Development of Cold War Cascade

Development of Cold War [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list. And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.

1. Communist threats in SE Asia, 1948-54
- a. Malaya, 1948
  - The Malayan Communist Party started a guerrilla war against the British
- b. China, 1949
  - Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China
- c. Korea, 1950-53
  - In June 1950, with Stalin’s blessing, the North Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea - 1950–1953 America fought the Korean War to stop Communist North Korea conquering South Korea.
- d. Thailand, 1952
  - A series of communist demonstrations in 1952 known as the 'Peace rebellion' .
- e. Vietnam, 1946-54
  - The Vietminh under Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap fought a guerrilla war against the French, triumphing at Dien Bien Phu in 1954

2. Korean War, 1950–53: causes
- a. Domino Theory
  - The Americans developed the idea that if one democracy fell, others would follow
- b. NSC #68, Apr 1950
  - US National Security Council document 68 recommended abandoning ‘containment’ and moving to a policy of ‘rolling back’ communism
- c. Stalin’s plotting
  - Stalin encouraged Kin Il Sung because he hoped it would cause trouble for the USA
- d. Kim Il Sung asked permission, 1949
  - Communist North Korea hated the pro-West South Korea; Kim Il Sung visited Stalin and Mao Zedong and got their support for an attack .
- e. Syngman Rhee provided the excuse, 1950
  - South Korean leader Syngman Rhee threatened to attack North Korea; it gave Kim Il Sung an excuse to invade

3. Korean War, 1950–53: events
- a. NKPA invasion, 25 Jun 1950
  - North Korean People's Army (NKPA) invaded South Korea and drove the South Korean army back to the Pusan area
- b. United Nations Resolution #83, 27 Jun 1950
  - The United Nations passed Resolution 83 to send troops to South Korea.
- c. MacArthur’s Inchon Landing, 15 Sep 1950
  - General MacArthur and 300,000 UN troops landed at Inchon; they drove the NKPA back to the Chinese border
- d. The Chinese ‘People’s Volunteers’, 25 Nov 1950
  - The Chinese ‘People’s Volunteers’ counter-attacked to help the North Koreans; they drove back the Americans to the 38th parallel. .
- e. Truce, 27 July 1953
  - After 3 years of stalemate, US president Eisenhower threatened to use the atomic bomb, and the Chinese agree a truce

4. Korean War, 1950–53: results
- a. Chinese and North Korean deaths
  - A million Chinese and half a million North Korean soldiers died, and 8 million civilians.
- b. Domino Theory
  - The Americans developed the ‘domino theory’ to explain Communist expansion; if one democracy fell, others would follow
- c. SEATO,1954
  - The US formed SEATO as a Pacific version of NATO to stop Communist expansion
- d. Vietnam
  - The US regarded Korea as a success, and started to use in Vietnam some of the tactics (e.g. napalm) they developed in Korea .
- e. Ban the Bomb campaigns
  - MacArthur had wanted to use the atomic bomb in Korea. This led to fear of ‘Armageddon’ in the West, and CND and Ban-the-Bomb campaigns

5. The Thaw: causes
- a. Death of Stalin, 1953
  - His regime had been paranoid and repressive
- b. The struggle for power, 1953–56
  - Khrushchev used ‘destalinisation’ as a way to unite his supporters against his rivals
- c. ‘'Peaceful coexistence’
  - Khrushchev believed that, since communism was superior, it did not need tyranny and deterrent to enforce it
- d. East German riots, Apr 1953
  - The riots were caused by poverty and Soviet demands on the East German economy; Khrushchev feared Stalin was pushing the people too hard .
- e. ‘'Secret Speech’, 1956
  - At the 20th Party Congress Khrushchev denounced Stalin and his methods

6. Khrushchev’s policy of peaceful co-existence: facts
- a. Beria executed, 1953
  - Political prisoners were freed and Beria (Stalin’s Chief of Secret Police) executed in 1953
- b. ‘'Many roads to Communism’
  - Khrushchev visited Tito of Yugoslavia in 1955 and told him there were ‘many roads to communism’
- c. Austrian State Treaty, 1955
  - Khrushchev signed the Austrian State Treaty (1955), pulling Soviet troops out of Austria
- d. Geneva Summit, 1955
  - Khrushchev met Western leaders at summit meetings (e.g. at Geneva in 1955, he and Eisenhower discussed world trade and disarmament) .
- e. Destalinisation
  - There was a relaxation of Soviet control over business, trade and culture

