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History > The Cold War 1945-1975 > Flashcards

The Cold War 1945-1975 Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe the chronology of the second world war?

A

1939- Britain declared war on Germany
1940- Germany invaded Holland, Norway, France, evacuations of British troops in Dunkirk-France defeated Italy declares war on Britain and France- Battle of Britain
1941-Germany attacks the USSR-Japanese attack Pearl Habour
1942-Pacific victory for USA battle of Midway- North Africa desert war
1943- Russian counter attack-victory at stalingrad- Italy surrenders to allies
1944-D-day
1945- Allies invade Germany- Germany surrenders to soviet army- major allied air attacks on Japan- Atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima&Nagasaki. Japan surrenders

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2
Q

Who were the main winners of WW2?

A

Britain
USSR
USA

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3
Q

Who were the new ‘Big Three’ allies after WW2?

A

The new ‘Big Three’ allied leaders were Britain(Churchill)
USA (Roosevelt)
USSR (Stalin)

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4
Q

Why was the Yalta conference called in 1945?

A

To plan what the winning allies (Big Three) wanted to happen after the war

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5
Q

What three major decisions were made at Yalta in 1945?

A
  • Germany would be split into four zones of occupation
  • Free elections for new governments would be held in previously occipied European countries
  • The United Nations would replace the failed League of Nations
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6
Q

After the Yalta conference, how had the situation change?

A

1) Roosevelt died- Was replaced by Truman who was suspicious of the USSR
2) Conservative PM Churchill was replaced by Labour’s Clement Attlee
3) The USSR expanded westwards into the Baltic states

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7
Q

How did the situation change after the Yalta conference affect the allies?

A

They were now suspicious of each other. Stalin wanted to control Eastern Europe, USA and Britain suspected this. Truman and Attlee were new to their jobs so Stalin thought they were weak leaders and he could do whatever he wanted

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8
Q

What agreements were made at Potsdam in 1945?

A

Since Germany surrendered may 1945…

  • The new boundries of Poland were agreed
  • The allies decided to divide Germany and Berlin between them
  • They agreed to legal trials at Nuremburg of Nazi leaders for war crimes
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9
Q

What were the different ideologies of the USA and USSR?

A

-USSR was communist
-USA was capitalist
Communism meant state control of industry and agriculture, a one-party state, and aimed towards world revolution
Capitalism valued private enterprise, so everyone could be wealthy and successful, they valued political freedom, communism was a danger to their democracy

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10
Q

Why had the USA and the USSR began the arms race?

A

After Germany surrendered in 1945 and the war between them and Japan continued. After surrendering the USA kept their A-bomb secret from the USSR. The same bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It was the worlds only nuclear power. But in 1949, the USSR exploded their own A-bomb, the USA even developed their own even more powerful H-Bomb in 1952. Then the USSR followed in 1955

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11
Q

How had fighting moved on since WW1?

A
  • This time fighting was worldwide
  • Fighting raged in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific
  • Technology had advanced
  • Civilian populations were even more affected- by advances in bombing tech it caused lots of evacuation, occupation and food shortages
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12
Q

Describe how the USSR had become influential in eastern Europe in the 1940’s?

A
  • At the end of the war the USSR’s red army had occupied eastern europe
  • Stalin installed pro-soviet ‘puppet’ governments in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia
  • Non communist parties were banned
  • Comecon (lol) was set up in 1949 which worked to nationalise states and collectivise agriculture
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13
Q

What was the ‘Iron Curtain’ Churchill described in a famous speech?

A
  • Increasing tensions between the USSR and USA were known as the cold war
  • Both sides were afraid of the other using nuclear weapons
  • West Europe supported the USA whilst the east supported the USSR
  • Winston Churchill used the iron curtain as a metaphorical warning about the division of europe
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14
Q

Why was the USA worried about the spread of communism?

A

Truman was worried that other countries might fall into communism so he tried to stop the spread of it because they disagreed with their political choices

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15
Q

Describe the purpose of the Marshall plan

A

It promised American aid to European countries to rebuild their economies. Western Germany benefitted massively from this, because they feared that if it was weak it would fall to communism

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16
Q

Describe the purpose of the Truman Doctrine?

A

That the USA would support any nation under threat of being taken over by communism.

For example the USA gave $400m of aid to Turkey and Greece to try and stop communism spreading

17
Q

What happened when the USSR and the west disagreed over Berlin?

A

The four zone that split Berlin were occupied by France, USA, Britain and the USSR (USSR west, the others in the east). Britain, France and the USA agreed to combine their zones so they were controlled by one single government, with a new currency to help the economy. The USSR opposed these moves so Stalin decided that to keep Germany weak would be to blockade Berlin. Berlin was in eastern Germany which was controlled by the USSR so Stalin ordered all land communication between west Berlin and the outside world should be cut off.

18
Q

After Stalin had blockaded West Berlin, how did the USA help Western Berlin?

