Section B [16] Mark Questions - Past Paper Essays

Question 1

Section B

Explain why and how the USA and the USSR became more involved in the Vietnam conflict between 1950 and 1968. [16]

Answer 1

• French colony of Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos) occupied by Japan during WWII.
• 1945 France tried to recolonise but were resisted by Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh.
• US reluctantly supported the French as ‘the lesser of two evils.’
• The US also got involved because of the Truman Doctrine (1947) and their policy of containment.
• The United States funded the French with $1.4 billion between 1946 & 1954.
• French defeated - US now backed Ngo Dinh Diem.
• Vietnam vital to US trade in the region - rubber & tungsten.
• Viet Minh/NLF/Viet Cong mounted guerrilla campaign in South Vietnam after partition along the 17th parallel.
• US sent money, equipment & ‘military advisors’ to Vietnam (16,000 by 1960).
• Kennedy - Vietnam ‘cornerstone of democracy in South-East Asia.’
• US was losing the battle by 1963 - 60% of South Vietnam under Viet Cong.
• Gulf of Tonkin Incident & Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - ‘grandma’s nightshirt’ & ‘all means necessary’.
• Operation Rolling Thunder - aerial bombardment, strategic hamlets, search & destroy.
• 1965 - Troops on the ground. Numbers of troops grew up to 500,000.
• 1968 - My Lai Massacre (March ‘68). Hearts & minds.
• USSR - Pattern of Cold War. One Superpower directly involved whilst the other stays on the side-lines.
• USSR supported their communist brothers in the Vietcong in resisting American Imperialism.
• USSR leaders of world communism (China).
• USSR supported with weapons, finance & fuel.
• China was used as a supply route.
• The more the US got bogged down the more the USSR supported the Vietcong.
• Crucially they avoided direct involvement or confrontation.
• Later on China and USSR began to differ on Vietnamese policy - competition for leadership in communism.

Question 2

Section B

Explain how and why the city of Berlin affected relations between the USA and the USSR between 1945 and 1961. [16]

Answer 2

Introduction:
• WWII - Division of Germany, Austria & Berlin
• Allied Zones (4) controlled by ‘Allied Control Council’ (Potsdam)
• Yalta, February 1945
• Potsdam, July/August 1945
• Berlin continued to be a flashpoint, located 110 miles inside E.Germany

• Tensions develop

• Ideological differences
• Free elections decided at Yalta didn’t happen
• Truman Doctrine (March 1947) and Marshall Aid (ERP) threatened the growth of communism
• Merging of Allied Zones (French, British, American) in 1948
• Berlin blockade on 24th June 1948 (‘Trial of Strength’)
• The city of Berlin became a ‘microcosm’ in the Cold War
• Berlin Airlift, June 26th 1948 to 12th May 1949 (324 days)
• Operation Plainfare
• Berlin Blockade and Airlift was a propaganda defeat for the USSR. Stalin was made to look weak and this affected his position as the leader of world communism. This lead to resentment and a further deterioration of relations between the US and USSR.
• New currency in West Germany and West Berlin
• New currency in East Germany and East Berlin
• Berlin was also ideally situated for espionage (spying), which affected relations.
• All of this affected relations between the US and USSR!
• Between 1949-1958 2 million East German citizens crossed over to the west.
• Berlin continued to be a ‘Hole in the iron curtain’, a beacon of hope.
• 1956 Khrushchev’s Conciliatory speech - peaceful co-existence (Relations seemed to be improving).
• 1958 Khrushchev’s Ultimatum, the West had 6 months to sign a peace treaty with E.Germany (GDR) and leave Berlin, which would become a ‘free city’.
• 1959 Khrushchev visits the US (Relations improving)
• 1961 Berlin Wall, on the 13th August a fence was erected.

