Cold War E1+E2+E3

Manhattan Project

1942

1942 - 1946 $2 billion
Program of research and development undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons

Lublin Committee

Jul 1, 1944

Committee of National Liberation (Lublin Committee) establishd July 1944
Uk supported London Poles but did not opposed Lublin to preserve Grand Alliance

Bretton Woods Conference

Jul 1, 1944

Hyde Park Agreement - Churchill and Roosevelt

Sep 18, 1944

Agreed full collaboration between US and British in developing tube alloys for military and commercial purposes should continue after defeat of Japan, unless terminated by joint agreement

Percentages agreement

Oct 1, 1944

secret informal agreement - spheres of influence
90%Romaina USSR
90%Greece Britain - Suez Canal
50/50 Hungary and Yugoslavia
75%Bulgaria

Poland Liberated

Jan 1, 1945

Ussr invaded Jan 1944
annexed east and destroyed Polish Home Army
Lublin Committee - provisional govt

Yoshida Doctrine

1945

President Shigeru Yoshida - strategy adopted after defeat
restore Japan's sovereignty and provide security for Japan in return for US troops on Japanese territory
Reconstructing Japan's domestic economy while relying heavily on the security alliance with the United States

Ho Chi Minn declared Democratic Republic of Vietnam

1945

Japanese ended coalition with French
French ran the country but profits went to the Japanese French govt determined to regain full control of Vietnam
British army
Nov 1946- French bombarded norther port go Pittong killing 8000 Vietnamese
US - neutral

House of Un-American Activities Committee

Jan 3, 1945

permanent in US govt 1945
founded 1938 Investigated communist infiltration, patriotism and political affiliations of Hollywood filmmakers Hollywood Ten: 10 members of Hollywood industry who denounced tactics employed by HUAC
Imprisoned and hundreds more blacklisted
People were scared of having anything to do with them

Yalta Conference

Period: Feb 4, 1945 to Feb 11, 1945

UN, Declaration of Liberated European – USA supported giving emergency relief to countries in Europe - Poland
Roosevelt believed Stalin and him had special relationship

Harry S.Truman President

Apr 12, 1945

Truman's national security policy:
Usa - sufficient influence in West Europe + USA - collective Western defence strategy - Germany included
Retain influence in Asia
Containment - fundamental
Usa must retain a strong nuclear arsenal and conventional forces in order to deter
Eisenhower rejected Truman's commitment to major expansion of USA's conventional forces - containment was limited

Truman President

Period: Apr 12, 1945 to Jan 20, 1953

VE Day

May 8, 1945

End of WW2

Poland Provisional Government of Unity

Jun 1, 1945

June 1945 Mikolajczyk - ex Pol on London
contained both parties
Stalin - multi-party elections with intent of communism - rigged
Mikolajczyk resigned

UN Charter agreed

Jun 1, 1945

Agreed at Yalta
Intention of keeping peace after WW2 - situated in New York
communist states limited - only USSR and Poland

Potsdam Conference

Jul 17, 1945

17th July – 2nd August
Germany- 4Ds, USSR reparations +25% from Western Zones
reaffirm Yalta

Potsdam Conference

Period: Jul 17, 1945 to Aug 2, 1945

Germany- 4Ds, USSR reparations +25% from Western Zones
reaffirm Yalta

Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombed by Atomic bombs

Aug 6, 1945

6th and 9th August
Between 130,000 and 226,000 killed
'Little boy' and 'Fat man'

Division of Korea

Aug 15, 1945

38th parallel
taken from Japanese control

VJ Day

Sep 2, 1945

End of war against Japan

Kennan’s Long Telegram

Sep 22, 1945

X article – economic imperialism

UN formally came into being

Oct 24, 1945

50 original members
20 from capitalist Central and South American state
pro-Western – Iran, Iraq, Egypt
Greece, India ,Canada, Australia, New Zealand

Ethiopia and Liberia
Poland-1945
China disqualified from membership on grounds that they have been an aggressor during Chinese Civil War Security council - veto power
USA , Britain, France, China, USSR
USA used UN as a vehicle for intervention on a global scale to enhance its own foreign policy aims

National Democratic Front - Romania

Dec 1, 1945

left wing parties merged - PM Groza
Communists popular

Red army occupied Romania
Opposition minimal

Bulgaria liberated

1946

Communist win 75% of votes in Bulgaria

Romania liberated

1946

Communist win 80% of votes in Romania

Power of veto from 1946 and 1955 Power of veto from 1946 and 1955 China- 1 France-2 USA-0 Britain-0 USSR-75

1946

Power of veto from 1946 and 1955

Baroque Plan

1946

• Ideas against non-proliferation
• Restricting military development
• Illumination through national armaments of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction
• Removal of security council veto regarding punishment of a violator

US willing to remove nuclear weapons in exchange for agreement no other country would create nuclear weapons
Agreed for inspection regimes to ensure compliance Soviets insisted US destroy nuclear arsenal as a precondition
Plan destroyed

Iron Curtain Speech

Mar 6, 1946

Churchill gives ‘Iron Curtain’ speech at Fulton, Missouri

Chinese Civil War

Jun 1, 1946

*US supported Ku Ming Tang

Chang Kai Shek ordered first invasion of communists

Jul 1, 1946

*Chang Kai Shek ordered first invasion of communists - more than 1 mil soldiers
Communists – inched Hu Ming Tang further back to Taiwan

Atomic Enerfy Act - McMahon Act

Aug 1, 1946

Gave US control of nuclear weapons to the civilian united states energy commission Considered all nuclear weapons to be restricted data – cannot be legally shared, even with allies

Greek Civil War

Sep 10, 1946

Communist win 75% of votes in Bulgaria
SLAS vs SLAD

Bulgaria Communist

Oct 1, 1946

Stalin forced Bulgrain govt to include opposition Dec 1945
Communists turened to Labour party to disguise
Oct 1946 - elections opposition won 1/3
Cominform
Dimitrov - nationalised industry and collectivised agriculture

Romania Communist

Nov 1, 1946

National Democratic Front Won Elections 80%

Bizonia

1947

Britain no longer provide aid to anti-communist forces in Greece

1947

USA step up

Moscow Conference

1947

March - April

Paris Conference - Molotov walked out

1947

The London Conference

1947

Nov - Dec

Laos and Cambodia granted autonomy

1947

ACC in Romania dissolved

Feb 1, 1947

joins Cominform

Truman Doctrine

Mar 12, 1947

Congress - $400 mil economic and military assistance to Turkey and Greece

Executive order 9835

Mar 21, 1947

Loyalty order – FBI orders to hunt down secret communists in public service
3 mill investigations
300 firings
List of subversive organisation- fuel for McCarthy's red scare
Truman

Marshall Plan

Jun 5, 1947

European Recovery Programme
13.5 bln to 16 countries

USSR first IBCM R-7 Semyorka launched - could travel 8000km

Aug 6, 1947

Zhdanov Doctrine

Sep 22, 1947

Poland communist

1948

Rigged elections
Gomulka removed (leader of Pol Comm party)
Bierut replaces

Decolonisation

1948

India, Burma, Pakistan, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) gained independence

