The development of the Cold War Flashcards
What year did China become communist?
1949
What happened when China turned communist?
They agreed a treaty of friendship with the USSR
Who did China turn communist under?
Mao
Why did China turning communist cause tension?(4)
Truman’s containment failed
Fear communism would spread throughout Asia
USSR & China were very powerful together
Changed the power balance between the East and West
When was the Korean war?
1950-1953
When did North Korea invade South? With support of whom?
June 1950, with support from USSR&China
When did S Korea appeal to the UN? Why could Russia not vote on the decision?
July 1950, because they were boycotting the UN as they wouldn’t accept China
Why did the Korean War cause tensions?
First use of army/war
UN acted without the USSR
UN proved it would act
Who led the UN army in the Korean War? When was he sacked?
General MacArthur
April 1951
When was NATO formed?
April 1949
What was Truman’s main motive of NATO?
He could use NATO countries to provide US with secure bases
What was NATO formed in?
The berlin blockade
Why was NATO formed?
So all NATO countries would work together if a war broke out - most likely between USA and USSR
Why did Khrushchev form the Warsaw pact?
Because West Germany joined NATO and where allowed an army
When did the Warsaw pact emerge?
1955
Who was in the Warsaw pact?
Eastern european countries apart from Yugoslavia
When was the Vietnam war?
1955 until 1970s
Who was the leader of North Vietnam and who was he supported by?
HO CHI MINH supported by USSR and China
Who was the leader of South Vietnam and who was he supported by?
DIEM by American army
What tactics did north Vietnam use?
Guerilla tactics
What did american use a lot of in the vietnam war and what did this lead to?
Chemical weapons which led to the arms race
Why did the Vietnam war worsen the cold war?
Military action against each other was used
American citizens didn’t like it and wanted it to be over so American increased building weapons
What was the communist Vietnam army known as?
The vietcong
When did the arms race begin?
1949
Why did the arms race begin?
USSR tests first atomic bomb which caused concern in USA as they didn’t think USSR would have a bomb until 1953
What did the USA do in 1951?Regarding the arms race
SAC commander identifies 6,000 targets in USSR to be hit in event of war
What did the USA detonate in 1952?
The H-Bomb (1,000x more powerful than atom bomb)
When did the USSR detonate its own H-Bomb?
1953
What did the USSR test in 1954?
A H-Bomb from a bomber
What did the USSR build in 1966?
Anti-Ballistic Missile to protect Moscow
What was the space race?
Rivalry between USA and USSR on who could reach the moon first
When did soviets launch the 1st satellite in space?
October 1957
What was the 1st soviet satellite called?
Sputnik
When was the 2nd soviet satellite launched? What was it called and what was different?
November 1957
Sputnik 2
Carried a dog
When did the USA launch their first satellite? What was it called?
1958
Explorer 1
When did the USA form NASA?
July 1958
What did the Soviets do in 1961 regarding the space race?
Sent first man into space - Yuri Gagarin
How did USA respond to Soviets getting a man into space before them?
They created Apollo space program and Kennedy said they would land a man on the moon within the decade
How long did the apollo space program last for?
1961-1975
When did the USA land the first man on the moon?
July 1969 - Neil Armstrong
What did the space race lead to regarding arms?
Space technology led to more dangerous missiles
What was Khrushchev’s top secret rocket base called?
Baykonyr
What did the USSR launch in 1957 and what did it do?
Intercontinental ballistic missile which could be fired into space then land anywhere in the world
What caused panic in the USA in 1960?
The USA media reported a ‘missile gap’ which caused panic even though President Eisenhower knew there wasn’t a missile gap because of secret intelligence
When did Stalin die?
1953
When did Khrushchev emerge as the new Soviet leader?
1955
What did Khrushchev do when he became leader?(4)
Ended feuds with China and Yugoslavia
Talked of peaceful co-existence with the West
Made plans to reduce arms spending
Attended first post-war summit
Relaxed Soviet control of Eastern Europe - agreeing to pull troops out of Austria
When was the first post-war summit and who was there?
1955
USSR, USA, France and Britain
When did Khrushchev talk about destalinisation?
In a secret speech to communist party of Soviet union, he criticised Stalin’s brutality and wanted to get rid of it
Why did Khrushchev not allow changes in the satellite states ?
As he feared it would end communism in Eastern Europe and break down their buffer zone against the West
What were the satellite states?
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany
Who ruled Hungary before the Hungarian uprising and what did he do?
Rakosi
Brutal leader
Imprisoned over 200,000 who disagreed with him and killed 2000 of them with help of AVO
When he retired: Erno Gero
Who were the AVO?
Secret police in Hungary under Rakosi
What were the causes of the Hungarian uprising?
Hungarian people want reform and want Imre Nagy to be their new communist leader
What did Rakosi allow which made Hungarian people suffer?
The USSR controlled Hungary’s economy through comecon which meant they didn’t trade with west
What year was the Hungarian uprising?
1956
When was the student demonstration which started the Hungarian uprising?
23 October 1956
What happened at the student demonstration? What did the USSR do about it?
Students pulled down giant statue of Stalin in Budapest
They allowed new gov to form under Nagy and they removed Soviet troops from Hungary
When did Nagy introduce reforms?
31st October 1956
What reforms did Nagy introduce and how did the USSR respond?
He wanted hungary to leave the warsaw pact, freedom of speech, free elections.
USSR responds by sending 20,000 troops and 1000 tanks to crush the uprising. Took 2 weeks
Hungary asked UN for help but they didn’t
Why did the UN not help Hungary during the uprising?
Hungary too close to Russia - seen as an act of war
West were distracted by the Suez Crisis at the time
Consequences of the Hungarian Uprising?
Nagy fled to Yugoslavia but was then arrested then executed
New leader was put in place by USSR: Kadar
4,000 Hungarians were killed and some fled
Sent a warning to other communist countries
When did Nagy say Hungary was leaving the Warsaw pact and when did Soviet troops invade?
3rd November 1956
4th November 1956
When did spy flights over the USSR begin again after being banned by Truman for violating soviet air space?
1956 Under Presdient Eisenhower
What did the new spy plane the U-2 have?
Listening devices, cameras that could zoom in from 23,000 meters high and they flew so high that they couldn’t be shot down by soviets
What did Khrushchev say about the USA’s flights?
“They spat in the face of the soviets”
Why could Khrushchev not complain about the spy planes?
He had no proof and didn’t want to admit that they didn’t have the technology to shoot them down
When did a US U2 spy plane get shot down?
1960
Who was the pilot inside the U2 spy plane that was captured?
Gary Powers
What happened when the Soviets shot down the U2 plane?
Gary Powers parachuted to safety but was then captured, he was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison but was swapped for a soviet spy.
What was Eisenhowers response to the U2 plane being shot down?
He admitted to spying but refused to apologise and refused to say they wouldn’t do it again which led to Khrushchev pulling out the Paris peace summit
What was Tsar Bomba? (King bomb)
A soviet atomic bomb, the largest of its kind ever produced
