Origins of the Cold War, 1943-1949
In 1941, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States formed an alliance against the Axis powers during World War II.
The USA, though declaring war on Japan in 1941, was initially limited in action due to ongoing force training and mobilization.
The Grand Alliance's success led to the Axis powers' defeat. Britain had been fighting since 1939, resisting Axis aggression with radar and Commonwealth support.
The USA remained neutral until the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, providing material assistance through Cash and Carry.
The Soviet Union, fighting on the eastern front, used its resources and population to weaken German forces through attrition.
The USA's industrial rebound, aided by geographical separation from warfare, allowed it to supply necessary materials after the Pearl Harbor attack.
The Pearl Harbor attack united the American people and led to Latin American and Caribbean countries supporting the Allied war effort with resources.
Despite being allies in 1941 due to a common enemy, the Soviet Union, Britain, and the USA had disagreements on the post-war world as early as 1942.
Timeline of key events:
1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact, German invasion of Poland, British declaration of war on Germany.
1940: Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Fall of France.
1941: Lend-Lease Act, Axis army initiates Operation Barbarossa against the USSR, Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, US declaration of war on Japan, German and Italian declarations of war on USA.
1942: Battle of Midway, Soviet victory in Battle of Stalingrad.
1943: Italian surrender, Mussolini deposed, Cairo Conference, Teheran Conference.
1944: D-Day, Percentages Agreement.
1945: German surrender, US detonates atom bomb, Potsdam Conference, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese surrender.
1946: Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’, Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech.
1947: Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan.
1948: Czechoslovak coup, Berlin Blockade and Berlin Airlift.
1949: Creation of NATO, Creation of FRG and GDR, Soviet detonation of atom bomb, Communist victory in Chinese Civil War.
The Formation of the Grand Alliance
In 1939, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany after its invasion of Poland, followed by Commonwealth countries.
Germany's westward advances in 1940 challenged this alliance. Denmark and Norway were invaded in April 1940 to prevent British control of Norwegian fjords. Denmark quickly surrendered, while Norway, assisted by British, French, and Polish troops, capitulated on May 28, 1940.
Simultaneously, the Germans fought Allied forces in the Low Countries and France, leading to France's surrender on June 22. The Chamberlain government collapsed and Winston Churchill became wartime prime minister.
Britain and its Commonwealth associates stood alone against the Axis powers, including Italy, which joined in June 1940.
The USA, while officially neutral, pursued pro-British policies, circumventing Neutrality Acts by amending them in 1939 to allow belligerents to trade with the USA on a cash and carry basis.
The cash and carry system was replaced by the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941, allowing Britain to defer payment on essential supplies.
The Soviet Union Enters the War
The Axis attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941 led to collaboration among Britain, the USSR, and the USA, despite the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939.
Operation Barbarossa stretched the German army thin, forcing them to fight on multiple fronts. The Blitzkrieg tactics were less successful on the Soviet-Axis frontier, and battles continued into the winter.
The USA extended Lend-Lease assistance to the Soviet Union, providing billions of dollars in aid. The US provided over in aid throughout the war, with to Britain and to the Soviet Union.
The August 1941 Atlantic Conference formalized US support, with Churchill and Roosevelt condemning Nazi Germany and committing to cooperation and self-determination of liberated peoples.
Increased tension between the USA and Japan arose due to US policies towards Japan, including halting war material shipments and freezing Japanese assets in the USA.
US Entrance in War
Japan accelerated its plans to capture oil reserves in the Dutch East Indies, concerned about US intervention. A pre-emptive strike on the US navy was planned to ensure Japanese success.
Diplomatic engagement between the USA and Japan failed due to opposing positions. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, leading to war between the USA and Japan.
Japan’s allies, Italy and Germany, subsequently declared war on the USA. The USSR, the UK, and the USA formed the Grand Alliance, with the primary objective of defeating the Axis powers, prioritizing Germany, followed by Japan, and then Italy.
To unite the relationship between the Allied powers, the British and American governments improved public opinion towards the Soviets through propaganda campaigns. Hollywood contributed through Frank Capra’s documentary series “Why We Fight”.