Chinese dominated Malayan communist party –MCP – independence from Britain

1948

3 billion Chinese community and 40% of pop in Malaya
MCP gorillas - exclusively Chinese – imperial exploitation
UK saw this as part of a Soviet orchestrated effort to extend communist influence in Asia
British defeated MCP
Anti-communist Malay majority-Malayan antagonism toward Chinese
Rural strategic hamlets- Chinese villages to prevent communists gaining access to population
British encouraged moderate non-communists to distance themselves from Chinese through concessions

USA created Strategic Air Command

1948

Headed by General Curtis LeMay
Role - provide24-hour readiness to respond to external nuclear threat

Communist People's Republic declared Romania

Apr 1, 1948

Republic of Korea established

Aug 15, 1948

US zone - south
Syngman Rhee - anti- communist and nationalist
Reunite Korea and sovereign state and remove communists
Argued defending their border with Manchuria was better than defending a border a the 38th parallel
Needed to guarantee USA would protect South Korea and provide military aide to enable their army to enforce national unification of Korea

Democratic People's Republic of Korea established

Sep 9, 1948

Soviet Zone - north
Kim II Sung
Formed Korean Provisional Peoples' Committee – provisional communist govt
Development of guerrilla action by the North, to destabilised the South and undermine Rhee's regime Pressurise USSR and China to attack South to unify Korea - communism
200,000 communist supporters already in the South and a well- organised communist guerrilla force

General Douglus MacAurthur clear directive from Washington for Japan's economic stabilisation

1949

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP)
balanced budget, stricter lending criteria, wage and price controls, increased regulation of trade, etc
'super balanced budget' - target of 157million yen
USA demanded Japan join General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Strengthen Western trade and prevent trade with communist China

Exiled Vietnamese emperor , Bao Dai, returned to power

1949

US and USSR tasked with preparing Korea for reunion and independence by UN

1949

*UN failed to create a united Korea elections and could only do it in south alone
1949 – us occupation withdrew from south Korea
North- rigged elections – communist Kim II Sung – leader of one party state
Soviet occupation forced also withdrew
First months 1950 – propaganda war between north and south  and border skirmishes
Communist victorying Chinese civil war without much soviet assistance
American withdrawal from south Korea
Spring 1950 – Stalin - Sung green light for reunification war

Kim II Sung asks Stalin for Soviet support

Mar 1, 1949

7500 British troops still in South Korea
Stalin rejected supporting Kim II Sung
Suggested guerrilla forces in the south should be strengthened to undermine govt
South Korea not included in Defensive Perimeter Strategy

Chinese Communist Party(CCP) announced allegiance to the USSR

Jun 1, 1949

1949 - Chinese Civil War
Jiang Jieshi exiled to Island of Taiwan and leader of Republic of China

White Paper

Jul 30, 1949

USA attempted to justify loss of China and withdrawl of direct military support for Jiang Jieshi
Dean G Acheson, George Marshall's successor committed to supporting KMT in Taiwan
Did this secretly so USA did not appear as 'imperialist menace' to China

USSR test its first nuclear weapon

Aug 29, 1949

RDS 1

Mao Zedong establishes People's Republic of China

Oct 1, 1949

FRG joined the Council of Europe

Nov 1, 1949

Received right to establish consulates in other countries

Konrad Adenauer – first chancellor of Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)
Could have direct representation on the Organisation of European Economic Cooperation(OEEC)

Truman signed NSC - 68 into policy

Jan 1, 1950

Increase general air, ground, sea strength, atomic capabilities and air and civilian defences to deter war
Develop military readiness to deter soviet aggression
Stressed urgency of building USA's political, economic and military power
investing in development of hydrogen bomb + military power
Containment

Defensive Perimeter Strategy

Jan 1, 1950

Acheson argued military defence of Japan was the responsibility of USA

USA committed to protecting South Korea from communist Expansionism
(creation of model states - occupation and reconstruction of Japan; independence in Philippines)
Invasion of South Korea undermined his plan

Alger Hiss convicted of perjury

Jan 1, 1950

Accused of being soviet spy
Lied about passing info onto USSR while working in US State department 1937-38
Pumpkin Files - much evidence against Hiss

McCarthyism - Second Red Scare

1950

Joseph McCarthy = republican senator

Army of communist conspirators working within the US government
Claimed he had 205 people who worked in the state department who were known to be members of the communist party
McCarthyism - urgency of moving US policy away from Eurocentric focus and towards policies more determined at Far East
Harry Truman accused of being too sof on communism and responsible for loss of China Lavender Scare - Many LGBTQ+ exposed and fired

Second Red Scare - FBI

1950

Head of FBI – J.Edgar Hoover - massive boost in funding
Many targets - 'Reducators'
Said people were undermining American traditions and customs and questioning correctness of American way of life

1950- more popular Vietnamese nationalist and communist leader , Ho Chi Minh, supported by China and Stalin, proclaimed the resistance of Democratic Republic of Vietnam

1950

Usa supported Indochina independence

1950

West made heavy financial investments in West berlin – flagship of Western capitalism

1950

Acheson line

Jan 12, 1950

Crisis in Asia speech at National Press Club
Korea and Taiwan not in line
aimed to deter stalin and mao communization

Sino-Soviet alliance

Feb 14, 1950

Committed both to guarentee security for the other in the event of aggression by Japan
Led to USA's diplomatic isolation of China Soviets focused on Europe and middle east – China focused on Asia
Korea – exception

US indirect support in French-Indochina War

May 1, 1950

• After NSC-68 US policy makers came to regard Vietminh as a communist organisation that nationalist Justified US aid to France

UN intervention in Korean War

Jun 1, 1950

USA requested special session of Security Council Ussr boycotting security council; due to majority decision to recognise the republic of China under Jiang Jieshi as the legitimate of government, not the people's Republic of China under Mao USSR could not veto to block decision for ceasefire
Truman able to legitimise intervention in Korea

US/UN involvement in Korea War

Jun 1, 1950

General Douglus MacArthur  led UN forces 
June – sept 1950 (offensive)

Forces of the democratic people's republic of Korea advanced into South Korea and reached a perimeter close to perimeter Chinese troops massed in Manchuria in readiness for an move into Korea Throughout the UN - 29 states committed to military, economic or medical aid

Korean War begins

Jun 25, 1950

Developed into US-Chinese war
Stalin: indirect military support - ally of Korea would be pos
1600 pieces of artillery
178 military aircraft

258 T-34 tanks
China did not intervene
Truman ordered US 7th Fleer to defend Taiwan by positioning itself between China and Taiwan USA assumes Japan and and Defensive Perimeter States secured