7. The Thaw: results
- a. Khrushchev became popular
  - Khrushchev was at first welcomed in the West as a laughing man who would end the Cold War
- b. Geneva Summit, 1955
  - Khrushchev met Western leaders at the Geneva summit meetings (and discussed world trade and disarmament)
- c. Bread riots in Poland , 1956
  - Khrushchev sent Russian troops into Poland to put down the rebels
- d. Writers’ Congress in Czechoslovakia, 1956
  - Czechoslovakian President, Novotny, suppressed the movement and reinforced a hard-line Stalinist regime .
- e. Hungarian Revolution, 1956
  - Khrushchev sent in the Red Army to end the reformist government of Imre Nagy; this horrified the West and was the end of the ‘Thaw’

8. The Warsaw Pact: membership and purpose
- a. West Germany joined NATO, 9 May 1955
  - West Germany was welcomed as a member of NATO
- b. Warsaw Pact formed, 14 May 1955
  - USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania
- c. Mutual support if attacked
  - The Pact promised ‘friendship, cooperation and mutual alliance’
- d. Hungary, 1956
  - Soviet troops invaded when Hungary left the Warsaw Pact .
- e. Czechoslovakia, 1968
  - Although the Pact promised non-intervention in members’ internal affairs, it invaded Czechoslovakia to put down the Prague Spring

9. Hungary, 1956: causes
- a. Destalinisation
  - Encouraged Hungary to try to get free from Soviet control (c.f. Poland and Czechoslovakia)
- b. Catholicism
  - Hungarians were Catholics and the communist government was repressing religion (Cardinal Mindszenty was in prison).
- c. Economic subjection
  - Hungarians objected to Hungarian products being sent to the USSR whilst they were in poverty
- d. Political oppression
  - Hungarians objected to Russian military occupation and the AVH secret police .
- e. American encouragement
  - US radio encouraged the revolt, and the USA opened trade negotiations; the Hungarians thought they would help

10. Hungary, 1956: events
- a. Riots, 23 Oct 1956
  - Rioters toppled a statue of Stalin, and attacked secret police/Russian soldiers
- b. Russian troops withdrew, 28 Oct 1956
  - At Nagy’s request, Khrushchev pulled Russian troops out of Budapest
- c. Nagy’s reforms, 29 Oct 1956
  - Nagy introduced democracy, freedom of speech and religion and released political prisoners
- d. Warsaw Pact, 1 Nov 1956
  - Nagy announced that Hungary intended to leave the Warsaw Pact .
- e. Russian invasion, 4 Nov 1956
  - Khrushchev sent 1000 Russian tanks into Budapest. Hungarians resisted with machine guns (4000 were killed)

11. Hungary, 1956: why it was a threat to the USSR
- a. Defection to capitalism
  - Khrushchev decided events in Hungary were not ’destalinisation’ – they were a defection to capitalism
- b. Destabilising effect
  - The Hungarian Revolution undermined other hard-line communist regimes
- c. Warsaw Pact
  - Hungary’s attempt to leave the Warsaw Pact threatened Soviet security and the ‘buffer’ of friendly states
- d. China
  - China asked Russia to act to stop Communism being damaged .
- e. Hard-liners in Russia
  - Hard-liners in Russia were using it to attack Khrushchev

12. Hungary, 1956: results
- a. Janos Kadar
  - Khrushchev put in the hard-liner Janos Kadar as prime minister; Nagy was executed; many Hungarians fled to Austria
- b. Russian domination confirmed
  - No Iron Curtain country tried to break free from the Soviet Union until 1968
- c. America failed to help
  - People behind the Iron Curtain realised that they would not get help from the USA
- d. End of the ‘thaw’
  - Western leaders became more determined to ‘contain’ communism .
- e. Western Communists resigned
  - Western Communists were horrified – many left the Communist Party