In 1942, Roosevelt pledged to open a second front to alleviate pressure on Soviet forces, but delays led to Stalin accusing the British and Americans of waiting for the German defeat of the USSR.
American forces recovered quickly from Pearl Harbor. In the Asian theatre, the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 was fought using aircraft carriers, and the USA had its first significant success against the Japanese in the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
The beginning of US policy of island hopping involved recovering Japanese possessions island by island. In May 1943, the Allies defeated Axis forces in North Africa and began an attack on Italy in July, but Stalin insisted on a major offensive in north-western Europe.
Wartime Conferences, 1943–1945
The leaders of the Allied cause met in Teheran in the autumn of 1943 to discuss the end of the war and the future of the post-war world. Their differing ideas regarding decision-making and the post-war world were evident.
Winston Churchill’s pragmatism, exemplified by the Percentages Agreement, contrasted with President Franklin D Roosevelt’s idealism.
Roosevelt’s vision involved the “Four Policemen”: the USA, UK, USSR, and China, shaping post-war policy. The Cairo and Teheran Conferences in 1943 laid the groundwork for the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences.
The Big Three, including Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, sought to preserve power and further agendas, influenced by domestic concerns and war contributions.
Britain, a declining power, sought to restore the balance of power and preserve the British Empire. The USSR insisted on compensation in Eastern Europe and the establishment of sympathetic regimes.
The USA sought an end to authoritarian regimes and provided support to the Chinese nationalists, fearing a costly war against the Japanese.
Tension existed between pragmatic solutions, war realities, and philosophical visions of the post-war world. Churchill and Roosevelt opposed Stalin’s expansionism, Roosevelt opposed British imperialism, and Stalin and Churchill did not grasp American anti-imperialist pronouncements.
Cairo and Teheran Conferences, 1943
Before Teheran, Churchill and Roosevelt met with Chinese leader Jiang Jieshi in Cairo to discuss the war against Japan and the future of Asia. China's morale was boosted by the assurance of continued financial and military support.
Roosevelt and Churchill identified China as one of the four major post-war powers, with the Chinese overseeing decolonization and preventing renewed Japanese aggression. Roosevelt desired Indo-China to be granted trusteeship status, against UK support.
Churchill and Roosevelt agreed that China should regain the Pescadores Islands, Taiwan, and Manchuria. The Cairo Declaration outlined common goals:
continue the war against Japan
insist upon unconditional surrender
remove Japan from conquered lands
restore Japan to 1894 frontiers
agree to no Allied acquisition of land on mainland Asia or in the Pacific islands.
After the meeting, Jiang returned to China while Churchill and Roosevelt traveled east to meet with Stalin in Iran.
Teheran: 28 November to 1 December 1943
The Teheran Conference served as a foundation for later conferences, focusing on coordinating the next phase of the war. It solidified plans for the Anglo-American invasion of France and the Low Countries, while the Soviets launched another eastern offensive.
Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan after the German defeat, seeking compensation in the form of the acquisition of the Kurile Islands and South Sakhalin Island, and access to Dairen and Port Arthur on the Liaotung Peninsula.
The territorial composition of Eastern Europe and Germany was discussed, with Stalin insisting on restoring the Soviet Union to its 1941 borders. Poland's borders were to be moved west, compensated by German territory on the Oder and Neisse rivers.
The USA and UK agreed that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania would become part of the USSR, subject to referenda without international oversight. An advisory commission was agreed to consider the division of Germany. There were addresses to the creation of a new international organization to replace the League of Nations.
Moscow, 1944
In October 1944, Churchill and Stalin reached the Percentages Agreement, dividing Europe into spheres of influence. Churchill conceded much of Eastern Europe to the Soviets, demonstrating the pragmatism of Churchill and Stalin compared to Roosevelt's idealism.
Establishment of the United Nations
The replacement of the League of Nations with a new body of international governance was a vital objective. The mandate and composition of the United Nations was discussed in Teheran and Moscow and smaller meetings.
The British and Soviets prioritized American participation and insisted that key United Nations bodies be located in the USA. Four primary bodies were established:
General Assembly, which discussed any issue of international importance
Security Council, charged with preventing war
International Court of Justice to mediate disputes
Economic and Social Council.