Phase 2 of Korean War

Sep 1, 1950

Phase 2 – sept – nov 1950 (counter-offensive/offensive) MacArthur landed at Inchon and succeeded in forcing North Korea forces back across 38th parallel Oct - Mao sent 30,000 chinese troops acoss Yalu river into north Korea Led to major counter attack against UN forces

Mao sent 30,000 chinese troops to NK

Oct 1, 1950

China intervene in NK

Nov 1, 1950

Zhou Enlai - First premier of people's republic of China
Sent military volunteers to support north korea
Interfered due to pressure from Stalin but did best to stay out of conflict

China joins North Korea in Korean War

Nov 25, 1950

Sent military volunteers to support North Korea Wanted to establish credentials as significant force in far east and communist world
Wanted to be seen acting independent of USSR
Consolidate position independently of USSR

Phase 3 - Korean War

Dec 1, 1950

Phase 3 - Dec 1950 – June 1951(stabilisation and negotiation) Jan, Chinese forces had pushed across the 18th parallel and captured Seoul Feb, the UN condemned China as an aggressor

Five Year Plan - GDR

1951

Intention of doubling GDR's industrial output

MacAurther dismissed

Apr 1, 1951

Demands by MacAurther that US forces should push into North Korea and engage the Chinese and use air strikes and nuclear weapons against them

MacAurther was dismissed by Truman in April.
MacArthur wanted to commit the USA to a struggle for the reunification of Korea, Truman feared an extension of the war and bringing the USSR into it June, the USA was indicating to China and the USSR of its willingness to negotiate a ceasefire

USA alarmed by Korean War - Acheson

May 1, 1951

May 1951 Dean G Acheson took viw that the purpose of the invasion was to destabilise Japan, southeast Asia and the Philippines and even to influence the position in Europe

General Treaty

May 1, 1951

Signed in Bonn
Abolished the statute of occupation and recognised the full sovereignty of FRG
Adenauer agreed to renounce nuclear weapons and keep German Army limited and under strict civilian control

Phase 4 (stalemate and peace)

Jun 1, 1951

Phase 4 – june 1951 – July 1953 (stalemate and peace) Neither side mounted any significant military offensives during this period
Lack of UN action convinced Mao and Stalin that there was a genuine desire for peace settlement
US had consolidated relations with Japan and felt more secure in involvement with the Far East Disinclination to cooperate with each other + negotiation on post- war prisoner release arrangements led to long delays in reaching a final settlement

China tied 27 June – Truman ordered US 7th Fleet to position itself between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan

Jun 27, 1951

The San Francisco Peace Treaty

Sep 8, 1951

Recognise the full sovereignty of the Japanese people
Force Japan to renounce claims to neighbouring territories, including Korea, Formosa(Taiwan), the Kurile Islands, the Spratly Islands and the Parcel Islands No reparations or rearmament or limits economically
No responsibility for war USSR and China refused to sign

US-Japan Security Treaty

Sep 8, 1951

Gave USA:
Unrestricted use of military bases in Japan
Administrative control of Owkinawa
Right to use military force to intervene in any internal disorder in Japan

Right to veto Japan offering military bases to other states

90,000 French  casualties in its bid to hold Vietnam

1952

USA commitment to preventing communism in Vietnam
Geostrategically important – useful market place for Japanese goods and strengthening of Japan's economy

Domino theory

1952

Communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighbouring states, each falling like a row of dominos

Unrest in GDR

1952

Five Year Plan aim was achieved in production of iron, steel and chemicals
July 1952 - workers' individual production targets suddenly raised by 10%
Stasi- secret police
decrease living standards
Ulbricht (GDR) summoned to Moscow was urged for more moderate policy and end to rapid socialization

National Police Reserve and National Safety Agency(NSA)

Aug 1, 1952

MacArthur ordered Japan to establish 75000 National Police Reserve(NPR) to be trained by US military advisory team- purpose was defensive Aug 1952- Japanese govt established 110,000 ground troops and 7600 maritime personnel

USA hydrogen bomb in pacific ocean - yield of 14 megatons

Nov 1, 1952

US first thermal nuclear detonation

Nov 1, 1952

Success of ID - mic test 10.1 megaton explosion – was not really a bomb as equipment necessary for transport was the size of a warehouse

Massive retaliation

1953

SIgnificant and expensive military intervention in Korea
Nuclear weapons reliance = increased national Security + US Cold War stance
cost- effective method

Brinkmanship

1953

nuclear diplomacy
use nuclear strength to force agreements - verge of war

New Look Policy

1953

Roll back communism and Moscow's power as part of strategy to win Cold War
Containment – static and restrictive E spoke of freeing people in Eastern Europe from Soviet Control = never attempted to undermine sphere of influence or liberate

USSR successfully  tested hydrogen bomb

1953

GDR migration numbers 447,000

Jan 1, 1953

Jan1951 to April 1953 – 447,000 people have fled alone
18,000 workers, 9000 medium and small farmers, skilled workers and retirees
17,000 professionals and intellectuals
24,000 housewives
2718 members of SED

1619 members of FDJ ( Free German Youth Movement)
In first 4 months of 1953

Khrushchev - First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

1953

Foreign policy:
Soviet Union must remain as unchallenged leaders of socialist communist – growing competition from China and Mao Zedong
Firm grip maintained over Eastern Bloc and satellite states
Germany prevented from rearming and becoming future threat to Soviet Union
Ussr must continue to expand nuclear capability + keep up with arms race
Spending on military security +soviet conventical forces has to be reduced
International tension must be defused and care taken not to provoke USA

More than 300,000 had fled East Germany

1953

Dwight D. Eisenhower President

Period: Jan 20, 1953 to Jan 20, 1961

John Foster Dulles - rollback Said containment was expensive, interventionist, prolonging Cold War without making significant moves towards conciliation new strategies - nuclear weapons more effective, brinkmanship, massive retaliation, increased commitment to alliance systems, continued containment

Stalin dies

Mar 5, 1953

Replaced by Georgi Malenkov, Molotov, Beria, Bulganin
Nikita Khrushchev – first secretary of Russian communist party
improved living standards in USSR
less spent on armaments Soviets desired detente

Nikita Khrushchev First Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Union

Period: Mar 5, 1953 to Oct 14, 1964

GDR - migration

Apr 1, 1953

*April to June
Arrest of leading non - communist politicians
Growing resentment - increase in food prices
East German migration to West through Berlin's open frontier

Eisenhower announced any improvement in relations would depend on free elections in East in Europe

Apr 16, 1953

Soviets desired detente
May – Churchill plans for German reunification was unpopular
Fearful of neutral Germany being pressurised by USSR

USSR agreed to provide defence related tech to China

May 1, 1953

Sept + Oct – Nikita Khrushchev visited China

China given significant economic and technological aid – strengthen economy and national security

Malenkov proposes a united and neutral Germany

May 1, 1953

*Presidium of the Soviet Council of Misters met to consider problem in GDR
KGB - reassess value of GDR to Soviet Bloc - expensive and unstable
Deputy Prime Minister Malenkov urges to propose a united and neutral Germany which would pay substantial reparations to USSR
Idea rejected by other soviet ministers

