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THE U.S. AND SOVIET ALLIANCE
The Soviet Union and the United States(and Great Britain) formed an alliance during WW2 after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The Soviet Union and the United States had been enemies due to their differing political and economic views.The Communist Soviet government believed in socialism,a one-party rule, and the social goal of equality. The U.S. valued capitalism, democracy, and individualism. -
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COLD WAR
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Potsdam Conference
The Soviet Union and the U.S. agreed to recognize each others' influence over regions where their troops remained at the end of the war. -
After the Allies defeated Germany
Stalin established Soviet-controlled governments in Eastern European countries occupied by his Red Army, including Poland. The U.S. objected these totalitarian communist regimes, but could not prevent them from arising.It cleared the way for postwar Europe to be divided into two spheres of influence-East and west-which changed positions of the Allied troops following WW2. -
Yalta Conference
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin agreed on a military plan to end the war and came up with a joint occupation for Germany. Stalin promised to allow free elections in Poland with Roosevelt's desire for an independent and democratic Eastern Europe. -
Germany divided
Germany was divided into occupation zones after the war with Soviets stationed in the east,Americans in the south, and the British in the northwest.France controlled parts of American and British zones. They decided to divide Berlin into four sections and established the Allied Control Council to rule Germany. Since Berlin was deep in Soviet-held territory, Stalin disagreed with dividing Berlin but the U.S. and Great Britain refused to compromise. -
Successful Atomic Bomb/Nuclear weapon Development
The first atomic bomb(A-bomb) was tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico.In August, the U.S. dropped the bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands and ending the war with Japan.The bomb increased chances of an armed conflict between the U.S. and USSR.This forced the U.S. and USSR to use force around the globe and develop their nuclear strength. -
Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
Winston Churchill visited the U.S. and delivered his iron curtain speech.It discussed the Soviets desire for the expansion of their power and doctrines.This "iron curtain" of Soviet controlled countries in Eastern Europe ran along the western border of East Geramany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Albania, and along the southern borders of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. -
Truman Doctrine
After Britain asked the U.S. to help fund Greece, President Truman made a speech stating it was the U.S.'s obligation to help people fighting against outside pressures.It outlined the Cold War Policy of Containment, in which the U.S. committed itself to containing the spread of communism.Truman asked for Congress to provide $400 million in aid. This helped defeat Communist takeovers. -
Communist Rebelllions in Greece and Turkey
The governments of Greece and Turkey were fighting off Communist rebellions. Great Britain had been providing help to the Greek government in its fight against communists.But British funding ran dry and they asked the United States for help. -
Truman's National Security Council
This council drafted NSC 68, a secret document that would be a blueprint for American policy in the Cold War.The authors warned that Soviet military capability was now superior to the west and continuing to improve at a fast rate.They asserted that the U.S. had no allernative but to increase its atomic capability.The council reccommended that Truman increase U.S. military spending to $50 billion a year, which he did in about two years. -
Marshall Plan
President Truman feared that Europe was on the brink of an economic collapse after being devastated by the war.This led Truman to believe that European countries were vulnerable to a socialist or communist government. The U.S. introduced the Marshall Plan to provide $17 billion in aid for the economic recovery of Europe.According to the plan,when accepting American loans , European countries agreed to buy American products, which strengthened the U.S. economy. -
Soviet withdraw
France, Great Britain, and the U.S. introduced a new form of currency in Germany.As a result of not being directly consulted, the Soviets withdrew from the Allied Control Council. -
Blockade on Berlin
When the Allies introduced a new form of currency in West Berlin, the Soviets protested by instituting a formal blockade of Berlin. This closed all roads, rails, and water routes to and from the city.Stalin soon cut off the inhabitants of West Berlin from all supplies of food, fuel, and power. -
U.S. aids Berlin
The United States began airlifting supplies to Berlin in an attempt to aid West Berlin without starting an armed conflict with the Soviet Union. -
Monopoly on weapons ended
The American monopoly(total control by one group) on nuclear weapons ended when the Soviets perfected their nuclear technology and developed a nuclear weapon of their own. -
NATO
The United States joined western nations such as Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO). These nations formed a military alliance to protect each other from Soviet aggression. -
Communist Revolution
Mao Zedong successfully led the Communist Revolution in China.His communist government formed allies with the Soviets.They both signed a mutual defense and economic aid agreement.During WW2's Pacific War against Japan, China had been allies with the U.S.The U.S. had supported the Chinese nationalist government defeated by Mao during the Communist Revolution. Their alliance with the Soviets made the U.S. look upon them with alarm and hostility. -
Stalin opens Berlin
After almost a year, Stalin reopened all routes into Berlin.But Berlin still remained a divided city. -
The 38th parallel
The Korean War increased American alarm over the spread of communism in Asia. After WW2, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into two countries:North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, and South Korea, supported by the United States and the United Nations. -
The Korean War
North Korea invaded the South with arms provided by the Soviet Union.The UN sent troops under the leadership of U.S. general Douglas MacArthur.They pushed the North Koreans to the Chinese border.The Chinese sent 1 million troops into the fighting. U.S. troops were pushed back to the south losing the southern capital of Seoul.MacArthur called for a war against China. He was fired when Truman disagreed and advocated for a limited war. He feared it would cause WW3. -
Hydrogen Bomb
The U.S. successfully tested the hydrogen bomb and the Soviet Union followed in 1953. By now both sides competed in a race to build enough nuclear weapons to defeat the other in the event of war. Soon each country was armed with destructive power that could destroy an entire continent and the world. -
Soviet Followed Suit
After the U.S. successfully tested the hydrogen bomb in 1952, the Soviets followed suit the following year. -
Korean War ended
Truman advocated limited war. He feared that the Soviets might be drawn into fighting and the onset of a third world war. The Korean war ended. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union formed a similar alliance in response to NATO. They formed a military alliance with Eastern European nations such as Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, known as the Warsaw Treaty Organization, or Warsaw Pact. -
The Soviet Invasion of Hungary
Hungarian citizens began rioting and demanded more freedom from their Communist government.They threated to return toa parliamentary democracy if their demands were not met.The Soviet leader dispatched the Soviet Red Army with tanks to the capital of Budapest.The army took protesters and executed their leaders. The Hungarian sent radio pleas to the U.S. begging for support. Pres.Eisenhower did not send troops
fearing for WW3. Hungary stayed as a Soviet Communist nation. -
Berlin Wall
The Soviet Union built a wall, called the Berlin Wall, between East and West Berlin to prevent people from escaping to the west. -
Soviets stop Czech uprising
The Soviet Union stopped a uprising similar to that of Hungary in Czechoslovakia. After this, most of Eastern Europe stayed under Soviet control until the late 1980s.