• Conclusion: Overall the city of Berlin …

Question 3

Section B

Explain how relations changed between the USA and the USSR in the period 1968 to 1985. [16]

Answer 3

• 1960s - Height of the Cold War
- Both superpowers needed to de-escalate the situation.
• 1968 - Cold War continues
- US campaign in Vietnam, 525,000 troops present in ‘68.
- Tet Offensive in January 1968, US losing control.
- USSR, Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring).
- January 1968 Alexander Dubcek orders reforms.
- Late July 1968 agreement reached between the Czechs and Soviets.
- 20-21st August, 5 Warsaw Pact members (USSR, Hungary, Bulgaria, E.Germany and Poland).
- 400,000 troops (‘training exercise’, ‘manoeuvres’).
- Brezhnev Doctrine 1968, essentially the Truman Doctrine in reverse.
- ‘If any communist country attempted to make capitalist reforms, then other communist countries would act together to prevent this from happening.’
- Relations are bad

• Détente
- Period in the 1970s, easing of tensions between the two superpowers through the signing of various agreements and treaties.
- Reasons for Détente:
1. Both sides feared nuclear war.
2. The cost of the arms race.
3. Both superpowers faced economic problems. US trade deficit in 1971 (first time since 1945). USSR grain harvest fail in 1972. 1973 Oil Crisis, worldwide recession.
4. Both superpowers found it harder to control their satellite states (Vietnam, Czechoslovakia).
- Détente lead to increased trade with China, USSR and US.
- The USSR became more dependent on the West.
- Co-operation was achieved in some areas. (Vietnam, January 1973 Ceasefire Agreement. US troops withdrawn and POWs exchanged). (Space Program, Apollo-Soyuz 1975).
- Détente lead to the signing of many agreements.
Moscow Treaty Aug 1970
SALT I May 1972
Basic Treaty Dec 1972
Helsinki Agreement Aug 1975
SALT II June 1979
- Improved relations

• Not everything changed. The USSR still engaged in communist expansion during the period: Angola 1975, Ethiopia 1977, Yemen 1978.
• Afghanistan 1979, December 24th
• Soviets invaded on Christmas Eve with 85,000 troops.
• Signalled the end of Détente, New Cold War.
• Carter Doctrine: ‘An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America and such an assault will be repealed by any means necessary, including military force.’
• The doctrine was implemented in a number of ways:
  1. Economic sanctions on the USSR.
  2. Grain exports from the US, vital to the USSR, were stopped.
  3. Moscow Summer Olympics (1980) were boycotted by the US and 60 other nations.
  4. United States military expenditure was increased.
• Soviets boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.
• New arms race, SDI. Strategic Defence Initiative (Star Wars).
• Relations worsened

• Gorbachev 1985

• Gorbachev abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine of 1968.
• Glasnost and Peristroika.
• Relations improved, however these policies ultimately lead to the fall of the Soviet Union.

• Conclusion: Relations changed drastically between the USA and USSR during the period 1968-1985, improving in the long term through Détente and Gorbachev’s reforms and policy.

Question 4

Section B

Explain why and how the USSR faced challenges to its control over Eastern Europe between 1953 and 1968. [16]

Answer 4

• Introduction:

• 1953, death of Stalin
• 1953-1955 Malenkov
• 1955 Khrushchev comes to power
• February 1956 Khrushchev speaks and denounces Stalin
• New Era? Khrushchev’s speeches speak of ‘peaceful co-existence’.
• Many hoped for reform and change

• Poland

• June 1956 the Poles rebelled against high food prices (inflation), low wages and standard of living.
• Khrushchev sent tanks into Warsaw (Poland) apparently at the request of the Polish Communist leader.
• 53 were killed in the riots that followed.
• Khrushchev visited and then accepted the moderate Gomulka as the new leader of Poland.

• Hungary Uprising 1956

• Catholic country, religion was frowned upon by Soviets.
• Hungarian culture was under attack (Magyar).
• Secret police in Hungary (AVO) were unpopular.
• Presence of Soviet troops was disliked also.
• Many people also believed that the USSR was taking Hungary’s resources (food and fuel) out of the country to the USSR
• Khrushchev’s speech gave Hungarians hope
• USSR forced the hardline communist leader Rakosi to resign in July 1956.
• Demands for reform. Workers, students and the army took to the streets on Ocober 23rd 1956
• Riots spread and another popular communist leader was brought into power, Imre Nagy. He appealed to the UN for assistance in defending Hungary. It appeared to the Soviets that the Hungarians were trying to break away from the USSR.
• USSR feared a ‘reverse domino effect’ and withdrew their troops and tanks on October 28th 1956.
• November 1st 1956, Nagy announced free elections and further reforms. He also announced his decision to leave the Warsaw Pact.
• November 4th 1956, Soviet troops moved in and 3,000-4,000 were killed. Nagy was arrested and executed. Another 150,000 fled abroad.
• Western powers were unable to intervene for a variety of reasons: Suez, Austrian neutrality and Soviet threats.
• Nagy was replaced by Janos Kadar, who carried out many of Nagy’s reforms but did not leave the Warsaw Pact.