The East German Uprising

Jun 16, 1953

Strikes and riots in east Germany
Workers demanded increased pay, political freedom and re-establishment of German Social Democratic party
Gorlitz and Bitterfeld – determined efforts to take over city governments
East Berlin – 100,000 people demonstrated on the streets

The East German Uprising suppressed

Jun 17, 1953

125 killed – 19 in East Berlin
Soviet troops backed by tanks suppresses uprising

Rosenbergs convicted and executed

Jun 19, 1953

Convicted of passing American nuclear secrets to the USSR
Judge was terrorised and frightened by the atmosphere of fear in the country – would be charged as a commie if her were to do something to save their lives

Eisenhower did not respond to GDR Uprising - smal

Jul 18, 1953

USA responded to pressure of public opinion in West Germany to intervention in East Germany - called Foreign Ministers Conference - future of Germany

Provocative broadcasts from its radio stations in Berlin – to prolong unrest in East Germany Strengthened support for Adenauer in FRG
Won election in Sept by larger majority than previous election

Panmunjom Armistice Agreement

Jul 27, 1953

There was to be military demarcation line with a demilitarised zone of two km on each side. The line was roughly that of 38th parallel
All military forced should withdraw to their respective territories

The reparation of prisoners would begin

All the pre-war status quo restored but it had a large impact NSC-68 - usa would encourage nations resisting soviet political aggression and containment was globalised
WG allowed to rearm and prospect of solution for germany lost

NSC 162/2 report

Oct 30, 1953

Nuclear weapons and nuclear superiority as aggressor
most effective way to deter aggression

USA paying 75% of costs of French-Indochina war

1954

Army Chief of Staff – General Matthew Ridgeways convinced Eisenhower that the war in Indochina would cost USA many troops
Eisenhower refused to unilateral military action
Diplomatic solution - USSR supported
The People's Republic of China wanted to appear moderate but put some pressure on Ho Chi Minh to negotiate an end to the war with France

Berlin Conference

Jan 25, 1954

25 Jan to 18 Feb 1954
Hope to reunite Germany
Beria arrested and executed - treachery that he led to uprising as wanted to find solution to problems of divided Germany
Both Side rejected

USA successfully tested a lithium-based H-bomb (Castle Bravo)

Mar 1, 1954

*1500 more times powerful than A-bomb used at Hiroshima 1945

Dein Bien Phu

Mar 13, 1954

March 13 to May 7, 1954
French began construction of fortress in valley of Dien Bien Fu – 50,000 troops - 72 hours - garrisons air strip out of action - open bombardment by Vietminh
Hoped to lure the Vietnamese in

French on point of military defeat at hands of Viet Minh (supported by China against French colonialism and military)
Sieg warfare- French in a Nuse over 8 week s of fighting
7th may 1954- 6000 dead, remaining 10,000 sick and wounded French soldiers surrendered

140,000 strong Self-Defence Force Japan

Jul 1, 1954

140,000 strong Self-Defence Force created, supported by $240million by US and sale of US agricultural surplus to Japan
USA attitude in Japan- based on managing rearmament to avoid consequences that may lead to instability

Geneva Conference/Agreement

Jul 1, 1954

*Ceasefire - French agreed to withdraw troops from Northern Vietnam
divided by 17th parallel
not intended to be permanent - elections within 2 years
USA and southern zone refused to sign agreements
First time non-European nationalist force had defeated elite troops from a Europeans colonial power South Vietnam - President Ngo Dinh Diem
USA said they would support - pro American + non-communist
NV - Ho Chi Minh
Forbidden North from placing own forces into South

French-Indochina War ended

Jul 21, 1954

8th may 1954- Geneva settlement

USSR had similar technology to Lithium-based H-bomb

Sep 1, 1954

*

Southeast Asia collective defence treaty (SEATO)

Sep 8, 1954

John Foster Dulles -
Thailand Pakistan GB France US Australia New Zealand
Philippines

Viet Minh formally take over Hanoi and control of NV

Oct 11, 1954

McCarthy guilty

Dec 1, 1954

US senate voted McCarthy guilty of bringing the body into disrepute Army accused McCarthy of not conducting investigation in fair manner
Republican party began to distance themselves + condemned
Popularity dropped
Become known for paranoia witch-hunts

Vienna Conference

1955

• Austrian peace treaty and withdraw their army Britain, France and Soviet union ended military occupation of Austria in exchange for Austria's neutrality

USSR tested H-bomb that was 100 times more powerful than their first attempts

1955

Hallstein Doctrine

1955

Khrushchev recognised GDR as an independent state
FRG would regard any state other than USSR as an unfriendly act and would end diplomatic relations with such states

RDS- 37

1955

Multistage thermal nuclear hydrogen bomb in a deliverable format

METO

Feb 1, 1955

*Baghdad Pact Organisation
UK, Iraq, Turkey, Persia(Iran), Pakistan
counter thereat of soviet expansion into vital Middle East oil-producing regions
Mutually security organisation and economic cooperation pact

West Germany admitted into NATO

May 6, 1955

allowed to form army
USA wanted centrality of Germany and an alliance to contain communism effectively and at low cost

Warsaw Pact

May 14, 1955

Collective security strategy – non-threatening alliance
Military reinforcement of the USSR's satellite structure
Members - Czechoslovakia USSR Bulgaria Hungary Poland East Germany Albania Romania means of legitimising its influence on Eastern Europe - response to NATO

Austrian State Treaty

May 15, 1955

Withdrawal of all occupying powers
Re-established Austria as sovereign state - neutral Austria had been divided into occupational zones - USSR receiving economic aid for Austria USSR willingness to accept Finland and Yugoslavia as neutral states - therefore non liable to be subjected to joining Soviet sphere agreement - co-operation
West removed occupation forces from West Germany

Geneva Summit - Open Skies + Germany free elections?

