Origins of the Cold War and World War II Conferences

Vocabulary flashcards detailing key military events, diplomatic conferences, and political developments that shaped Allied relations and the origins of the Cold War.

The White Armies

Forces supported by the US & UK that fought the Bolsheviks in the Russian civil war in the 1920s, demonstrating Western fear of and aggression towards Communism.

Treaty of Versailles

The post-WWI treaty that punished Germany harshly and unfairly for WWI, contributing to the rise of Nazism.

Munich Agreement 1938

An agreement from which Stalin was excluded, where the UK & France gave the Sudetenland to Germany without agreement from Czechoslovakia, allowing German expansion closer to the USSR and demonstrating a 'preference' for Fascism over Communism.

Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939

A non-aggression pact signed between Germany and the USSR in 1939, under which they split Poland between them.

Operation Barbarossa

The June 1941 German invasion of the USSR, in which the German advance reached within $20\text{ miles}$ of Moscow.

85%

The proportion of fighting in WWII that took place on the Eastern Front, where the USSR absorbed a huge weight of the fighting.

Dunkirk & Battle of Britain

Key WWII events that demonstrated the UK was under direct threat from Germany and not in a position to launch a 2nd Front.

Atlantic Charter

A 1941 agreement initially between the US & UK (later signed by Stalin) that outlined war aims: self-determination of government for countries, no territorial gains, and free trade.

Pearl Harbor

The December 1941 attack that brought the United States into WWII.

Battle of Stalingrad

A key turning point in WWII (1942–43) where the Soviets forced the German army into retreat without a 2nd Front from the Western Allies, bolstering Stalin's confidence and post-war bargaining position.

Tehran Conference

The first meeting of the 'Big 3' in November 1943 (Tehran, Iran), which agreed to a 2nd Front in 'May 1944' and planned to shift Poland's border west to the Oder-Neisse line.

Liberation of Italy

A 1943 campaign following which the Western allies excluded the Soviets from the Allied Control Commission (ACC).

D-Day - 2nd Front

The June 1944 Normandy landings representing the largest airborne and amphibious invasion in history, launched $2\text{ years}$ after Stalin first began demanding a 2nd Front.

Percentages Agreement

An October 1944 'back of envelope' division of influence across Eastern European countries negotiated in Moscow by Stalin and Churchill, establishing spheres of influence (with Poland notably omitted from the list).

Warsaw Uprising 1944

A two-month Polish resistance revolt against the Nazis during which Stalin ordered the Red Army not to intervene, helping him eliminate those willing to fight for Polish independence.

Katyn Forest massacre

The 1940 execution of $22{,}000$ key Polish figures by the Soviets to eliminate potential resistance to Soviet control, demonstrating Stalin's long-term intention to dominate Poland.

Yalta Conference

A February 1945 meeting of the 'Big 3' that agreed to free and fair elections in Poland (including the London Poles alongside the Lublin Committee), the division of Germany and Berlin into 4 zones, the Declaration on Liberated Europe, and the creation of the UN.

"We can't do business with Stalin. He has broken every one of the promises he made at Yalta."

A quotation written by a dying President Roosevelt to a trusted advisor, highlighting his late realization regarding Stalin's reliability.

Potsdam Conference

A July–August 1945 conference attended by Stalin, Truman, and Churchill/Attlee where disagreements surfaced over 4-power administration and reparations; Truman informed Stalin of the atomic bomb, and the USSR was granted an additional $10\%$ of reparations from the western zones.

Atomic bomb

Weapon dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Japanese surrender, which created an imbalance in power by giving the US a material military advantage over the USSR.