Consequence - The Cold War Flashcards
What was the cold war
An ideological struggle between the Communist superpower The Soviet Union (USSR) and the Capitalist superpower The United States of America
When was the the cold war waged between
1945 - 1990
What was the goal of the superpowers
To stop the spread of each other’s power to expand their influence globally
How was the cold war ‘fought’
Foreign Aid
Military support to sympathetic governments (proxy wars)
International defence agreements
Nuclear Arms Race
Space Race
Propaganda
What was the Yalta Agreement
Made between the Allied powers in Feburary 1945 detaling what would happen at the end of WW2
What was the first point of the Yalta Agreement
The people of the countries freed from German control should be allowed to determine their own government
What was the second point of the Yalta Agreement
Germany would be divided into zones controlled by the Allies at the end of the war
What was the third point of the Yalta Agreement
The Soviet Union would be given the Eastern part of Poland and Poland would receive parts of East Germany as compensation
What was the fourth point of the Yalta Agreement
The United Nations would be established
What was the fifth point of the Yalta Agreement
Soviet forces would attack Japanese forces in the East
When did Germany surrender
May 1945
How many Soviet troops were stationed across the countries of Eastern Europe by the time Germany surrendered
12 million
What did Churchill remark in relation to Stalin having unchecked influence in the regions of where the troops were stationed
That an Iron Curtain had descended between Eastern and Western Europe
How did Stalin go against his Yalta promise
By denying free elections instead of imposing communist governments on the nations of Eastern Europe by overthrowing leaders and rigging elections
What was Stalin’s justification for his actions in relation to the Yalta agreement
“The Soviet Union’s loss of life (in WW2) has been several times greater than taht of Britain and the US put together… So what is so surprising about the Soviet Union, anxious for its future safety, trying to see that loyal governments should exist in these countries”
What was the US’s response to the expansion of Soviet influence
The Truman doctrine and the Marshall plan
What was the Truman doctrine
Established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces
What was the Marshall plan
A program designed to rehabilitate the economies of 17 western and southern Eurpean countries in order to create stable conditions in which democratic insitutions could survive
What was the Nuclear Arms Race
The Soviet Union and the USA trying to make the more destructive and powerful bombs, building massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons
When did the Nuclear Arms Race peak
1985 - when the Soviets possessed 39,000 nuclear weapons and the US had 23,000
What was MAD
Mutally Assured Destruction - The massive amount of weapons acted as a deterrent to the other power and resulted in a stalemate
How did the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki tie into this
The use of nuclear weapons on them by the US began the arms race between the US and Soviets.
When was the first man made satelite released into orbit
4th October 1957 by the soviets
How did the release of the first satelite into orbit cause the space race
Having a soviet device orbiting at times over the US made the public very nervous since while it only is used to transmit radio signals it could also send a nuclear bomb to the US. They also didnt want to seem less technologically advanced than the Soviets
What type of politics could the Cold War be definied by
Tit for Tat politics - where both the US and Soviets tried to keep pace with each other and one up each other. This is seen in both the arms and space race
When was NATO formed and what was it
Formed in 1949, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) is a full military alliance created by the US, Canada, Britain, France and other western European nations
When was the Warsaw Pact formed and what was it
Formed in 1955, it was a collective defence treaty established by the Soviets in response to NATO
How long was the Berlin Wall up
1961-1989
Why was the Berlin wall built
To stop people escaping the harsh conditions of east Berlin for a more prosperous life in the west
How long was the Berlin wall
45 km long
Who built the Berlin wall
The Soviets
What is a proxy war
A war instigated by powers who do not fight each other directly. Instead they provide monetary and military support to a side to promote their ideology. This way a country can still fight without ever actually declaring war against the enemy they are fighting. Rather they are fighting in support of another force
What are two key examples of proxy wars fought during the cold war
The korean war and Vietnam war
From which points was the korean war fought
1950-1953
Why did the Americans get involved with the korean war?
When Kim II Sung invaded the south, since Truman thought that Kim’s invasion was being pushed by the Soviets and that it was a challenge to the “Free World”
How many people died/wounded
Nearly 5 million people died, 40,000 American died and there were 100,000 wounded americans
How did China get involved
The Chinese forces felt that the Americans forces were getting too close China counter-attacked on November 1st 1950
What were the effects of the Korean war
It was very expensive, both in terms of lives and money.
Who was Ho Chi Minh
He fought for liberation from a colonial power and was trying to establish a communist dictatorship in vietnam
How were the US involved with the Vietnam war
The Americans supported France to maintain their colonial empire since they were blinded by their fear of communism
How much did the vietnam war cost americans
100 billion spent, 58,000 Americans died
How many Vietnamese people died
3-4 million people
How did the Vietnam war impacted the relationship between American people and their government
Before Vietnam, most Americans trusted their government, even when they knew it did horrible things. But after the war, and largely because of it, the trust was gone
When did the vietnam war start and end
1 November 1955 - 30th April 1975