Sep 18, 1955

Open Skies proposal - each side to provide details of military installations and to allow aerial reconnaissance
to end issue of superpowers inspecting each other's nuclear arsenals and taking a step closer to disarmament
Khrushchev rejected proposal Eisenhower proposed - unified Germany, free elections and Germany's freedom of own security - would be part of NATO
Khrushchev would only contemplate if it became demilitarised and neutral - agreement on free elections but no procedures set up

Vietnam War

Period: Nov 1, 1955 to Apr 30, 1975

USSR detonates first hydrogen bomb

Nov 12, 1955

150,000 more fled East Germany

1956

Many skilled workers and those who contributed most to East Germany's economy
Walther Ulbricht persuaded Khrushchev to take direct action

Decision not to hold national election in Vietnam

1956

Ho Chi Minh forced to concentrate on consolidating communist control in North Vietnam to fight for reunification

NV military had to put down revolt – 6000 killed

1956

Vietnam Workers' Party (VWP) - wanted land reform Regime seized privately owned land and redistribute amongst rural farming population Public denunciations of landowners and landlords + thousands executed and imprisoned in labour camps

The degree of 'peaceful coexistence'

Feb 1, 1956

*20th Congress of Communist Party of Soviet Union
Shift in USSR thinking - abandoned Marxist-Leninist view that war between socialists and capitalists were inevitable
Communist states in Soviet Block would concentrate on resources and internal improvements and progress rather than ideological war with West - cooperation Stalinist aggression – high expenses and govt debt
Khrushchev focus Soviet resources on domestic developments
Understood risks of nuclear war
Diplomacy to diffuse tensions

Khrushchev 'Secret Speech'

Feb 25, 1956

De-Stalinisation in the Soviet Bloc - political stability, economic growth and improved living conditions
Reported Stalin's crimes
Circulated throughout Eastern Europe secretly
By June had reached US State department

Boleslaw Beirut dead - Edward Ochab successor

Mar 12, 1956

Implemented de-Stalinisation in Poland
Press censorship relaxed
AK – Polish Home Army freed -in opposition to pro-Moscow communists
PoProstu – reformist newspaper gaining popularity with workers and nationalists
Reforms driven by intelligencia and Polish Writers Union
No consensus on Reforms in Poland
More open political atmosphere
Less dependence on Soviet Union

Poznan Uprising - 100,000 to streets - 74 killed

Jun 28, 1956

Poland - Workers on Strike + Anti-communist uprising
Workers demanded freedom for Catholic Church, bread and liberty + end and freedom from Soviet control
74 killed by Polish army - Poznan
After Secret Speech many Poles started to demand more political freedom and national sovereignty
Wage cuts and poor working conditions
Became anti-communist uprising
Prison stormed – over 250 other prisoners freed
Troops from Poznan military joined in conversations with protesters and some may have joined

10,000 troops marched into city - More than 50 killed, over 700 arrested

Jun 29, 1956

Minister of Defence - Soviet Marshal Rosovsky - activated military units form other neighbouring garrisons
Troops told the protested were being led by German agitator looking to discredit Poland

Ho Chi Minh forced to issue public apology +1 million refugees fled North Vietnam for South

Aug 1, 1956

*Ho Chi Minh forced to issue public apology for aggressive and clumsy implementation of land reform programme Many victims of the programme were loyal communists who happened to have little wealth
Much advise from China
Full scale collectivisation was underway and agricultural production increased

Gomulka in power - cooperation with Khrushchev - allowed 'own road to socialism'

Oct 1, 1956

*Wladyslaw Gomulka - First Secretary of Polish United Workers' Party - control of Polish Communist Party
Khrushchev met Gomulka + threatened military intervention if no cooperate
Gomulka agreed not to carry out anti-communist reforms
Poland still member of Warsaw Pact:
Socialist path over communist
Soviet troops and Polish security secured + freedom
Showed Moscow would allow satellites a measure of national independence if led by trustworthy men
Force not used - China supported PCP

Soviet troops stood down in Poland

Oct 21, 1956

Chinese govt urging Moscow for peaceful solution
Soviet representatives recalled to Moscow and replaces by Poles

Polish debt to Moscow cancelled
Collectivisation over agriculture abandoned
Censorship over media and arts relaxed
Repression of catholic church reduced
Increased autonomy to land
Still one party state

Unrest in Budapest

Oct 22, 1956

Students in Budapest demonstrated list of 16 demands
- Appointment of Imre Nagy as prime minister
- Withdrawal of soviet troops from Hungary
- Freedom of speech

- A free press
- Multi-party elections
- Disbanding of secret police New Kremlin leadership disapproved of Rakosi and removed after Stalin's death

Armed revolt in Budapest - 20,000 gathered + increased to 200,000

Oct 23, 1956

President of the Writer's Union of Hungary, Veres Peter read a manifesto to crowd
Destroyed stature of Stalin – a gift from 1951
Crowd entered parliament and demanded 16 points be read over radio waves
Escalated to armed revolt by ordinary working class
Workers' groups joined students and seized power from communist local authorities
4 days of fighting
Demonstrators were fired on by the Hungarian Secret Police
Hungarian army joined
AVH opened fire on the crowd - killed 3
Nagy arranged ceasefire

Nagy renamed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's Republic

Oct 24, 1956

Met soviet delegation – Anastas Mikoyan to convince USSR military intervention not needed
Agreed to accept Soviet troops would remain in Hungary to 'ensure stability'
Gerő and outgoing Prime Minister András Hegedüs had called Soviet troops
Protesters fighting AVH troops and Soviet troops
Nagy called for calmness but many protesters wanted immediate action
Some Hungarian units actively fighting against rebellion while some of the army joined

75 people death + 2,000 armed rebels in Budapest

Oct 25, 1956

Nagy announced formation of new govt– included 4 non-communists

Oct 27, 1956

Khrushchev to agreed to withdraw forces from Budapest - 1000 reble skilled and 500 soviet troops

Oct 28, 1956

Described as a 'broad nationalist movement'
Red army withdrew forces in Budapest
Declared they would move them from Hungary as a whole over the next two days – pressure from China
In exchange, Nagy govt would disarm rebels and restore order to country
Announced ADH to be dissolved and new National Guard was to be formed made up element of police army and rebels
8,000 political parties to be released

Suez Crisis

Oct 29, 1956

Anti-Communist violence in Hungary

Oct 30, 1956

Skirmish broke out between rebels and AVH at headquarters of Hungarian Workers Party
AVH surrendered and 23 of their officers were executed
Anti-Communist violence Moscow wanted to use force
Soviet govt had pledged to tolerate Nagy govt reconsider the status of soviet troops stationed in Warsaw pact countries

Moscow reversed its decision in Hungary

Oct 31, 1956

Feared collapse of communism in Hungary
Nagy backed Hungarian revolutionaries
Bloodshed + unrest in Budapest

Nagy announced Hungary had withdrawn from Warsaw Pact

Nov 1, 1956

Operation Whirlwind - 15 Red Army divisions and about 4000 tanks surrounded Budapest - Uprising Crushed - Janos Kadar new govt

Nov 4, 1956

About 4000 Hungarians killed, 200,000 went into self-imposed exile in Austria
Imre Nagy executed
- Lack of intervention from West – reassured Moscow that West would not interfere in any problems in Eastern Europe
- East firmly under Soviet control
- Demoted to a debating issue in UN – UN would not interfere in Eastern Europe
- Peaceful coexistence compromised
- Need for social and political freedom in Eastern Europe
35,000 anti-Communist activists arrested and 300 executed

Consequences of Hungarian revolution

Dec 1, 1956

** Khrushchev increased the number of Soviet troops in Hungary from 2 to 4
made Hungarian govt accept and pay for troops
Warsaw Pact strengthened - fewer countries would want to rebel
Lack of US and UN intervention enforced Iron Curtain and undermined 'roll back' policy 2500 - 3000 Hungarian died
3,000 to 20,000 wounded
700 soldiers killed and 1500 wounded on soviet side
Over 180,000 fled country into exile
22,000 brough before courts and imprisoned
350 executed

