coldwar - coldwar rivalries 1955-63

what were the two approaches of soviet foreign policy after stalins death

• summit diplomacy and peaceful coexistence

• revolutionary regimes , the launch of sputnik, stockpiling of weapons

what were the motivations for soviet foreign policy after stalins death

• mao’s challenge to khrushchev’s claim on leadership of the communist world

when did USA and USSR start to reconsider their nuclear policies

after the cuban missile crisis

how did the nuclear arms race start

when the USSR succeeded in testing its nuclear technology and thereby acquired nuclear weapons capability

when did the nuclear arms race start

September 1949

when did USA successfully test a lithium based bomb

march 1954

how much more powerful was the lithium based H bomb then the bomb used at hiroshima in 1945

1500 times more poweful

when was the strategic air command created

july 1946

strategic air command

• an organisation set up to serve as a primary defence system for the USA

• its role was to provide 24 hour readiness to respond to an external nuclear threat

• responsible for the deployment and management of the USA’s growing nuclear force

who was head of the strategic air command

General Curtis LeMay

general curtis lemay

• 1906-90

• american general in the US airforce

• head of strategic air command from 1948-57

• known by the nickname ‘ old iron pants’

• supportive of the notion of a pre-emptive strike against the USSR

from when was the USSR able to develop missile delivery systems for nuclear warheads

october 1957

gaither report

a report to investigate the state of US-soviet nuclear capability

when was the gaither report commissioned

november 1957

what did the gaither report conclude

that there was a missile gap between the USA and USSR - revealing gaps between soviet and US technology and predicted a 100 to 30 lead in ICBMs to the USSR

what did the washington post state regarding the gaither report

• reported that the USA was in grave danger

• referred to the USA as becoming a second class power

• the gaither report suggested that america’s long term prospect was one of the highest danger as the USSR’s power increased

missile gap

the difference between nuclear delivery system numbers ; the greater the number of nuclear missiles one state had compared to any other represented the missile gap between them

when did the USSR successfully test their first ICBM

August 1957

intercontinental ballistic missile

a missile which had a range of over 5600km and delivered nuclear weapon systems at a great speed ( no more than 30 mins) and could travel across continents

when did the USSR put their first satellite into orbit

October 4, 1957

what was the name of the satellite the USSR put into orbit

sputnik

what data did eisenhower trust instead of the gaither report

data received from U-2 spy plane intelligence gathering

what did the U-2 spy plane conclude

• suggested a slow rate of production of nuclear warheads by the USSR

• soviet ICBMs were limited - by 1959 only ten SS-6 ICBMs had been deployed

what ICBMs were developed by the USA as a result of U-2 spyplane intelligence gathering

atlas and titan models - and were added to the intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) systems

how did eisenhower strengthen the USAs nuclear strike capability further in 1957

negotiated an agreement with UK at bermuda conference - that enabled the USA to station IRBMs in UK , manned by british personnel

what missile systems were developed in 1959

• submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM)

• polaris

• the thor

• minuteman (ICBM) systems

Submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM)

ballistic missiles that can be launched from a submarine from underneath the water

what was the problem with the soviet SS-6 system

considered too large and lacking in mobility in its deployment

what did khruchchev replace the soviet SS-6 system with

more mobile SS-7 system

space race

continuation of the arms race but in space

when did the space race start

october 1957

when did USSR put its first satellite into space

4 october 1957

what was the name of the satellite the USSR put into space

sputnik

sputnik II

USSR launched a dog named laika into a ten day orbit into sputnik II

when was sputnik II

november 1957

what did the USA conclude about sputnik II

that the USSR had technology to launch nuclear missiles against it

why did the USA believe the USSR built sputnik

that the USSR wanted to show its nuclear capabilities

what did the democrats accuse the truman administration of regarding space race

accused it of allowing the soviet union to gain the lead in space technology in order to cut costs

what did sputnik undermine regarding US cold war nuclear defence program

undermined the effectiveness of the massive retaliation strategy that was so central to the USAs cold war nuclear defence programme

when did the US government authorise 1 billion for technological development in its own space technology programme

september 1958

when was flopnik

6 december 1957

flopnik

the US navy’s vanguard rocket crashed on its take-off from cape canaveral

who led the soviet space programme

sergei korolev

when did USSR launch the first satellite to successfully orbit the moon

october 1959

when did USSR launch the first manned satellite to orbit the earth

April 12, 1961

who was the first man in space

yuri gagarin - a soviet

yuri gagarin

• 1934-68

• first man to go into space

• directed the soviet cosmonaut training centre moscow

how many space missions did the USA launch successfully compared to the USSR by 1962