• Berlin 1958-61

• 1949-58 2 million East German citizens left through Berlin
• Khrushchev’s Ultimatum in 1958
• Berlin Wall 13th August 1961

• Czechoslovakia 1968 (Prague Spring)

• 1960s, growing discontent mainly due to inflation, food shortages and a decline in living standards.
• January 1968 Alexander Dubcek ordered reforms, however he ensured that Czechoslovakia would remain inside the Eastern Bloc, Warsaw Pact and Comecon.
• This did not prevent the Soviets from invading.
• Late July 1968 agreement reached between the Czechs and the Soviets.
• 20/21st August 1968, 400,000 troops (5 countries from Warsaw Pact).
• 73 died.
• Dubcek summoned to Moscow. Reinstated but soon demoted to a junior position in the forestry department.
• Establishment of Brezhnev Doctrine in 1968

Question 5

Section B

Why and how did the USSR’s control over Eastern Europe change between 1968 and 1991? [16]

Answer 5

Intro:
Definition and explanation of USSR control in Eastern Europe in 1968. Brief history of their involvement:
Sphere of influence (Decided at Yalta and Potsdam)
Satellite state = A state which is connected to a superpower.
Power Bloc (Eastern/Soviet Bloc) = Superpower + Satellite states.

Why did the situation change between 1968 and 1991? Soviet economic decline, popular dissatisfaction (Soviet people were unhappy), reforms by new soviet leader Gorbachev from 1985.

How did the situation change? Vietnam, Détente, renewal of Cold War in the 1980’s. Pressure on the USSR - years of political and economic stagnation under Brezhnev. Gorbachev and his attempts to change - Peristroika and Glasnost.

Main body:
• Czechoslovakia 1968 - demands for reform came from the people. Alexander Dubcek elected a new Communist leader to reform. The Prague Spring - reforms. Soviet response under the cover of Warsaw Pact military manoeuvres. Prague Spring crushed. Dubcek demoted and Soviet control restored, Brezhnev Doctrine.
• The Soviet Union in decline 1970s. Economy in ruins - inefficiency and poor production levels. Popular dissatisfaction grows. Too much expenditure on arms and on satellite states.
• Gorbachev comes to the leadership in 1985 realising reform and change is needed. Glasnost (openness) and Peristroika (restructuring).
Gorbachev also abandons the Brezhnev Doctrine and declares that the communist states in Eastern Europe are no longer satellites but partners.
This has the effect of encouraging opposition in Eastern Europe. It offers hope, encouragement and opportunity. Export Glasnost & Peristroika.
• Opposition to communism in Eastern Europe. Poland in 1980 - Solidarity - Why? Polish government response to suppress the movement. This was successful but only put off the day of change.
• 1989 - Poland again the site for discontent. This time the Polish government could no longer resist the demand for change.
• As soon as Polish communism fell the rest of Eastern Europe began to follow.
• The Year of Miracles - Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, E.Germany, and Albania.
• 1991 - The Fall of the USSR.

• Conclusion:
Answer the question directly using the information above in summation.