USSR able to develop missile delivery systems for nuclear warheads

1957

Diem visited USA – Eisenhower referred to him as 'miracle man'

1957

Diem – corrupt and nepotistic
Policies – divisive and damaging
USA supported ' because we knew no one better' - John Foster Dulles
US economic aid taken by Diem and his family and officials

Diem's strategy focused on repression and silencing political opponents
Support from USA – opposition in South Vietnam
Diem's regime based on appearance of democracy but was not in reality
Primary interest was preservation of power
Creation of loyal and corrupt ruling group and support of USA

Bermuda Conference - agreed that USA to station IRBMs in Britain, manned by British personnel

Mar 21, 1957

• March 21- 23 Eisenhower and Harold Macmillan to discuss key issues and improve relations recently strained over U.S. criticism of British role in Suez Crisis Agreed that USA to station IRBMs in Britain, manned by British personnel
  

USA successfully tested first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)

Aug 21, 1957

Soviet Union launched first satellite to orbit the earth –Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

Soviet Union launched first satellite to orbit the earth –Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

USA convinced sputnik had been developed to aggravate USA and were showing that they could send nuclear attacks form space Sputnik appeared to undermine effectiveness of massive retaliation strategy that was so central to USA's Cold War nuclear defence programme Sputnik created sense of urgency from USA to develop own space programme

Laika- launched into ten-day orbit in Sputnik II

Nov 3, 1957

Gaither Report - missile gap - 100 to 30 lead in IBCMs in favour of USSR

Nov 7, 1957

Commissioned by Eisenhower to investigate the state of US-Soviet nuclear capability
Called for urgent strengthening of US missile technology, along with offensive and defensive military capabilities
called for 50% increase in US military spending and redesign of US Defence Department
presented concept of missile gap

Revealed gaps between Soviet and US tech and predicted 100 to 30 lead in IBCMs in favour of USSR
Suggested reliance on cheap nuclear weapons instead of expensive Army divisions

Eisenhower ignored Gaither Report

Nov 7, 1957

Gaither Report based on conclusions on Soviet nuclear warheads by USSR – inadequate evidence
Eisenhower placed trust in data received by U-2 spy plane intelligence gathering rather than Gaither Report
Suggested slow rate of production of nuclear warheads by USSR

Moscow Conference of World Communist and Workers' Parties

Nov 16, 1957

Most Eastern European countries except Poland and Yugoslavia agreed to the USSR as 'the first and mightiest' of the socialist countries
64 political parties from all over the world
Revealed Sino-Soviet disagreement - Mao and Chinese Communist Party - remarks on Soviet intro-party struggle, comments on nuclear war and declaration China would take over Great Britain in 15 years
Beijing’s challenge to Soviet leadership of the socialist bloc.
Mao argued for a centralized world communist movement

NASA established

1958

National Aeronautics and Space Administration - supervision of space exploration activities in the United States

Moscow feared USA may place nuclear weapons in West Germany

1958

Sino-Soviet relations deteriorating + USSR needed to strengthen USSR power as dominant communist power

USA put first satellite into orbit

Jan 31, 1958

US successfully launched first satellite - the Explorer

Jan 31, 1958

US place embargo in Cuba

Mar 14, 1958

Khrushchev Premier of Soviet Union

Period: Mar 27, 1958 to Oct 14, 1964

Soviet space programme seemed to be dominating USA
West Germany now part of NATO – if equipped with nuclear weapons, could threaten Soviet security
USSR hold on part of Eastern Europe was fragile – Heavy Soviet defence spending draining resources and undermining communist system
No significant restriction on GDR – citizens leaving country and fleeing to West
West had not recognised existence of GDR
strengthen economy and defences of USSR + global ideological expansion

Vice President Richard Nixon goodwill visit Latin Americas

May 1, 1958

*Shift in US policy towards the region
Economic stability became a target and USA supported the creation of a regional banking institution –
Inter-American Development Bank and regional common markets
Dwight D. Eisenhower also agreed not to offer unconditional American support to dictators Ordered embargo on further arms shipments in Batista

Govt US authorised $1billion for technological development in space programme

Sep 1, 1958

*

USSR issued a six-month ultimatum to West

Nov 27, 1958

• Demanded withdrawal of Western troops from West Berlin
  
• Berlin to be declared a 'free city'
• All soviet right in berlin to be transferred to GDR

Flopnick - US Navy's Vanguard rocket crashed on its take-off from Cape Canaveral

Dec 7, 1958

Western powers rejected the ultimatum

Dec 31, 1958

West Germany's chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, feared American betrayal

10 SS-6 IBCMs had been deployed by USSR - deployment limited

1959

Atlas and Titan models developed – added to Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) systems

USA development of next generation nuclear missile systems - The Thor, SLBM, IBCM

1959

Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) Polaris
The Thor
Minuteman (ICBM) SYSTEM

Fifteenth Plenum of VWP Central Committee

1959

Authorized the use of armed struggle in the south
Strategy agreed to strengthen communism in North Vietnam well underway by 1959
Served as a declaration of war on the South
Aim – use military force to overthrow Diem's regime and remove the presence of 'the ruling power of the imperialist and feudalist forces'

The Batista regime is overthrown by Castro + 79 supporters

Jan 1, 1959

The Carribean regarded by USA as its own 'back yard'
Determined to maintain stability
Cuban constitution gave USA rights of intervention and required Cuba to provide land from naval bases With brother Raul Castro, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and 79 supporters
Guerrilla campaign conducted against president Fulgencio Batista's regime US base at Guantanamo Bay today
USA had huge influence in the affairs

CENTO

Mar 1, 1959

*METO turns into Central Treaty Organisation
Iraq withdrew after anti-soviet monarchy overthrown
US - associate member
headquarters moved from Baghdad to Ankara
1979 - Iran withdraw after fall of Sah
March 1979 - dissolved period military exercises and coordination with NATO - developments - Turkey-Persia telephone line
No Arab countries in CENTO - no military support when requested (Pakistan vs India 1965)

Castro introduced programme of agrarian reform -->considerable amounts of American-owned property being seized by the state

May 1, 1959

US fears of Cuba becoming a Soviet satellite in the Caribbean and a base from where pro-communist regimes could be managed across Latin America

Fidel Castro returned to Cuba

Jul 26, 1959

Camp David Talks - Khrushchev visits USA

Sep 15, 1959

Khrushchev - first Soviet leader to visit USA
Discussed disarmament and situation in Berlin
Agreed to settle international issues through diplomacy rather than force Visit caused deterioration in Soviet's relations with China reinforced West's certainty that communist power bloc had not been created by alliance between China and USSR Khrushchev - opposition from Chinese + Soviet
Wanted deal over Berlin
Wanted agreement to prohibit nuclear weapons in the pacific and ban on neucs in Germany