USA - 63 space missions USSR - 15 space missions

what was the US discoverer satellite programme doing from august 1960

was providing long-range intelligence gathering photos from space and had rendered the U-2 flights semi-obsolete

what did the US discoverer programme enable for the US

enabled the US to gain more coverage in one capsule than the combined four years of U-2 coverage

what did US leaders believe about space

that space was all important to US security and that control of space would lead to global control

when did eisenhower establish the national aeronautics and space administration (NASA)

july 1958

factors that influenced khrushchevs actions 1958 onwards

• the soviet space programme appeared to dominate over the US space programme

• west germany was now a member of NATO and this could result in it being equipped with nuclear weapons which could threaten soviet security

• the USSRs hold on parts of eastern europe was fragile - heavy soviet defence spending was draining resources from this region and undermining confidence in the communist system , as the availability of consumer goods became increasingly difficult

• there was no significant restrictions on GDR citizens leaving the country and fleeing to the more prosperous capitalist west - undermining the GDRs economy even further

• the west had not yet recognised the existence of the GDR

what became the focal point of khrushchev’s objectives to strengthen the economy and the defences of the USSR and global ideological expansion

berlin

what did the west do to west berlin throughout the 1950s

made heavy financial investments in west berlin and these had turned the city into a flagship of western capitalism

what motivated khrushchev to create the berlin ultimatum

• many east berliners were fleeing to the prosperous west berlin and east berlin losing skilled workers ‘brain drain’

• USSR scared that US would place nuclear missiles in west germany because of the USSRs rapidly accelerating competition in the nuclear arms race and the associated space technology

• khrushchev wanted to minimise US influence in germany

• make sure west berlin isn’t armed with US backed weapons

• sino-soviet relations were deteriorating and khrushchev needed to strengthen the USSRs credentials as the dominant communist power

when did khrushchev issue the berlin ultimatum

27 november 1958

how long was the ultimatum and when was the deadline

6 month ultimatum and deadline was 27 May 1959

berlin ultimatum

demanded the withdrawal of western and soviet troops from berlin and establish it as a free city - if not khrushchev would be forced to give all occupation of berlin to ulbricht and west undermining the hallestine doctrine

hallstein doctrine

the FRG would see any nation apart from the USSR for recognising the GDR as an enemy and would therefore end diplomatic relations with such states

when did the western powers reject the berlin ultimatum

31 december 1958

when would the USSR USA UK france meet again

paris summit may 1960

why was progress over the status of berlin , the future of germany and the diplomatic recognition of the GDR halted at the paris summit may 1960

U-2 spy plane incident

U-2 spy plane incident

the soviet union shot down a U-2 spy plane operated by US pilot gary powers - he survived and the data from the plane confirmed that khrushchev was exaggerating soviet nuclear capacity - missile gap was in USAs favour

what did khrushchev do in the paris summit may 1960

he stormed out of the meeting after the U-2 incident was revealed, leading to a complete breakdown in discussions

how many GDR citizens migrated to west berlin in the first half of 1961

10,000

how many GDR citizens fled to west berlin in 1953

more than 300,000

how many GDR citizens fled to west berlin in 1956

150,000

what were many of these emigrates

skilled workers and those who were most able to contribute to east germany’s economic growth in the future

whose idea was the berlin wall

walter ulbricht

when was the construction of the berlin wall

August 13, 1961

what were the initial wire fences replaced with of the berlin wall

concrete wall how

how many recognised crossing points were there between east & west berlin

four recognized crossing points.

outcome of the berlin wall

• june 1963 - kennedy’s famous speech where he declared 'Ich bin ein Berliner', solidifying US support for West Berlin

• the GDRs economic crisis was resolved - skilled workers and professionals were now unable to leave

• the inaction of the west and its tolerance of the wall suggested that the west had reached a degree of recognition of the GDR

• there was no military conflict between the USA and USSR and nuclear confrontation was avoided

• kennedy said ‘a wall is much better than a war’