Question 6

Section B

Explain how the USA became involved in Vietnam and why the US Army experienced problems in Vietnam by 1968. [16]

Answer 6

• Japan’s 1945 defeat —> Vietnam open to attack.
• US feared the spread of communism in Asia.
• The US had to fulfil their foreign policy, Truman Doctrine 1947 (Containment).
• French try to retake control.
• The US (a republic) did not believe in colonialism but supported the French as the ‘lesser of two evils’, to prevent the spread of communism (Asian Domino Theory).
• The US supported the French militarily (through military advisers), economically ($1.4 billion) and diplomatically (through outwardly supporting their campaign in Vietnam)
• The French campaign extended from 1946 to 1954.
• French defeated (suffered a major setback) in Dien Bien Phu in 1953. The French had set up camp but were outmanoeuvred by the Viet Minh and lost 13,500 of their 16,500 troops stationed in Dien Bien Phu.
• French singed an armistice in 1954.
• After the Geneva Peace Conference, Vietnam was partitioned along the 17th parallel.
• The US supported the South and prevented the elections decided at Geneva, instead supporting a government lead by Ngo Dinh Diem (a catholic nationalist).
• Ngo Dinh Diem stayed in power until 1963 when he was assassinated.
• Gulf of Tonkin Incident - 2nd August 1964 USS Maddox fired upon by North Vietnamese in international waters.
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, voted by Congress by a proportion of 48:2. This gave the president the right to use ‘… all necessary measures, in the war.’
• Lyndon B. Johnson ordered air strikes against North Vietnam in March 1965 and sent troops into South Vietnam (which arrived on March 8th 1965).
• US troops increased from 16,000 in 1964 to 525,000 in 1968.

The US army experienced problems in Vietnam by 1968 due to:

• US soldiers:

• Too young (average age of 19).
• Drug usage became a problem.
• Poorly trained.
• The US soldiers were not ideologically cohesive, and became increasingly disillusioned as the war went on.
• Rotation policy, troops spent time climatising to the new environment.
• US reliance on bombing raids was misguided (Operation Rolling Thunder).
• The US had made no efforts to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the South Vietnamese people.
• This was not helped by incidences such as My Lai in March 1968 (300 fatalities for 3 guns). Search and Destroy Missions.
• Vietcong tactics were effective:
• Geurrila Warfare.
• Experience gained from the Japanese and French campaign.
• Ho Chi Minh stated: ‘The people are the water, our armies are the fish.’
• There was a system of tunnels stretching for 200 miles under South Vietnam.
• The Vietcong were ideologically cohesive.

• The Tet Offensive January 1968.

• The Tet = Vietnamese Religious Festival (Buddhist).
• 70,000 troops attacked all major cities and suffered heavy losses.
• It was a military disaster, propaganda success.
• Turning point in the war.

Question 7

Section B

Explain how and why the USA, USSR and China became involved in the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. [16]

Answer 7

Introduction:
• Post WWII, Korean Peninsula was relieved from Japanese occupation.
• Soviets came from the North and the Americans from the South, liberating Korea.
• Korean territory partitioned along the 38th parallel.
• Soon their was a communist government in the North (Korean People’s Democratic Republic) led by Kim Il Sung and a liberal democratic government in the South led by Syngmann Rhee.
• In October 1st of 1949, Mao Zedong declared China a Communist Republic (Democratic People’s Republic of China, DPRC) after defeating the Nationalists led by Chang Kai-Chek.
• To the Americans who had just won a victory in Berlin it seemed as if communism was on the march in the east.

Why did the USA get involved?
• Harry Truman faced opposition at home from senator Joseph McCarthy, who criticised his foreign policy as being soft on communism. Truman had to prove the critics (anti-communists) wrong.
• Truman knew he needed another diplomatic foreign policy victory since the Berlin Airlift, and his opportunity soon came.
• Although the USA had stated that Korea was not of vital US interest (strategic importance), they had to protect South Korea to fulfil their foreign policy of containment (Truman Doctrine 1947).
• They feared an ‘Asian Domino Effect’, evident from the recent advances in communist weaponry and the fall of China to communism.
• The US believed that Stalin was behind the attack, compelling them to intervene.

How did the USA get involved?
• Truman was wary of acting unilaterally and so went to the United Nations to get sanctions against North Korea, who had broken international law by invading the South on the 25th June 1950.
• The UN agreed that joint UN military action was needed. This could have been stopped by the USSR (vetoed), however they were boycotting the UN Security Council at the time due to the UN’s refusal to recognise the legitimacy of the Democratic People’s Republic of China.
• The UN sanctioned military action lead by American General Douglas McArthur. Although 16 nations contributed to the force, America supplied most the resources and personnel. 50% of the troops, 86% of the naval power and 93% of the air power was US supplied.
• The US led troops landed at Inchon in September 1950 and within a month forced the North Koreans from the Pusan Pocket back to the 38th parallel.
• Within another month of fighting, the UN forced pushed the North Koreans back further to the Yalu River in late October (on the border of China) and this immediately involved the Chinese.