Luna 10 - first satellite to successfully orbit the moon launched

Oct 1, 1959

*Soviets

China nuclear arsenal very close to completion

1960

France joined race - testing first weapon in Algeria

1960

Le Duan becomes General Secretary in NV

1960

Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan visited Cuba - arranged $100 million in credits with Castro

Feb 1, 1960

*

Cuba - Soviet trade deal - first shipment of crude oil from USSR n exchange for sugar

Apr 1, 1960

• SU to purchase 5 mil tonnes of Cuban sugar over 5 year period US owned oil companies refused to refine it so Castro nationalised

U-2 incident

May 1, 1960

American U-2 spy plane had been shot down while on a mission over the Soviet Union
Gary Powers - pilot denied spying despite Gaither report
Eisenhower administration compounded the situation by initially disclaiming any knowledge of espionage flights over the Soviet Union
Plans for Geneva Summit scrapped + plans for Eisenhower to visit SU Khrushchev exaggerating Soviet nuclear capacity
U-2 suggested missile gap in US favour

Paris Summit

May 17, 1960

Were going to discuss Test Ban Treaty, Cuba and Berlin
SU, USA, GB, FRA - discussion possible progress over Berlin and future of Germany, creation of nuclear free zone in central Europe
Soviets - wanted Berlin to be 'free city' with min military presence and Peace Treaty with East Germany
Summit collapsed - controversy about American aerial espionage over SU Diplomatic recognition of GDR halted - U-2

US Discoverer satellite programme providing long-range intelligence gathering photos from space

Aug 1, 1960

U-2 flights semi-obsolete Enables USA to gain more coverage in one capsule than the combined four years of U-2 coverage
Space important US security and control of space would lead to global control

America imposed economic sanctions on Cuba

Oct 19, 1960

National Liberation Front in South Korea created - Ho Chi Minh Trail provided NFL with equipment and personnel

Dec 20, 1960

North Vietnamese leadership, established a new nationalist organization in SV
Purpose = free SV from what it saw as US imperialism
Aimed to create a unified, sovereign and independent Vietnamese state
+ overthrow Diem's regime + influence of US backers Rejection of Diem's quasi-imperialist policies:
Campaign to destroy communist in SV
Largely ignored interests of majority of pop – rural peasantry + were reminded of French through Catholics
Local councils replaced by govt – appointed officials

NFL political manifesto 10-point programme

Dec 20, 1960

Viet Minh infrastructure still in place
'spiritual father' - Ho Chi Minh acted as influence of NFL
Mutually supportive relationship between communism and nationalism in NFL
Nationalistic over Communism
NFL controlled from capital – Hanoi, but a means by which communists could infiltrate and influence the south with ease NFL – seen as agent of communisation Not in breach of Geneva conference agreements Programme appealed to intellectuals, students, middle class and rural working class

Fist half of 1961 - 10,000 GDR citizens migrated to West

1961

Operation Chrome Dome - Airborne order - B-52 force was always in the air

Period: 1961 to 1968

B-52 strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons remained on continuous airborne alert Invulnerable to soviet first strike and ready to carry out immediate attack

John F Kennedy President

Period: Jan 20, 1961 to Nov 22, 1963

Declared in inauguration speech that USA would do whatever necessary to support survival of liberty and freedom
Reaffirmation of Truman Doctrine
Increases defence budget
Promised more flexible conventional forces
Favoured expansion of USA's nuclear arsenal and its Polaris missile submarine force Strategy of flexible response : expand non-nuclear capabilities to reduce threat of nuclear war and react to threats like insurgency and subversion

Yuri Gagarin - first Soviet cosmonaut/ man in space

Apr 12, 1961

First Soviet cosmonaut became national and international hero

Bay of Pigs Invasion - 1500 vs 10,000 Cuban

Apr 17, 1961

Plan – to enable 1500 anti-castro exiles to land on Cuba and carry out a military coup to remove him
Kennedy supported CIA- inspired attack

Met by 20,000 heavily armed Cuban troops Kennedy now looked weak and aggressive at the same time
Unmitigated disaster and humiliation for Kennedy
Confirmed Soviet Union's and Castro's fears about US intentions for Cuba
Castro power consolidated in Cuba

Vienna Summit - Khrushchev and Kennedy met for first time in Vienna

Jun 4, 1961

Khrushchev thought Kennedy was young, politically vulnerable and easy to manipulate
Kennedy refused to compromise on status of Berlin and accommodate Khrushchev's demand that Berlin should cease to be an 'escape route' for East Germans
Kennedy told American people that West Berlin represented a symbol of freedom and that the treat was a global threat
Berlin – symbol of differences between superpowers and Cold War confrontation

Kennedy called for build-up of NATO forces

Jul 25, 1961

Kennedy sked Congress to increase defence spending, call up army reservists and reactivate ships about to be scraped

Berlin Wall

Aug 13, 1961

Berlin physically sealed off - Wire fences replaced with concreate wall and deep perimeter defences - 4 recognised crossing points GDR's economic crisis resolved immediately – skilled professionals and workers unable to leave Inaction of West and tolerance of wall suggested West had reached degree of recognition of GDR Building of wall guaranteed no military conflict between USR and USA – Kennedy took view that wall enabled avoidance of nuclear confrontation

USSR detonates first hydrogen bomb with yield of 50 megatons

Oct 30, 1961

Taylor-Rostow Report --> Recommended sending up to 10,000 US ground troops -->Kennedy backed counterinsurgency measure delivered by conventional ground forces rather than strengthening SV Army

Nov 1, 1961

*Kennedy sends General Taylor and Chair of State Planning Department Policy Committee, Walt Roscow, to Vietnam to assess the situation Report recommended:
- Increase in helicopter force to facilitate counterinsurgency action

- Greater training support for South Vietnamese Army

- Increase in number of US combat forces
- Strategic bombing of North Vietnam JFK committed to containment and domino theory
Emphasised ensuring South Vietnam was a democracy

Operation Mongoose

Nov 30, 1961

Extensive campaign of terrorist attacks against civilians, and covert operations by US Central Intelligence Agency in Cuba to destabilises regime and facilitate anti-castro revolt
General Edward Lansdale head of operation

USA has successfully launched 63 space missions compared to USSR's 15 missions

1962

Operation Quick Kick started in the Caribbean

Mar 1, 1962

*To show military might of USA
Khrushchev's Defence Minster – Rodion Yankelevich Malinovsky concluded that in the face of a determined US attack -
Cuba would stand for no more than a week

Operation Sunrise - Strategic Hamlet Programme - by Sept 1962 4 mil in 3000 hamlets

Mar 22, 1962

Aim -create armed stockades+house south Vietnamese rural peasants
Intention – isolate people from Vietcong
Diem and Nhu could spread influence rather than encourage farmers to challenge Vietcong Failure:
led to improved recruitments of peasants for Vietcong
Peasants erect fences and construct defensive moats against enemy - targeted govt officials Corruption - took money for medical aid, irrigation systems fertiliser and seeds
Flawed Scheme - impossible to isolate peasants from Vietcong agents

