History Paper 2 Superpowers

The USA and USSR both join WW2

The USA and USSR both join WW2

In 1941 both the USA and USSR were brought into WW2 on Britain’s side

In 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at ‘Pearl Harbour’

Also in 1941, Gemrany launched an invasion on the Soviet Union called ‘Operation Barbarossa’

The Grand Alliance

Established on 1st January 1942

Poor relations at first as the leaders had only met twice before the end of WW2

Britain and USA believed in the ideology of capitalism whereas USSR believed in the ideology of communism

One of the leaders (Roosevelt) died in April 1945 after the Yalta Conference - he was replaced by Truman

Tehran Conference

Occured in Iran (Nov-December 3 day period)

Despite the difference in ideologies Stalin and Roosevelt grew fond of eachother

The main talking point of this conference was to open a ‘2nd front’ however this was against Churchill’s wishes

Stalin wanted a 2nd front becausse he thought Germany would have to fight the war in two directions therefore making it harder for them to come out successful

Churchill the ‘2nd front’ to be in the Balkans whereas Roosevelt and Stalin agreed that it should be in Normandy

All allies also agreed that Germany should be kept weak after the war

Yalta Conference

Ocurred in Ukraine in February 1945

Main focus was around how the world would be governed after victory in the war

One of the main agreements was that the UN would esatblished to keep peace in the future (Stalin was able to negotiate that the Soviet Union would be given more say than other countries)

It was also agreed that the Soviets would join the war against Japan in return for Japanese territory

Agreed that there should be free elections in Eastern Europe

Conference also discussed ideas about the division of Germany

However there was disagreement over Poland

Potsdam Conference

Occured in Germany in July 1945

During the time of this conference Germany had surrendered and Japan fought on.

There was also a change in personnel with Roosevelt being replaced by Truman and Chruchill being replaced by Attlee

By this time (1945) the US had developed the atomic bomb in secret and Truman went to the conference with confidence

The main focus of the conference was the division of Germany into 4 seperate zones

The US also issued a declaration that demanded the surrender of the Japanese or they would face ‘utter destruction’

Atomic Bomb

By 1945 the US had completed the ‘Manhattan Project’ to develop atomic bombs

After 1945 the Japanese still continued to fight against the US

To show the strength of the US, Truman ordered the dropping of two atomic bombs (Little Boy and Fat Man)

These bombs were dropped in the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing a total of 120,000

The dropping of this bomb led to increased tension between the US and the Soviet Union

The Soviets began to take over land in Eastern Europe (satellite states) to act as a ‘buffer’ from the USA

The Soviets began to develop their own atomic bomb. The competition of making weaponary was known as the ‘arms race’

By 1949 the Soviets had their first atomic bomb

From this point onwards war would seem unlkely as it would lead to ‘MAD’ (Mutually Assured Destruction)

Satellite States

Stalin wanted to put as much territory between the USSR and the capitalist west

He began to politically, economically and socially influence what these countries done (Satellite States) - but these countries were still independent

Examples could be Poland (Stalin interfered in the elections to make sure that the communist party won) and Hungary (which was influenced to follow certain communist ideals)

Distrust

The creation of the satellite states and the US dropping of the atomic bomb led to greater distrust

Due to this distrust there was an increase in espionage (spying)

Spies and diplomats wrote messages to their home governments

In 1946 the US diplomat in Moscow ‘George Kennan’ wrote a message to US Government known as the ‘Long Telegram’ - it stated that the Soviets wanted to destroy capitalism

Also in 1946 the Soviet dipolmat ‘Nikolai Novikov’ wrote a message to the Soviet Government known as the ‘Novikov Telegram’ - it stated that the US w

Iron Curtain Speech

Delivered by ex Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Missori (USA) during March 1946

This speech describe the hude division between the East and the West

Churchill wrote to Truman in May 1945 asking ‘what is to happen to Russia?’

After the speech Stalin gave an interview to a Soviet Union newspaper called ‘Pravda’ stating how the USA and Britain were trying to prevent peaceful alliances between all of the communist states

Truman Doctrine

The US wanted to stop the spread of communism (this idea was known as containment)

Truman came up with the ‘Truman Doctrine’ - which stated that the US would provide economic and military support for any country which wanted to resist communism

An example of the the US attemptig to use the doctrine was the financial support they gave to the armies of Greece and Turkey

Marshall Plan

Included in the governemt policy of ‘containment’

Introduced by General Marshall (only General to win a Noble Peace Prize)

Also known as the European Recovery Program

Its objective was to loan to 16 Western European countries $12.7 billion between 1948 and 1952 ($3.3 bn to Britain, $137 mill to Turkey, $2296 mill to France)

The CIA got 5% of the money given under the Marshall Plan

The USA invited the Soviets to join but they refused as Stalin saw it as a way of ‘dollar imperalism’

