The breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the emergence of superpower rivalry in Europe and Asia (1943–1949)

List ideological factors that contributed to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance

• fundamental clash

• religious/cultural dimensions

• Yalta and Potsdam

• Iron Curtain speech

• Truman Doctrine

• Cominform

• Asia

Describe the religious/cultural dimensions

US rhetoric framed communism as atheistic and anti-freedom

Soviet propaganda depicted capitalism as imperialist exploitation

Describe examples of conflict in the Yalta and Potsdam conferences that foreshadow the Cold War conflict

• Yalta (Feb 1945): vague commitments to “free elections” in Eastern Europe reflected ideological divisions

• Potsdam (July 1945): Truman confronted Stalin over communist control in Poland, deepening rift.

Quotes from the Iron Curtain speech, Stalin’s response and when did it happen?

Iron Curtain speech (Mar 1946)

• Churchill warned that “an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”

• Stalin denounced it as warmongering and that "Mr. Churchill and his friends strikingly recall in this respect Hitler and his friends"

Quotes, date and ideological significance of the Truman Doctrine

Truman Doctrine (Mar 1947):

• globalised containment

• “support free peoples resisting subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures.”

  • ideological terms

Ideological significance of Cominform

Cominform (Sept 1947)

• USSR created Cominform to coordinate communist parties

  • coordinate international communist revolution

• condemned Western “imperialism”

• enforced ideological discipline in Eastern Europe.

Examples of global Cold War conflict emerging from the end of WW2

• US promoted democracy in occupied Japan

• Soviet support for Chinese communists

  => fuelled ideological confrontation beyond Europe

List examples of fear and aggression that contributed to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance

• Soviet security needs

• US fears of expansion

• Atomic monopoly

• Greek Civil War

• Berlin Blockade

• NATO and Warsaw Pact

How did Soviet security needs influence Cold War fear and aggression?

USSR suffered ≈27 million war dead

Stalin demanded buffer states to prevent another invasion (justification for aggressive expansion)

By 1948, communist regimes installed across Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia. => with the help of Cominform

Key pieces of writing that amplified US fears of expansion

George Kennan’s Long Telegram (Feb 1946) warned Moscow was inherently expansionist

• Influenced by Riga Axioms (Soviet exiles)

• Moscow was “highly sensitive to the logic of force” and would back down if it encountered “strong resistance at any point.”

• “World communism is like a malignant parasite which feeds only on diseased tissue.”

Nikolai Novikov’s telegram (Sept 1946) (Ambassador of the Soviet Union to the US) portrayed US as seeking world domination.

• "striving for world supremacy" 

• "US effort to establish world dominance"

=> Mutual suspicion hardened.

How did the atomic monopoly affect the Grand Alliance?

• US use of atomic bombs on Japan (Aug 1945) shocked Moscow.

• Stalin accelerated nuclear programme (first test Aug 1949).

• Until then, US monopoly was seen as coercive leverage.

How did the Greek Civil War affect the Grand Alliance?

• Britain could no longer fund anti-communist forces

• Truman stepped in, pledging $400m aid to Greece and Turkey

• Framed as defence against Soviet expansion despite Stalin being largely uninvolved

When and how did the Berlin Blockade affect the Grand Alliance?

Berlin Blockade (June 1948–May 1949)

• Stalin cut access to West Berlin to force Western concessions.

• US-led Berlin Airlift flew in 2.3m tons of supplies.

  => Demonstrated US willingness to resist Soviet pressure.

When and how did global treaties affect the Grand Alliance?

NATO (Apr 1949)

• Formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

• institutionalised US military presence in Europe

• Seen in Moscow as aggressive encirclement.

USSR response

• Tightened control

• militarised Eastern bloc

• later created Warsaw Pact (1955) as counterweight.

List the economic factors that contributed to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance

• Marshall Plan

• Dollar imperialism

• Bretton Woods system

• COMECON

• German question

• Asia

• Soviet reparations

Describe the Marshall Plan

Marshall Plan 1947

• US pledged $13.3b in aid to rebuild Europe

• Britain received $3.3b

• France $2.3b

• West Germany $1.4b.

ensured that recovery relied on free markets and US leadership.

How did Stalin respond to the Marshall Plan?

Stalin rejected the Marshall Plan as the US’ attempts at dollar imperialism

• USSR forced Eastern states to refuse the financial support

  • countries like Czechoslovakia withdrew as a result of pressure from Moscow

COMECON 1949

• Soviet economic bloc

• ensuring Eastern Europe traded within socialist camp

Describe the Bretton-Woods system

Bretton-Woods system 1944

• International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• World Bank

• Dollar based trade

=> designed to entrench US economic dominance

• Stalin refused to join

What were developments in the German question which contributed to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?

• Western allies introduced new Deutsche Mark in June 1948 to stabilise economy

• Stalin saw this as provocative, sparking the Berlin blockade.

What were developments in Asia that contributed to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?

• US oversaw Japanese recovery

  • land reform

  • zaibatsu restructuring

  • economic aid.

• By 1949, industrial output exceeded prewar levels.

• USSR viewed this as a capitalist beachhead in Asia.

What were the implications of Soviet reparations after the war?

• USSR extracted ≈$10bn equivalent in reparations from Eastern Germany

• dismantled factories

=> prioritising own recovery over European stability

Compare the roles of the US and the USSR in the breakdown of the Grand Alliance

United States Assertive in global leadership: Truman Doctrine (1947) globalised containment. Marshall Plan integrated Western Europe into US economic orbit. Maintained nuclear monopoly until 1949, using implicit coercion. Orchestrated Berlin Airlift (1948–49) — demonstration of resolve and capability. Supported Japan’s recovery, creating strategic ally in Asia. Founded NATO (1949), cementing permanent military alliances in Europe. Public rhetoric (Truman, Marshall, Churchill) framed struggle as moral duty, mobilising domestic and international support.

Soviet Union Consolidated Eastern bloc (1945–48) via “salami tactics” and rigged elections. Established buffer zone as security guarantee after WWII devastation. Created Cominform (1947) and COMECON (1949) to institutionalise bloc control. Used Berlin Blockade to challenge Western consolidation of Germany. Supported communist insurgencies indirectly (e.g., Yugoslavia before Tito split, Chinese CCP victory 1949). Extracted reparations from Germany and Eastern Europe to rebuild Soviet economy. Framed actions as defensive against US “imperialism,” but often aggressive in practice.