USSR deployed Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba - fighter planes, bombers and 14,000 ground troops

Jun 1, 1962

*Soviets willing to support Castro politically, economically and militarily
Installations of nuclear weapons in mountains of Cuba
Nuclear weapons both short and medium range - could reach between 1100 and 2800 km Acknowledged it would take at lead a decade for soviet missiles on Cuba to establish parity with USA's long -range missile capability
Reducing missile gap
Reduced spending on conventional military forces Khrushchev hoped to develop a linkage strategy between Cuba and Berlin

OPLAN 312, OPLAN 314, and OPLAN 316

Oct 1, 1962

air strike plan, land based invasion and blockade Soviet union had been supplying Castro with arms shipments for some time but USA did not intervene

U-2 spy plane flight produced unmistakable evidence of an R-12 missile site at San Cristobal

Oct 14, 1962

Blockade decided by ExComm and Kennedy

Oct 16, 1962

Kennedy's National Security Adviser, McGeorge Bundy informed him Kennedy assembled advisory committee of the National Security Council
ExComm – 'hawks' called for US military action + 'doves' favoured a diplomatic solution Naval blockade - on offensive weapon shipments to Cuba Too many missiles to guarantee destruction of them all before Soviet retaliation
Kennedy initially supported 'no warning' attack
US bases put on maximum alert in preparation for a possible military strike against Cuba

UN Security Council met

Oct 17, 1962

US ambassador to UN – Adali Stevenson condemned Soviet deployment Neither Soviet ambassador to the UN, Valerian Zorin, nor the ambassador to the USA, Anatoly Dobrynin had been told of the deployment by Moscow Khrushchev called blockade an 'act of aggression'

Naval Blockade - the first Soviet ships to reach the quarantine either stopped or turned around

Oct 24, 1962

Khrushchev telegram to Kennedy

Oct 26, 1962

Khrushchev looking for a way out of Crisis
If USA made a non- invasion pledge, then the Soviet Union would remove its military presence on Cuba Kennedy kept options open - wanted to invade Cuba and remove missiles and overthrow Castro

Castro ordered Cuban anti-aircraft forces to start firing on low-level reconnaissance planes

Oct 26, 1962

Khrushchev's second letter to Kennedy

Oct 27, 1962

Demanded America should remove their own missiles from Turkey as well ExComm opposed removal of US removal of missiles from Turkey
News that U-2 spy plane had been shot down over Cuba and pilot - Major Rudolf Anderson- had been killed
US air attacks fought against Soviet S-75 anti-aircraft emplacements on Cuba Meeting summoned with Soviet ambassador, Dobrynin, during which Kennedy to infrom him US willing to remove US missiles on Turkey
Not incorporated as Final Settlement - NATO not told

Khrushchev agreed to remove missiles

Oct 28, 1962

Kennedy praise Khrushchev's decision Castro felt a betrayal from Khrushchev refused to allow inspection of the missile sites once they had been dismantles Checks were essential for US-Soviet agreement and were only fulfilled as Soviet ships removing missiles revealed the contents of their cargos to US inspectors

The Buddhist Crisis

1963

Diem = Roman Catholic + favoured religion and thousands of Catholic exiles from North
Many got employment in military + govt Ngo Dinh Thuc – own brother became Archbishop of Hue after Diem lobbied Vatican on him behalf Persecuting the Buddhist community

Hue Phat Dan shootings - Military prevented Buddhists prevented from hearing speech from leader Tri Quang - 9 killed

May 8, 1963

Buddhists banned from flying flags in honour of Buddha's birthday = Hue
Catholics encouraged to display Papal flags in celebration for Thuc Buddhist protests multiplied across South Vietnam -organised and coordinated Trained on how to develop anti- government propaganda
Organised hunger strikes and mass rallies
Engaged with foreign press- US

Tri Quang rallied support from every quarter Diem resolute to belief Vietcong had caused Hue incident

Quang Doc self-immolation in Saigon

Jun 11, 1963

Elderly Buddhist monk – Quang Doc – publicly burned himself alive in Saigon
Many more acts followed

Valentina Tereshkova first woman in space

Jun 16, 1963

'Ich bin ein Berliner' Speech - Kennedy -

Jun 26, 1963

Test to west's commitment to defend freedom by controlling expansionist communism – Khrushchev handed USA the best propaganda tool

Tri Quang secret meeting with US officials in Saigon

Aug 1, 1963

*Tri Quang warned that USA must put further pressure on Diem to carry out reforms or remove him from power Blamed USA for problem was it was supporting Diem an regime Also sought refuge at US Embassy and Henry Cabot Lodge refused to hand him over to Nhu - had ransacked pagodas, fired on civilians and beaten monks and nuns

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 

Aug 5, 1963

USA, USSR, +UK
'Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmospheres, in Outer Space and Under Water' Nuclear test ban negotiation proposed in 30 oct 1962
No provision for underground test of periodic view and inspection

Treaty was major factor in détente Sanctioning of testing of nuclear powers
Still allowed to underground
China and France refused to sign Soviet union forced to respond than deterred from taking action

Nhu organised renewed assault on Buddhists + Cable 243

Aug 24, 1963

*Roger Hilsman – head to State Department's Fr Eastern Bureau, sent a telegram to Henry Cabot Lodge – US ambassador to South Vietnam Emphasised Lodge should explore an alternative leadership in South Vietnam and start planning replacement leader for Diem - green light for ARVN to coup
Approved by Kennedy

Lodge sent Kennedy message agreeing that conflict in Vietnam could be resolved while Diem remained in office

Aug 29, 1963

Kennedy conscious of implications of us being involved of removal of Sovereign state leader

Moscow–Washington hotline

Aug 30, 1963

connected Kremlin and White House Frequency of Hotline is unknown
Could have had symbolic value Only used first time during 6 day war between Israel and Arab countries

Kennedy sent Robert McNamara and General Taylor to Vietnam to asses situation

Sep 1, 1963

Clear that Diem not prepared to undo repression of bring Nhu under some control War would not be won with Diem as head Taylor and McNamara recommended significant reduction in US support – to put pressure on Diem to cooperate Generals in South planned soup on Diem

Military Coup SV - SV Army and rebel generals

Nov 1, 1963

Diem and Nhu assassinated

Nov 2, 1963

6 Nov 1963 – Lodge said to Kennedy that it was purely Vietnamese
Acknowledged that withhold USA – it would not have been initiated

USA – 835 ICBMs USSR – 200 IBCMs

1964

Ussr - Soviet SS-6 system – too large and lacking in mobility in its deployment Khrushchev ordered replacement with more mobile SS-7

Republic of China joins arms race – Lopp Norr Shin Jeng Province

1964

Strategic Air Command's Alert system

1966

third of all bombers on minutes notice to get airborne in even of Soviet first strike

Le Duan becomes leader of NV

1969

Ho Chi Minh passes away