Modern History/Cold War

Cold war timeline 1945: February - Yalta conference: Stalin (USSR), Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (UK). Plan what to do about Germany/Europe after war. Key Agreements – Eastern Europe Soviet ‘sphere-of-influence’ Germany – four zones: British, French, American and Russian Berlin – four zones: British, French, American and Russian July/August – Potsdam conference: War in Europe over; no Hitler = no unifying force Truman new US leader. V. anti-communist US notified Stalin of A-bomb Disagreements – Germany. Stalin wanted compensation – felt threatened, keep Germany crippled Truman - 1946: Churchill delivers ‘Iron Curtain’ speech 1947: The Truman Doctrine: Active role in Greek civil war Marshall 1949: NATO Treaty signed 1949: Communists take power in China; Nationalists retreat to Taiwan 1950: Korean War begins June 25: North Korea invaded the South in a bid to unite Korea without elections. September 15: USA and Britain led UN troops in military intervention November 25: 500,000 Chinese communist volunteers joined war for North Korea. 1953: Armistice ends fighting in the Korean War. 1955: Warsaw Pact is formed Treaty of friendship, co-operation and mutual assistance, was a military alliance of the Eastern European Bloc countries, who intended to organize against the perceived threat from the NATO alliance 1961: Bay of Pigs April 17, 1961, 1300 members of a CIA-supported counter-revolutionary Cuban exile force stormed beaches of Cuba, ended in total failure. Debacle for Kennedy. August 1961: Berlin Wall is erected, severing Berlin in two 1962: Cuban missile crisis 1963: Nuclear test ban treaty signed: USA/USSR/UK 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. 1965: President Johnson begins escalation of US role in Vietnamese Civil War. 1972: US withdraws from Vietnam. 1972: SALT Treaty signed 1972: Nixon visits China 1975: Vietnam internal conflict ends 1979: The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan 1985: Gorbachev becomes new Soviet leader. Begins policies of "Perestroika" and “Glasnost” 1989: The Fall of the Berlin Wall: COLD WAR ENDS 1989: Tiananmen Square Massacre in China 1991: Warsaw Pact dissolved, Soviet Union collapses, Gorbachev resigns Revision notes Definition – describes the conflict between USSR and ‘western powers’ in period following WWII (1945-1989) Period of tension characterised by conflict at diplomatic, economic and all levels short of direct armed conflict between principles Communism – Capitalism – ‘Superpower’ rivalry Main personalities Josef Stalin Winston Churchill Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry Truman Clement Attlee George Kennen Dwight Eisenhower George Marshall Nikita Khrushchev Breshnev John F Kennedy Fidel Castro General MacArthur Dubcek Mikhail Gorbachev Ronald Reagan Causes/origins End of the grand alliance Mutual suspicion Fear of communism Conflict of ideals Growth of Communism Europe in ruins Effects/consequences Berlin Wall Korean War 1956 > ‘peaceful coexistence’ Bay of Pigs Cuban Missile crisis Vietnam War (‘domino theory’) Détente to 1975 Definition – peaceful coexistence, arms limitations, recognition of China 1975 to the collapse of Communism in Europe Solidarity in Poland Deficiencies in the Communist system Discontent Nationalism Gorbachev’s reforms – Glasnost and Perestroika: opposition from hard liners. 1991 coup. Statistics Military Troops : NATO 2.6 million. Warsaw Pact 4 million Tanks : NATO 13,000. Warsaw Pact 42,500 Artillery : NATO 10,750. Warsaw Pact 31,5000 Nuclear arms race By 1961 – enough bombs to destroy the world By 1981, USA had 8,000 ICBM’s and USSR 7,000 ICBM’s By 1981, USA had 4,000 planes capable of delivering a nuclear bomb. Russia had 5000. USA defence spending for 1981 = 178 billion dollars. By 1986, it was 367 billion dollars. By 1986, it is estimated that throughout the world there were 40,000 nuclear warheads - the equivalent of one million Hiroshima bombs. 1960s – theory of MAD (mutually assured destruction): suitable retaliation = no winners