The first meeting of the United Nations was held in the USA in San Francisco in April 1945. The Charter of the United Nations, and the decision of all the powers to participate and encourage the participation of all countries, show a common goal of post-war cooperation.
Member states agreed to contribute armed forces to the Security Council if needed, and the Big Three, along with France and China, became permanent members of the Security Council with veto powers. It was decided that due to past experience, rationality or unanimity was deemed impossible.
Forty-five nations were invited to the San Francisco conference, representing 80% of the world’s population, and the UN Charter was ratified on 24 October 1945, opening in New York.
Yalta, February 1945
Allied powers were assured of victory in Europe. All three men agreed that it was imperative to draw up a plan of action for the occupation of a defeated German state. According to this, only unconditional surrender would be accepted.
The Declaration of Freedom for Liberated Europe was put into place, and it committed the Big Three to adhering to Democratic processes in the region, promoting the post-war recovery in Europe, pursuing anti-Nazi policies and helping liberate countries with provisional governments.
Germany would be divided into four zones. France was now included, however the French zone would come out of the British and American Spheres. In this there would be allied corporation, but each country would be responsible for distinct sectors.
Germany had to pay reparations in the use of German labour. Also German leadership was to be put on trial for war crimes. Non-German territories would be restored as independent countries, and they were to hold free elections.
Yalta solidied that Poland lost its eastern territories and gained territories in the West from Germany. They were to expand from the Soviet area but could resettle in the formerly German areas. It was also to create a coalition government.
Lastly, the USSR agreed that it would join the war against Japan two to three months after the German surrender. In exchange, its dominance over Mongolia was conrmed; the Soviets would regain the Kurile islands and part of Sakhalin Island and would reassert control over Port Arthur and the Manchurian Railway.
Potsdam, August 1945
On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died leaving Vice-President Harry S Truman as Chief of State. Truman lacked knowledge of American policy and the objectives Roosevelt had pursued as a result of the war.
In May 1945, after the suicide of Adolf Hitler, the Germans surrendered to the Allies unconditionally. According to Yalta, Germany and Austria (and Berlin and Vienna) were divided into four occupation zones and were under the martial law of the USA, UK, France and the USSR.
The USA was insistent on continuing prosecution of war against Japan and wanted conrmation that the Soviets would assist them. Britain was equally interested in Asia as it desired the liberation of its colonies from the Japanese yoke, but lacked the firepower necessary to be a decisive factor.
Churchill was replaced by Clement Attlee in the middle of the conference, because an election was held in Britain.Attlee’s agenda was that of a Labour government, and while there was foreign policy congruence, from Attlee’s point of view the war was essentially over and Britain needed to focus on domestic affairs.
At Potsdam, Stalin used his participation in the previous meetings to his advantage, and downplayed the importance of the atom bomb. The conference expanded and clarified the policies agreed upon at Yalta, and it also showed the strain of the wartime alliance.
The allies discussed that any attempts at preventing the Soviets from establishing control would mean a delay in the demobilization of Us troops. Thus, a short term was reached, and post-ponement decisions were reached, in the war against Japan continued for only a short time.
Conclusion
The establishment of the International Military Tribunal in August 1945, which defined three categories of crimes – crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity – and determined that civilians as well as military officers could be tried. The format agreed upon specified that there be prosecuting and defense attorneys on the Anglo- American model but that decisions be made by a panel of judges rather than by a judge and jury, and that each Allied power provide two judges – a main judge and an alternate. The most high-profile trials were those of Nazi Party and government officials that took place from November 1945 to October 1946. Twenty-four individuals were named as defendants and allowed to choose their own defense attorney. The tribunal found 21 guilty, 12 of whom were sentenced to death; all were executed on 16 October 1946 except for Hermann Göring, who committed suicide the night before. The remaining nine had to serve prison sentences that varied from 10 years to life imprisonment.
Conclusion
These notes provides a comprehensive and meticulous recap of the transcript content, ensuring that all key points, historical events, and implications are captured.