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Nuclear Arms Race and Detente
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Begining of Nuclear Arms Race and Detente
The United States at the end of World War II was the only nuclear power, but by 1949 the Soviet Union had developed nuclear weapondry. By 1953 both countires had a hydrogen bomb, and later Anti-Ballistic Missiles were instated. A nuclear arms race had evolved in which both side competed for an edge over the other. In 1972 and 1979 agreements were finally signed, setting limits on the number of weapons each side contained. This led to a relaxion of tension in the era known as Detente -
NATO & The Warsaw Pact Cont.
Communism. Germany had become a divided nation not by only political borders, but by ideal borders. The Soviet Union that resided in East Berlin cut off supplies to west Berlin, and the Berlin Airlift had to be Established. In 1949, in response to the tension the United States, Canada, and 10 other nations joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), that pleged to protect one another . The Soviet Union then along with its "satellites" created the Warsaw Pact. -
NATO & The Warsaw Pact
After World War II, the Soviet Union and United States entered a period known was the Cold War. The Cold War was a state of tension and abrasiveness, between the United States and the Soviet Union in which no armed fighting occured between the two superpowers. It arised from disagreements concerning reparations from Germany and government structure in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union wished to expand its Communist influence and gain power, while the United States, hoped for the deteriation of -
Korean Conflict
In the early 1900s Japan conqued the independent nation of Korea. Following the end of World War II, Korea was spilt at the 38 th parallel of latitude, by the United States and USSR. The United States had control of the bottom, while the USSR ruled the top. Kim II Shung of North Korea wished to reunite Korea and in the Early 1950s pushed forward until reaching the Pusan Perimeter. The United Nations troops in response on September 1950 landed aroudn the port of Inch'on and advanced to the -
Korean Conflict Cont.
Yula river. Mao Zedong of china then sent troops to fight alongside North Korea. In 1953, an armistic was signed to end the fighting. The Demilitarized zone remains near the 38th parallel to this day. -
Chinese Civil War and Its Aftermath
A civil war in China evoled after Mao Zedong led his communist forces against the forces of Jiang Jieshi a nationalist leader. The people of China rejected nationalist ideals and their reliance on Western Powers. The Communists conquered Tibet in 1950. Mao built a totalitarian state, in the Great Leap Forward farms were collectivized as well as communites. He also instated the Cultural Revolution and trained young chinese (in his little red book) to attack the bourgeois (educated people). -
Berlin Wall
In the 1950s, unsatisfied people residing in East Berlin fled into west Berlin which was run by the major democratic western powers (France, Britain, and the United States). West Berlin showcased West German's wealth due to aid from the Marshall plan that was established by the United States to Funnel money and food to war shattered Europe. In a response to losing coutless numbers of citizens, the Soviet Union started to build a wall on August 14, 1961 made of concrete and with barbed wire -
Communist Cuba and the Missile Crisis
In the 1950s, Fidel Castro led an armed rebelian to overthrow the dictator of Cuba using guerilla warfare tactics. By 1959, they had siezed control of Cuba, and became a Communist regign. In the Bay of Pigs Invasion the U.S. trained Cuban exiles to regain control, but failed. In 1962, Nuclear Equipment had been placed in Cuba by the U.S.S.R. John F. Kennedy in response placed a naval blockade on the island. The world sat on the brink of nuclear war, the USSR then removed the equipment Oct. 28 -
Vietnam Conflict
Ho chi Minh and the Viet Cong wished to unite Vietnam under communist rule and fought in South Vietnam. America developed the Domino therory, that stated Communism had to be stopped in Vietnam or it would spread. Thousands of troops were sent to supress the Viet Cong. The United States entered the war on Augeust 7 1964, after it was believed soldiers on the Maddox Navy Destroyer had been attacked. 500,000 troops were in the war. The largest battle was the Tet Offensive in 1968 in which the Viet -
Vietnam Conflict Cont.
Cong attacked America and South Vietnam forces and cities in Southern Vietnam. It occured during the Tet (Vietnamese new year). Support for the war in the United States Continued to decrease after the offensive. In January 1973 President Nixon signed negotiated the Paris Peace Accord, which ended fighting for the time. Two years after the war, the North Vietnamese had taken over South Vietnam and established one Vietnamese nation. -
Soviets in Afghanistan
In 1979, the Soviet supported Afghan government tried to modernize Afghanistan. The warloards and Muslim conservatives felt this change as a threat to islamic tradition. Therefore, A "holy war", Jihad was established upon the USSR, after they attempted to invade and establish order in the country. Muslims from all across Europe came for the Jihad, and the United States in an attempt to give the Soviet Union "its own Vietnam" smuggled weapons to the Majahedin which used guerrilla warfare tactics. -
Soviet Union Falls
Opposed to the oppression of Stalin, his successor Nitita Khrushev allowed for greater freedom of speech and more consumer products. In 1956 however, when Hungarians tried to break off he still enforced Soviet Union Powers. Lenoiod Breznhev had the same type of policies and also did similar actions when the Czechs revolted in the spring of 1968. These incidents along with trying to compete technologically and militarly with the United States, greatly hindered their success. In 1985 therefore, -
Eastern European Independence
In Poland, Hungary, Czechoslavakia and other USSR satellites communism was denounced, due to its ineffectiveness, and goals of nationalism started to arise. In 1978 Czechoslavia defied the Soviet Union and became invaded. Hungary then began modest economic reform to include capitalist ideals expanding, even more so in the 1970s and 1980s, later political opposition grew especially in 1988 and 1989. Poland the 1980s led by Lech Walesa organized Solidarity, an independent labor union to fight for -
Eastern European Independence Cont.
political and economic reform. Key figures such as Pope John Paull II visted with Solidarity leaders, and revoked Communist policies. Hungary opened its borders with Austria in 1879, and thousands of East Germans fled into Weest Germany. This was due to radio broadcasts from West Germany showing the prosparity and political freedom of their side.