A

They survived because of the Berlin Airlift. Between 1948 and 1949 the only way of obtaining supplies from the outside world was by air. Over 8000 tonnes of supplies were being flown into west Berlin each day

19
Q

What happened after Stalin ended the blockade of Western Berlin?

A

-Two new states were formed.
-West Germany (Federal Republic) and East Germany (Communist)
In 1949 western powers formed NATO against the communist threat. The eastern bloc formed the Warsaw pact in 1955 a military treaty designed to counter NATO

20
Q

Why was Cuba the ideal spot for the USSR to place nuclear missiles? What did this mean for America?

A
  • Cuba was only 100 miles away from America

- Meaning it was the perfect place for the USSR to put missiles as the Americans would be without warning

21
Q

Describe how Castro successfully overthrew the Government in Cuba?

A
  • It was previously ruled by corrupt leader Batista who allowed gangs from other countries( Mafia) to profit in their country whilst most people were in poverty
  • After a failed previous attempt to overthrow Batista in 1953( Which lead to his imprisonment and fleeing of the country) Castro returned and began Guerrilla warfare. He eventually gained enough support to overthrow the government
22
Q

What impacts did Castro make on Cuba to try and get rid of American influence?

A
  • Shut down gambling casinos and brothels
  • Nationalised American owned sugar mills
  • This meant the USA cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba
  • Castro began work with the USSR as he had always been influenced by communism
  • The USSR had offered to buy Cuba’s sugar instead of the USA
23
Q

Describe the events of The Bay Of Pigs

A
  • In 1961 Kennedy authorised CIA trained invasion by anti- Castro rebels
  • The same year the rebels landed on the bay of pigs, yet they were not given the air support that the USA had promised. The rebels were easily defeated
  • This was bad for the USA because Castro decided Cuba needed Soviet military assistance
24
Q

Describe the events of the Cuban missile crisis

A
  • In 1962 u-2 spy planes of America spotted Soviet missiles in Cuba that could be used to attack the USA with little warning
  • President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba, all Soviet ships were to be stopped and searched to prevent further missiles from entering Cuba
  • Kennedy demanded Khrushchev( Stalin’s successor) to withdraw his missiles, and prepared to invade Cuba
  • Soviet ships carried on to travel to Cuba, if taken down by US military it would be an act of war, the world was on the brink of nuclear war by this point
25
Q

How was the Cuban missile crisis solved?

A

-Khrushchev decided that he would remove the missiles from Cuba and turn his ships around, in exchange for the US to lift their Blockade on Cuba, promising not to invade, and secretly agreeing to remove US missiles from Turkey which bordered the USSR.

26
Q

Why did Vietnam become of interest to the USA?

A
  • In 1954, Vietnam became independent of France. It was split into two parts:
    Communist north Vietnam, and Democratic south Vietnam
27
Q

What theory supported the USA’s idea of Communism spreading?

A

The Domino Theory

28
Q

What was the Domino Theory??

A
  • Like a set of dominoes if you knock over one the rest in line will fall too; the USA thought that true of Communism, if one became communist soon all nearby countries would follow. So that is why North Vietnam worried them, as eventually it would turn China, North Korea and South Vietnam Communist.
29
Q

What dis president Eisenhower and Kennedy give to South Vietnam?

A
  • Lots of assistance, financial aid and ‘military advisors’, as part of the Truman Doctrine
30
Q

How did President Johnson change US policy?

A

He was determined to keep South Vietnam free of communism:

  • So he increased troop numbers up to 500,000 in 1967
  • He began a bombing campaign against North Vietnam
31
Q

Why had the Vietnam war become unpopular in the USA?

A
  • The Tet Offensive by the North Vietnamese took the Americans by surprise
  • The Offensive was beaten but 14,000 US soldiers were killed in action in 1968
  • The American public saw brutal images of the war on TV
  • They were also shocked by the news of the 1968 My Lai massacre where civilians were murdered by US troops
  • It was very expensive and cost thousands of dollars
32
Q

How had president Nixon tried to finish the war?

A
  • American troops were gradually withdrawn from Vietnam- by 1972 47,000 were left
  • Instead the US started training the South Vietnamese to fight the Vietcong (Communist Guerrillas)
  • Heavy bombing of North Vietnam and Cambodia began which aimed to destroy North Vietnamese supply lines( Ho Chi Minh Trail): In hooe to force a peace settlement
  • In 1973 a ceasefire was agreed and the US pulled out- the fighting continued between the North and South
  • Yet the North did end up capturing the South Vietnamese capital anyway
33
Q

What were the six main reasons that the USA was defeated?

A
  • The Vietcong treated the South Vietnamese well and gained their support
  • The American bombing of civilians made the North more determined
  • Vietcong Guerrillas were very skilled soldiers: They used tactics like sudden raids, ambushes and boobytraps. They also didn’t wear uniform and operated in small groups
  • American troops weren’t used to fighting in the jungle
  • The North had the support of China and the USSR
  • The American public opinion turned against the war

History (5 decks)

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