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the soviet union and the united states formed an unlikely alliance during world war ii after hitler invaded the soviet union. (they had different ideaologies however) they formed an alliance to attend to the urgent business of defeating hitler.
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churchill, roosevelt and stalin agreed on a military plan to end the war and a joint occupation of germany. stalin allowed free elections in poland.
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at the end of the war, germany was placed under military rule and was divided into zonews broadly reflecting the positions of the occupying armies. soviets in the east, usa in the south, and british in the northwesr. the victors, including france, also divided Berlin into four seperate sectors but great britain and the united states could not compromise on the territory they wanted.
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stalin established soviet-controlled governments in eastern europe countires occupied by his red army including poland. postwar europe would be divided into two spheres of influence - east and west.
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the first atomic bomb, or a-bomb, was tested in new mexico and was the first display of the new and massive technology.
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germany, soviet union, and the united states agreed to recognize each others influence over regions where their troops remained at the end of the war.
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Just a month after the first atomic bomb was tested, the united states dropped two atomic bombs in japan, one in hiroshima and one in nagasaki. thousands were killed and the war was ended. The use of the bomb dramatically increased the onsequences of armed onflict between the soviet union and the united states.
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the iron curtain of soviet controlled countires in eastern europe ran along the west border of east germany, czechoslovakia, hungary, yugoslavia, and albania, and along the southern borders of yugoslavia and bulgaria.
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great ritain had been supporting the greek government in its fight against communists but funding ran dry. AFter being asked for help Truman issued the Truman Doctrine
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tpresident truman's national security council drafted a secret document that would be a blueprint for american policy in the cold war. it warned that soviet military capability was now substantially superior.
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the united states promoted themarshall plan as an effort to promote world peace and stability. the soviets percieved it sa a acunning attempts to support american capitalism by economically enslaving europe. when accepting american loans, european countries agreed to buy american products thus strangthening the american economy.
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france, britain, and the united states announced plans to introduce a new form of currency in germany. as a result, the soviets formally withdrew from the allied control council. Soviets protested by instituting a formal blockade.
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the united states began airlifting supplies to berlin in an attempt to aid west berlin without starting an armed conflict with the soviet union.
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the nations formed a military alliance to protect each other from soviet aggression.
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THe american control on nuclear weapons came to an end when the soviets perfected their nuclear technology and deleloped a weapon of their own.
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Mao Zedong successfully led the Communist Revolution in China. This communist government quickly allied itself with the soviet union and both countires signed a mutual defense and economic aid agreement.
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after almost a year of armed conflict, stalin re-opened all of ther routes into berlin .
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the spread of communism in asia alarmed america. korea was divided at the 38th parallel into two countires. north korea was supported by the soviet union and south korea was supported by the united states and the united nations.
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with weapons provided by the soviet union, communist north korea invaded south korea. the united states condemned the invasion and authorized sending troops to the region. Troops pushed the north koreans almost to the chinese border and made plans for a christmas victory.
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the united states tested their first weapon that was even more powerful than the nuclear bomb. It was called the hydrogen bomb and the soviets followed this idea in 1953.
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After US tested the hydrogen bomb, the soviets followed by creating more nuclear devices.
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after an all out war between the two koreas, the war ended in a stalemate in July of 1953.
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The soviet union formed a military alliance with Eastern European nations such as Czechoslovakia, east germany, hungary, poland and romania
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Hungarian citizens began rioting and demanded more freedom from their communist government. they threatened to return a parliamentary democracy if their meets were not met. Protesters were rounded up and their leaders were executed. They plead for american support.
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berlin remained a divided city and the soviet union built between east and west berlin to prevent people from escaping to the west.
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Within a few days, the hungarian uprising was crushed and hungary returned to its soviet-style communist nation. A similar uprising was stopped by the soviet union in czechoslovakia. Most of eastern europe stayed firmly under soviet control unti the late 1980s.
