HISTORY CAMBRIDGE A2PAPER 3

PRESENTATION 1COLD WAR

THE IDEOLOGICAL BACKGROUNDCOMMUNISM VS CAPITALISM

COLD WAR BASICSThe Cold War was the name given to the relationship that developed primarily between the USA and the USSR after World War Two. The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred – the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some. For many, the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue.

RUSSIA VS USSRA clash of very different beliefs and ideology – capitalism versus communism – each held with almost religious conviction, formed the basis of an international power struggle with both sides vowing for dominance, exploiting every opportunity for expansion anywhere in the world.Note that USSR in 1945 was Russia post-1917 and included all the various countries that now exist individually (like Ukraine) but after the war they were part of this huge country up until the collapse of the Soviet Union (the other name for the USSR).

THE BEGINNING OF ANTAGONISMLogic would dictate that as the USA and the USSR fought as allies during World War Two, their relationship after the war would be firm and friendly. This never happened and any appearance that these two powers were friendly during the war is illusory.

ANTAGONISM BETWEEN IDEOLOGIES - USAAmerican-Soviet relationship were antagonist since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.They represented 2 different ideologies with USA embracing the values of capitalism (liberal democracy) and USSR the values of communism (socialism dedicated to spreading a world revolution).The first problem was revealed at the Peace Conference in 1919, after the WW1, when Russia was not represented.USA’s war aims, as expressed in Wilson’s 14 Points, were translated in a world based on the principle of national self-determination and a League of Nations which would replace the unstable pre-1914 system of alliances and balance of power politics.

ANTAGONISM BETWEEN IDEOLOGIES - RUSSIAThe Soviets, led by Lenin, insisted that the worldwide victory of the proletariat (workers) was the only basis for a peaceful world.Western assistance to the anti-communist forces in Russia (attempting to overthrow the Bolshevik regime) heightened the suspicions of the Soviet leadership about the hostility of the capitalist states towards them.

THE “FRIENDSHIP”Before the war, America had depicted the Soviet Union as almost the devil-incarnate. The Soviet Union had depicted America likewise so their ‘friendship’ during the war was simply the result of having a mutual enemy – Nazi Germany. In fact, one of America’s leading generals, Patton, stated that he felt that the Allied army should unite with what was left of the Wehrmacht in 1945, utilise the military genius that existed within it and fight the oncoming Soviet Red Army!!!!!!! Churchill himself was furious that Eisenhower, as supreme head of Allied command, had agreed that the Red Army should be allowed to get to Berlin first ahead of the Allied army. His anger was shared by Montgomery, Britain’s senior military figure.

THE EXTREME DISTRUSTSo the extreme distrust that existed during the war, was certainly present before the end of the war… and this was between Allies. Stalin was also distrustful of the Americans after Truman only told him of a new terrifying weapon that he was going to use against the Japanese. The first Stalin knew of what this weapon could do was when reports on Hiroshima got back to Moscow.So this was the scene after the war ended in 1945. Both sides distrusted the other. One had a vast army in the field (the Soviet Union with its Red Army supremely lead by Zhukov) while the other, the Americans had the most powerful weapon in the world, the A-bomb and the Soviets had no way on knowing how many America had.

WAR IN DIPLOMATIC TERMSHot War: this is actual warfare. All talks have failed and the armies are fighting. Warm War: this is where talks are still going on and there would always be a chance of a peaceful outcome but armies, navies etc. are being fully mobilised and war plans are being put into operation ready for the command to fight. Cold War: this term is used to describe the relationship between America and the Soviet Union 1945 to 1980. Neither side ever fought the other – the consequences would be too appalling – but they did ‘fight’ for their beliefs using client states who fought for their beliefs on their behalf e.g. South Vietnam was anti communist and was supplied by America during the war while North Vietnam was pro-Communist and fought the south (and the Americans) using weapons from communist Russia or communist China. In Afghanistan, the Americans supplied the rebel Afghans after the Soviet Union invaded in 1979 while they never physically involved themselves thus avoiding a direct clash with the Soviet Union.

WHY THE DISTRUST?The one time this process nearly broke down was the Cuban Missile Crisis.So why were these two super powers so distrustful of each other?

MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTIONThis lack of mutually understanding an alien culture, would lead the world down a very dangerous path – it led to the development of weapons of awesome destructive capability and the creation of some intriguing policies such as MAD – Mutually Assured Destruction.

COLD WAR TIMELINE 1945-19521945: ‘A’-Bomb dropped on Hiroshima + Nagasaki. USA ahead in the arms race.1947: Marshall Aid to the west of Europe. Stalin of USSR refused it for Eastern Europe.1948: Start of the Berlin Blockade – ended in 1949.1949: NATO established; USSR exploded her first ‘A’-bomb; China becomes communist.1950: Korean War started.1952: USA exploded her first hydrogen bomb.

COLD WAR TIMELINE 1953-19621953: Korean War ended. USSR exploded her first hydrogen bomb. Stalin died.

1955 : Warsaw Pact created. ‘Peaceful coexistence’ called for.

1956: Hungary revolts against USSR. Suez Crisis (also named the Tripartite Aggression and the Kadesh Operation, was the invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser from power. After the fighting had started, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations forced the three invaders to withdraw. The episode humiliated Great Britain and France and strengthened Nasser).

1957: Sputnik launched.

1959: Cuba becomes a communist state.

1961: Military aid sent to Vietnam by USA for the first time. Berlin Wall built.

1962: Cuban Missile Crisis.

COLD WAR TIMELINE 1963-19861963: Huge increase of American aid to Vietnam.

1965: USA openly involved in Vietnam.

1967: Six-Day War in Middle East (was also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War, or Third Arab–Israeli War, and it was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967 by Israel and the neighbouring states of Egypt (United Arab Republic, Jordan, and Syria).

1968: USSR invades Czechoslovakia.

1973: Yom Kippur War (the Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War, or October War, also known as the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, was a war fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel from October 6 to 25, 1973).

1979: USSR invaded Afghanistan.

1986: Meeting in Iceland between USSR (Gorbachev) and USA (Reagan).

1987: INF Treaty signed (the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty required the United States and the Soviet Union to eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km).

GENERAL CAUSES OF THE COLD WARAmerican fear of communist attack

Truman’s dislike of Stalin

USSR’s fear of the American’s atomic bomb

USSR’s dislike of capitalism

USSR’s actions in the Soviet zone of Germany

America’s refusal to share nuclear secrets

USSR’s expansion west into Eastern Europe + broken election promises

USSR’s fear of American attack

USSR’s need for a secure western border

USSR’s aim of spreading world communism

This feeling of suspicion lead to mutual distrust and this did a great deal to deepen Cold War