at checkpoint Charlie?
- October 1961
44
What was the standoff at checkpoint Charlie?
- key crossing point between east and West Berlin - dispute over free movement in Berlin of allied personnel
- American and Soviet tanks faced each other - lasted 16 hours before a diplomatic agreement
45
When was the Berlin Wall built?
- august 13th 1961- Khrushchev gave permission to ulbricht
- enabled avoidance of nuclear confrontation - Kennedy argued a wall is better than a war but previously made it clear that the US would use nuclear weapons if necessary