Why did China get involved?
• The new communist government of the Democratic People’s Republic of China were keen to assert themselves as a leading communist state and this explains their willingness to get involved in Korea.
• Resentment towards the UN and USA for not recognising their legitimacy.
• Threat to Chinese territory.
• They were aware of General Douglas McArthur’s comments about the use of atomic weaponry on the Chinese people.

How did China get involved?
• Sent 250,000 ‘volunteers’ to fight alongside the North Koreans, who within a fortnight pushed the UN force and South Koreans back across the 38th parallel.
• China was also used as a supply route to allow the transport of Soviet supplies.
• The UN did manage to halt Chinese advances by January 1951 and pushed them back to the 38th parallel by March of that year.
• After this first year of conflict the war settled down into a stalemate and the fighting continued. As the fighting continued the death toll rose.

Why did the USSR get involved?
• The Soviets shared a border with Korea and were particularly wary of a potential American satellite in their back door if the North Koreans were defeated.
• They wanted to spread communism in Asia and throughout the world, and were therefore committed to helping and aiding the North Koreans.

How did the USSR get involved?
• The Soviet Union had been involved in the Korean conflict from the beginning as its troops had been in occupation since the defeat of Japan in 1945.
• The USSR had supported the government of Kim Il Sung and prevented the elections agreed by the United Nations.
• In preparation for the invasion the USSR had trained and equipped the North Koreans.
• USSR got involved indirectly, Stalin did not want to be seen as a ‘war mongerer’.
• Soviets established a USSR air-force division in China.
• Soviet support troops were stationed in North Korea.
• US air-force planes fought disguised Russian planes over North Korea.
• USSR supplied the North Koreans with weapons and technology.

Conclusion:
• In 1953 after three years of war and over 2 million deaths (mostly Korean) a ceasefire was agree.
• Described as ‘the twentieth century’s nastiest little war.’
• Results of the war:
- Increased superpower tensions.
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) became a full blown military alliance.
- Intensification of the arms race with the US, USSR and China all developing atomic and hydrogen weaponry in the 1950s.

Question 8

Section B
Explain why the USSR wanted control over Eastern Europe at the end of WWII and how the USSR kept control between 1945 and 1949. [16]

Answer 8

E

Question 9

Section B
Explain why relations changed between the USA and the USSR as a result of the events in Cuba between 1959 and 1962 and how the Cuban Missile Crisis affected relations between the USA and USSR. [16]

Answer 9

E

Question 10

Section B

Why did the USA try to contain communism in Asia between 1949 and 1961? [16]

Answer 10

• Post WWII US policy was of ‘containment’. Cornerstone of US policy for the next 40 years. Containment - George Kennan (US diplomat in Moscow). The US had to fulfil this policy. Truman Doctrine of March 1947 (Economically, Diplomatically and Militarily).
• Communism growing - China October 1st 1949, North Korea, Vietnam - They feared an Asian ‘Domino Effect’.
• Truman also tried to contain communism in the region to secure another foreign policy victory since the USSRs advancements in weaponry and Mao’s declaration of a Communist Republic in China.
• Also, the USA tried to contain communism in the area as the United States saw Asia (The Pacific Region) as a potential trade region, rich in natural resources (Vietnam = Rubber, tungsten). Communist countries would not trade with the West.
• August 1949 USSR achieved nuclear weaponry - balance of power shifted.
• Response in the US to Truman - Senator Joseph McCarthy.
• North Korea 1950 June 25th Kim Il Sung’s invasion, suspicion of Stalin and USSR (compelling the USA to get involved in Korea).
• US response - Go to UN to establish a coalition.
• UN force in Korea - US dominated.
• Vietnam - 1945 - 1956, support for French - Diplomatic, financial and military.
• Vietnam was important economically (Tungsten, rubber) strategically (Large coastline for strategic positioning in the Pacific region) and politically (Kennedy: ‘… the corner-stone of the free world in South-East Asia.’)
• Peace negotiations and partition.
• US supports the South Vietnamese Government until it’s fall in 1975 - Containment.

