the Cold War in the 1950s

Question 1

4 long term causes of the Korean War

Answer 1

Iron curtain
rival ideologies
fierce competition
policies of containment/Truman doctrine

Question 2

events leading up to the Korean War

Answer 2

in October 1949, china became communist and allied with the ussr. The UN refused to recognise the communist governent of china and thus the ussr boycotted the un in protest. when the usa then suggested sending in un troops to stop communist North Korea from invading South Korea there was no opposition within the un.

Kim ill sun, leader of communist North Korea visited stalin and Mao to gain permission to conquer South Korea. in June 1950 North Korean forces entered South Korea

Question 3

4 key phases of the Korean war

Answer 3

1. June 1950 North Korea invades South Korea. by September, they had occupied all of South Korea exept for Pusan
2. september 1950 un forces (mainly American) storm a shore in Pusan and drive North Korean forces back to the 38th parallel. china warns that it will join the war but un forces push North Koreans back to yaku river (chinas border) by October 1950
3. late October 1950 200,000 chines forces join north korea. they are very strong communist who despise Americans and push un/us forces back 38 parallel
4. 1950 - 1953 containment reaffirmed as a us policy. event so fighting continus until 1953 when 38 parralel confirmed as a border between north and South Korea, peace is signed. border surrounded by DMZ

Question 4

effect of Korean War on foreign policy

Answer 4

1. Increased tension between the two superpowers as they had both been involved in this proxy war which was the first incident of active warfare during the cold war
2. Confirmation of the policy of containment
3. Firmer approach to containment in asia - military bases built in asia and north africa to encircle the ussr and communist asia - american defence budget boosted to 50 billion dollars and army doubled in size - usa aims to strengthen military position in asia through treaties, defence treaty with japan and the philippines (seemingly preparing for war - truman doctrine extended to the east - SEATO ( southeast asia treaty organisation, countries that would work together to prevent communism → increased tension as this is a direct attack on the ussr’s ideology and thus its standing in the world
4. Warsaw Pact is formed in response to korean war and west germany joining nato - increases tension between the two superpowers
5. An increase in military expenditure and production by both superpowers which was a contributing factor to the arms race - ussr raised military budget and size of army - 1950 ussr 2.8 million soldiers, 1955 ussr 5.6 million soldiers
6. People questioned the cost of containment

Question 5

Nikita khrushchev comes to power

Answer 5

after stalin died in 1953 there is a big hole in Russian politics, Khrushchev comes to power. he denounces stalin highlighting his violent methods and purges and begins de-stalinisation

Question 6

What did destalinisation include (4)

Answer 6

1. more political prisoners released
2. close down common form as part of reconciliation with Yugoslavia
3. invited marchal Tito to Moscow
4. dismissed stalins previous foreign minister, molatove

Question 7

why did the Korean War increase tension (5)

Answer 7

The Korean War increased tension between the USA and the USSR as the Korean War was the first incidence of active warfare of the Cold War. Both the USA and the

USSR had been involved which showed that proxy wars were a great possibility in order to gain power and influence over other areas of the world.

The Korean War increased tension over the Asiatic Continent because the USA:

1. The USA builds military bases in Asia and North Africa in order to encircle the USSR and communist parts of Asia such as China.
2. USA aims to strengthen its military position in Asia through treaties such as in 1951 the USA signs a defence treaty with Japan and the Philippines. This shows that the USA seem to be preparing for war.
3. Truman Doctrine is extended to the Far East and the South East Asia Treaty Organisation is created in order to prevent the spread of communism in Asia. Includes USA, Britain, France, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines

The Korean War increases tension because the USSR wants to reaffirm its position and military strength:

1. In 1955, in response to the Korean War and West Germany joining NATO, the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact. This was treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the members of the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe. This was a step towards military hostility between superpowers as they were now directly opposing military forces and allies.
2. Increase in military spending and the USSR army grows to 5.6 million soldiers.

Question 8

effects of de-stalinsation

Answer 8

1. Relaxed iron control of the soviet union - this however led to uprising, for example the hungarian uprising - but in general led to less tension - closed down cominform - pulled soviet troops out of austria - signalled that countries would be allowed greater independence
2. Talk of peaceful co-existence with the west also reduced tensions.
   Khrushchev’s policy of peaceful coexistence created an atmosphere of cooperation between the two powers, and at the geneva summit this helped reduce tension in europe especially between east and west germany.

Helped reduce tensions around the arms race as it was clear that it would be better for the economy of both superpowers if military expenditure was reduced, although this did not occur it still helped reduce tensions in this area. Although these were arguably reinstated due to the warsaw pact