Economic Divison (Late 1940s and Early 1950s)

In respone to the Marshall Plan the Soviets set up an economic group called ‘Comecon’

This group encouraged trade between communist states and shared resources such as an international bank

This caused more division and strengthend the ‘Iron Curtain’

Political Division (Late 1940s and Early 1950s)

In response to the US having capitalism and influencing their Western Countries the Soviets came up with a political organisation called ‘Cominform’

This was created in 1947 and it gave instructions and propaganda to all communist parties. This organisation meant that communist across the globe received orders from Moscow directly

This caused more division and strengthend the ‘Iron Curtain’

Military Division (Late 1940s and Early 1950s)

In 1949 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) was formed, this was a military group in which members would agree to support another if one was attacked

In response the Soviets created a rival organisation known as the Warsaw Pact and this was established in 1955

Berlin Blockade (1948-1949)

The Grand Alliance decided that during WW2 Berlin was to be divided in different zones

However the Soviets had a different view on how they were going to control their zone to the others who were part of The Grand Alliance

The Soviet Union believed that Germany should be punished and stripped their zone of much wealth; however the allies wanted to rebuild Germany

So in 21st June 1948 Britain, USA, and France formed ‘Trizonia’. This union even had a a shared currrency called the ‘Deutschmark’

Stalin felt threatened by Trizonia so in 24th June 1948 he blocked all access the the American and British zones of Berlin. The people of West Berlin were cut off from essential supplies

Berlin Airlift

Happened between June 1948 and May 1949

Truman decided to fly supplies into West Berlin

He used cargo planes with no weapons so the Americans didnt seem as a threat towards the Russians

This was called ‘Operation Vittles’

Operation was very successful and Americans were able to bring 1000 tonnes of supplies a day

In January 1949 the Western allies were able to give 170,000 tonnes of supplies to Berlin

The huge success even lead to a new airport being built in Berlin called ‘Tegel’

‘Operation Little Vittles’ provided sweets and choclates for children from ‘Raisenbombers’

Hungarian Uprising

Occured in 1956

Khruschev was just appointed leader in 1956 and delivered a secret speech criticising Stalin

This catalysed the Hungarians to rebel due to their harsh conditions, so then Khrushchev decided to replace the leadership of Hungary

He put a man called Nagy in power and he started making changes which were not seen as communist, things he done included:

• Attempt to introduce free elections

• Allow private ownership of farmland

• And for Hungary to leave the Warsaw Pact

• Remove Soviet troops from Hungary

These reforms were seen as too much so Khruschev sent 1000 tanks to Budapest, and killed 20,000 Hunagarians with 6,000 Soviet troops

Nagy was killed during this and was replaced by a hardline communist by the name of ‘Rakosi’

The USA failed to directly help despite their ‘Truman Doctrine’

Berlin Wall

During the late 1950’s thousands of East Germans began to migrate West through West Berlin, this was usually in search for a better Standard of Living

This was known as the ‘Brain Drain’ as many of the skilled workers were leaving East Berlin and going to the West

Khruschev gave the US an ultimatum to withdraw there troops from West Berlin and let it be a ‘free city’

In the years of 1959-1961 the leaders of the East and West met to discuss peace. Nothing was achieved in the first two meetings but Khrushchev began forming a friendship with US President Eisenhower and visited Camp David in the US

However due to the discovery of an American spy plane and the election of John F Kennedy the peace talks ended without an agreement

Khrushchev decided to build the wall in 1961 to stop the Brain Drain.

Impacts of Berlin Wall

130 escapees killed trying to cross

American propagranda (Soviets imprisoning their own people)

Kennedy is like a celebrity (defeated Khrushchev)

Migration to the West ended

Cuban Revolution

Led by Fidel Castro in 1953 and he repalced Batista

This worsened ties between the US and Cuba, and Castro took land away from Americans who were in Cuba

The American government was worried about the presence of communism being soo close to them

So in 1961 the US attempted an invasion on Cuba called the Bay of Pigs

The CIA provided training to ex Cubans who had fled to America

This invasion was a failure as the 1400 barely trained soldiers were met by 20,000 Cuban soldiers with experience

100 of the 1400 men were killed

1200 captured out of the 1400

And the left fled back to America

Seen as embarrasing for the US

The Cubans were able to find out about the invasion through the ‘New York Times’

Cuban Missile Crisis

In 1962 a US spy plane flying over Cuba took photos of Soviet missiles on the Cuban beaches

The US were also made aware of Soviet ships were carrying even more nuclear weapons

Kennedy needed to come up with a plan without causing war so he decided to come up with a ‘qurantine zone’ (no ships could go past without US approval) - he even decied to make this decision public

On the 24th of October 1962 the Soviets arrived at the blockade and turned back despite them saying they would engage in any military action if provoked

Impacts of Cuban Missile Crisis

In 1963 a hotline was set up between Washington and Moscow

In 1963 was the introduction of ‘Test Ban Treaty’- US Britain and Soviets decided to ban the testing of weapons

In 1967 was the introduction of ‘Outer Space Treaty’- both sides agreed to not use space for military purposes

1968 was the introduction of the ‘Nuclear non-Proliferation’- both sides agreed not to share nuclear technology

Czechoslovakia

Was a communist satellite state which had been treated harshly by the Soviet Union

Many lacked freedoms, and the Czech government carried out purges on their own people.