Question 11

Section B
Explain how the USA responded to the USSR’s attempts to gain control of and spread communism in Eastern Europe between 1945 and 1961. [16]

Answer 11

2017 Paper - Not likely to appear in 2018 Paper.

Question 12

Section B

Explain why the USA tried to contain communism in Asia between 1949 and 1965. [16]

Answer 12

• Post WWII US policy was of ‘containment’. Cornerstone of US policy for the next 40 years. Containment - George Kennan (US diplomat in Moscow). The US had to fulfil this policy. Truman Doctrine of March 1947 (Economically, Diplomatically and Militarily).
• Communism growing - China October 1st 1949, North Korea, Vietnam - They feared an Asian ‘Domino Effect’.
• Truman also tried to contain communism in the region to secure another foreign policy victory since the USSRs advancements in weaponry and Mao’s declaration of a Communist Republic in China.
• Also, the USA tried to contain communism in the area as the United States saw Asia (The Pacific Region) as a potential trade region, rich in natural resources (Vietnam = Rubber, tungsten). Communist countries would not trade with the West.
• August 1949 USSR achieved nuclear weaponry - balance of power shifted.
• Response in the US to Truman - Senator Joseph McCarthy.
• North Korea 1950 June 25th Kim Il Sung’s invasion, suspicion of Stalin and USSR (compelling the USA to get involved in Korea).
• US response - Go to UN to establish a coalition.
• UN force in Korea - US dominated.
• Vietnam - 1945 - 1956, support for French - Diplomatic, financial and military.
• Vietnam was important economically (Tungsten, rubber) strategically (Large coastline for strategic positioning in the Pacific region) and politically (Kennedy: ‘… the corner-stone of the free world in South-East Asia.’)
• Peace negotiations and partition.
• US supports the South Vietnamese Government until it’s fall in 1975 - Containment.
• 1964 - Tonkin incident.
• 1965 - Troops on the ground.
• 1965-68 - Escalation of involvement - Containment.

Question 13

Section B

Explain why the superpowers decided to pursue Détente and what was achieved during the period? [16]

Answer 13

Why did the superpowers decide to pursue Détente?

• Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, 14th-28th October.

• The superpowers were brought to the edge of WWIII.
• Both superpowers agreed that increased communication and co-operation was needed in the future to ease tensions.

• Vietnam, US disaster.

• Public relations were damaged.
• Economic (Expensive).
• International opinion turned against the United States.
• They needed to pursue Détente to make things right.

• Global Economy.

• US trade deficit in 1971, for the first time since 1945.
• USSR grain harvest failed in 1972.
• 1973 Oil Crisis, Global Recession.
• Unemployment and inflation occurred in both the US and USSR.
• Both superpowers could no longer afford the arms race.

• Trouble controlling satellite states.

• Vietnam proved expensive and unpopular, no-one from NATO supported the United States’ Vietnam campaign.
• In West Germany, Willy Brandt steered a more independent course opening up his Ostpolitik (Eastern Policy).
• The USSR experienced this as well, in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and with border disputes with China.

What was achieved during the period?

• An easing of tensions was achieved, creating a thaw in the Cold War.
• Various agreements were made.
• Moscow Treaty, August 1970
• Final Quadripartite Protocol, September 1971
• SALT I Interim Treaty, May 1972
• ABM Treaty, “
• Trade Treaty, “
• Basic Treaty, December 1972
• Helsinki Agreement, August 1975
• SALT II, June 1979
• The US also achieved co-operation in Vietnam, signing an armistice/cease fire (January 1973) and exchanging POWs.
• The USSR also gained from Détente, spreading communism to new regions: Angola 1975, Ethiopia 1977, Yemen 1978, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Question 14

Section B

Explain how relations changed between the USA and USSR in the period 1968-1985. [16]

Answer 14

• USSR - Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring)

• Declaration of Brezhnev Doctrine (1968), directly challenged the Truman Doctrine (1947). Relations deteriorated.
• However, this did remind the superpowers that their satellite states were hard to control.

