-
The USSR and the West disagreed over Berlin
The Western allies agreed to a single government in their zones.
The Soviet Union was opposed to these moves. Stalin
wanted to keep Germany as weak as possible so he decided to blockade Berlin:
Berlin was in Eastern Germany (controlled by the US
SR). Stalin ordered that all land communication between West Berlin and the outside world should be cut off. They survived (June
1948 → May 1949) because they could obtain supplies from the outside world by air. -
Formation of two new states
In 1949 two new states were formed: the German Federal Republic
(West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic. The frontier between Eastern and Western Europe had been drawn in Berlin. -
Formation of NATO
In 1949, the Western Powers formed NATO
(the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) against the
communist threat. The Eastern Bloc formed the Warsaw Pact
(1955). -
Korea 1950-1953
Before the Second World War Korea was a colony of Japan. Japan was defeated and Korea was divided into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel. The North was communist and the South was under the influence of the USA and had an anti- communist dictatorship.
MacArthur wanted to attack China but Truman disagreed and MacArthur was dismissed. Truman
looked for peace and a cease-fire was agreed on in 1953.
Korea remained as it was before the war but more than two million people died. -
Vietnam War
Vietnam was partitioned into the communist North an
d the democratic South. Laos and Cambodia
were set up as independent states.The Truman doctri
ne dictated that the USA would assist the
new democracy of South Vietnam. During the cold war
, the USA was terrified that many other
countries might become communist and help the USSR.
The domino theory of communism says
that if one country is knocked over by the communis
t threat, soon all the nearby countries will
become communist as well -
Cuban missile crisis 1962
Cuba, which was only 100 miles away from the USA, had been ruled by a military dictator, Batista, since 1940. He allowed American businessmen and the Mafia to make huge profits in a country where most people lived in poverty. In 1956, a rebel named Fidel Castro attempted to overthrow the government, but was defeated and forced into exile. In 1959, Castro began a guerrilla war and soon marched on Cuba ́s capital, Havana, and overthrew the government. -
Cuban missile crisis 1962
In 1961, President Kennedy authorized an invasion of Cuba
by rebels trained by the CIA. They landed in the Bay of Pigs, but they were defeated.
After this invasion Castro decided that Cuba needed Soviet military assistance: Soviet missiles.
President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba.
Kennedy asked Khrushchev to withdraw his missiles. -
Vietnam War
President Johnson was determined to keep south Vietnam communist free, so he increased troop numbers to 500.000 in 1967. The offensive resulted in the loss of thousands of American lives (14,000 in 1969). President Nixon wanted to finish the war quickly. American troops were gradually withdrawn from Vietnam.As a result they began heavy bombing of North Vietnam and Cambodia. In 1973 a ceasefire was arranged.By 1975 Saigon had been captured by the Vietcong. -
The end of Cold War
In 1972, the USSR and the USA agreed to limit their nuclear weapons and they signed the strategic Arms Limitation Talks Agreement. They planned more arms limitation but the USA
refused to sign the agreement (1979) after the soviet invasion of Afghanistan.In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected president of the USA and the period of détente ended.
In 1985, the USSR began to change its policies. Mikhail Gorbachev came to power.