Prague Springs

Alexander Dubcek was elected in 1968 and he was against the harsh treatment of the Czechs. He believed in ‘communism with a friendly face’

He launched a series of reforms known as the ‘Prague Springs’ and they included:

• Relaxtion of censorship of press

• Took away some government control of industry

• Increased trade with the West (restricted through Comecon)

• Gave Czechs freedoms to travel abroad

New Soviet leader Brezhnev was not happy with these reforms and demanded Dubcek to remove them, Dubcek refused

On the 20th of August 1968 the 500,00 troops from the Warsaw Pact invaded Czech (Czech soldiers were ordered to not fight back)

300,000 Czechs fled and 80 Czechs were killed

Dubcek was replaced by a ‘pro-communist’ by the name of Husak

Husak reversed all of Dubceks reforms and this process was callled ‘Normalisation’

Brezhnez Doctrine

The idea that the countries of Eastern Europe would not be allowed to leave communism and would be invaded by the Soviets to stop this

Détente

In 1970s both sides of Cold war wanted to follow this policy.

It refers to improved relations after conflict

The biggest reason for detente was most likely economic. Both countries were fighting different wars and this took a huge toll on their budget (US against Vietnam and Russia with Afghanistan)

SALT 1- 1972

Main aim was to reduce the atomic weapons each side had

One of the major agreements was the ‘Basic Principles Agreement’- this stated that both sides would do everything they could to prevent war.

SALT 1 also included treaties such as:

• Each country was only allowed 2 seperate sites for nuclear weapons

• Specific number of ICBMS each side could hold (USA-1054, Soviet Union-1618)

Helsinki Accords- 1973

Set of 3 agreements which were reached by 33 countries from NATO and the Warsaw Pact

Sets of agreements were known as ‘baskets’

• Basket 1- Borders of Europe can’t be changed by force

• Basket 2- Both sides of the Iron Curtain should work together in a spirit of international co-operation (lead to joint space misson with US and Soviets in 1975)

• Basket 3- Guranteed that each country would protect human rights of their citizens

SALT 2- 1979

Built upon SALT 1

Restrictions on missle launchers

Ban on testing new types of ICBMs

This agreement was never formalised as the US pulled out of the agreement after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

In 1979 an Islamic fundmentalist rebellion removed the pro-Soviet leader of Afghanistan. The Soviets invaded to try to restore influence

The Soviets put a man called Kamal (pro-Soviet) to rule the country

However the Soviets still had to fight against the Mujahideen and this had a huge impact upon Russia:

• Expensive ($8bn yearly)

• Humiliating (15,000 soldiers were dead or casualties)

Carter Doctrine

Stated that the US would prevent any communist expansion in the Persian Gulf in an

Olympics

1980 Moscow Olympics- After war in Afghanistan, the USA boycott it and 60 other countries don’t attend

1984 Los Angeles Oympics- USSR do the same thing and 15 countries dont attend

Second Cold War

In 1981 Ronald Reagan became the US president was wanted to be very aggressive towards the Soviets

He refered to Russia as the ‘Evil Empire’ in his speech given in Orlando

The period of increased aggression was known as the Second Cold War

The US even lead an invasion on Grenada to forcibly remove the communists

The US also incresing their spending on arms in 1982 by 13%

In 1983 Reagan also announced his SDI (sometimes refered to as star wars)- but plans for this were never carried out

The Soviets were aware that they were unable to match the supposed technology of the US due

Reagan Doctrine

Stated that US would provide help (military and financial) to countries resisting communism, whether they are communist already or not

End of Cold War

Gorbachev was now the leader of the Soviets and he wanted change

Gorbachev ended the Brezhnev Doctrine, this led to satellite states being able to leave the Soviet Union without interfernce (Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia)

At Washington in 1985 the two sides agreed to the INF treaty which removed all weapons with a range of between 500km and 5,500km.

In Malta 1989 Bush and Gorbachev annouced the end of the Cold War

In 1989 the Berlin Wall was pulled down

The Warsaw pact was disbanded in 1989

In 1991 the Soviet Union was disbanded

New Thinking (Gorbachev Doctrine)

Perestroika- Reconstruction. The Soviets would adapt capitalist measures

Glasnost- Openess. More open attitude to foregin relations and allowing