• US - Vietnam
- Satellite states were hard to control, prompting the superpowers to pursue Détente to ease tensions and improve relations.

• Détente - 1970s
- Created a thaw in the Cold War, improving superpower relations.

• Trade and economy
- Trade increased, grain exports to the Soviet Union (1971 USSR grain harvest fail).
• Soviet dependancy - USSR became more dependant on the west.

• Space exploration and co-operation
- Apollo-Soyez

• Détente agreements

• Moscow Treaty August 1970
• Final Quadripartite Protocol September 1971
• SALT I Interim Treaty May 1972
• ABM Treaty “
• Trade Treaty “
• Basic Treaty December 1972
• Helsinki Agreement August 1975
• SALT II June 1979

• Not everything changed
- The USSR still engaged in Communist expansion during the period, which ultimately undermined international relations (Angola 1975, Ethiopia 1977, Yemen 1978, Nicaragua and El Salvador).

• Afghanistan 1979, December 24th

• End of Détente, new Cold War (Relations worsened)
• Carter Doctrine 1980:
  1. Economic sanctions on the USSR.
  2. Grain exports to the USSR were cancelled.
  3. Moscow Summer Olympics boycotted by the US and 60 other nations.
  4. US increased military expenditure.
• Superpower relations deteriorated as a direct result.

• New Arms Race (SDI = Strategic Defence Initiative, ‘Star Wars’).
- Increased superpower tensions.

• Gorbachev 1985

• Glasnost (openness) and Peristroika (restructuring or renewal).
• Improved international relations.

Question 15

Section B

Why and how did relations between the USA, the USSR and Cuba change between 1958 and 1962? [16]

Answer 15

• Batista Regime 1952-1959, US/Cuban relations

• Positive relations between the US and Cuba
• Relations between the USSR and Batista’s Cuba, non-existent.

• Cuban Revolution, 26th July 1953 to January 1st 1959

• Relations changed
• US/Cuban relations deteriorated due to:
  1. 1959 - Fidel Castro’s visit to the UN in New York, Eisenhower refused to meet him.
  2. 1960 - US imposed a trade embargo on Cuba.

• Cuban/USSR relations improved.

• Fidel Castro established official diplomatic relations.
• By 1962, 80% of Cuban trade was with the Eastern Bloc.

• US/USSR relations deteriorate
- Soviet interference in US sphere of influence, Cuba is 90 miles off the coast of Florida

• Bay of Pigs, 17th-19th April 1961.

• Brigade 2506 lead by Jose Miro Cardona, 1500 Cuban exiles.
• US/Cuban relations worsened.
• Cuba was pushed further into the Soviet zone.

• Cuban Missile Crisis

• September 1962, French intelligence informs the US of Khrushchev’s intention of siting missiles in Cuba.
• 14th October - U2 flight over Cuba.
• 16th October - Kennedy established Excomm (Executive Committee)
• 17th October - Kennedy got Khrushchev’s assurance that there was no intention of siting missiles in Cuba.
• 20th October - Kennedy decided to use a naval blockade on Cuba.
• 22nd October - Kennedy addressed the nation.
• 23rd October - Blockade established around Cuba.
• 24th October - Soviet ships stopped short of the blockade and turned back. There were still missiles in Cuba.
• 26th October - Kennedy received a letter (telegram) from Khrushchev stating that he would remove missiles if Kennedy agreed not to invade.
• 27th October - 2nd letter arrived. It demanded removal of US missiles from Turkey. U2 spy plane shot down over Cuba. Kennedy answered the second letter.
• 28th October - Khrushchev accepted and the crisis ended.
• Relations had reached crisis point.

• Aftermath of the Crisis, October 1962

• Improved US/USSR relations, communication (Hotline established between the White House and Kremlin)
• Missiles dismantled in Cuba and Turkey, eased tensions in the arms race.
• Cuban/USSR relations improved, Castro visited Moscow (Russia) in the aftermath of the crisis.