13. NATO: causes
- a. Truman Doctrine, 12 Mar 1947
  - Truman defined the USA’s role to defend democracies and ‘contain’ Communism; most NATO troops in Germany were American
- b. Treaty of Brussels, Mar 1948
  - Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, France, and the UK signed a mutual defence treaty, and set up the Western European Union Defence Organisation
- c. Soviet Conventional forces
  - The USA had the atomic bomb, but the USSR had superior conventional forces
- d. Berlin Blockade, 1948–49
  - Convinced western leaders that Stalin was seeking to expand Soviet power .
- e. Ernest Bevin, 1949
  - Approached the USA to create a stronger anti-Soviet defensive alliance

14. NATO: membership and purpose
- a. Twelve founding members, Apr 1949
  - Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, France, the UK, plus USA, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland
- b. Greece and Turkey, 1952
  - Greece and Turkey joined in 1952, West Germany in 1955
- c. Lisbon Conference, Feb 1952
  - Agreed to set up a permanent military force in Germany – eventually set at 35 divisions, supported by nuclear weapons
- d. Exercise Mainbrace, Sep 1952
  - First NATO naval exercises .
- e. Protect the west
  - NATO was a lasting US commitment to defend Europe from Soviet aggression

15. NATO: results
- a. Coordinated NATO forces
  - NATO countries standardised their weaponry and coordinated their strategies (e.g. the NATO phonetic alphabet)
- b. Increased international tension
  - Stalin saw NATO as an act of war
- c. Arms Race
  - Stalin saw himself facing united enemies and saw nuclear weapons as the only way to defend the Soviet Union
- d. Russia’s atomic bomb, Aug 1949
  - Stalin rushed to get an atomic bomb .
- e. Warsaw Pact, 1955
  - The addition of West Germany to NATO in 1955 led to the Warsaw Pact

16. The arms race: causes
- a. The Cold War
  - McCarthyism/USA nuclear weapons frightened Khrushchev; Hungary/Soviet nuclear weapons frightened the West
- b. Deterrent
  - Both sides believed that, since war was MAD (mutually assured destruction), having the ability to wipe out the enemy would prevent attack
- c. Military-industrial complex
  - By 1955, the USA was spending almost a fifth of its national income on weapons – weapons manufacturers wanted an arms race
- d. Peaceful co-existence
  - Khrushchev’s idea of ‘peaceful coexistence’ was really ‘unrestrained competition’ to see which was the better system .
- e. One-upmanship
  - Some historians believe that by the late 1950s the Cold War had deteriorated into attempts simply to ‘come out on top’

17. The arms race: facts
- a. Nautilus, 1954
  - The first US nuclear-powered submarine (the USSR had developed nuclear submarines by 1958)
- b. ICBMs, 1957
  - In 1957 both sides developed Intercontinental ballistic missile – they could destroy each other at the push of a button
- c. Polaris, 1960
  - A US nuclear warhead launched from a submarine (also fitted on British subs)
- d. Soviet superiority in conventional forces
  - By 1980, the Warsaw Pact had 70,000 tanks, NATO had 30,000 .
- e. Overkill
  - By 1960, America had 20,000 warheads, Russia had 1,605 – together, enough to destroy every living thing on earth

18. Nuclear arms race: causes
- a. The Cold War
  - Truman Doctrine/Marshall Plan/NATO frightened Stalin; Iron Curtain/Berlin Blockade frightened the West
- b. Russia’s atomic bomb, Aug 1949
  - When the USSR got the atomic bomb, there was bound to be a race
- c. Deterrent
  - Both sides believed that, since war was MAD (mutually assured destruction), having the ability to wipe out the enemy would prevent attack
- d. Fear
  - Both sides feared a pre-emptive strike, and sought safety in weapons .
- e. Military-industrial complex
  - By 1955, the USA was spending almost a fifth of its national income on weapons – weapons manufacturers wanted an arms race

19. Nuclear arms race: facts
- a. Atomic bomb
  - USA, 1945/USSR, 1949
- b. Hydrogen bomb
  - USA, 1952/USSR, 1953
- c. ICBMs
  - Intercontinental ballistic missiles: USA Atlas-A, 1957/USSR R-7, 1957
- d. USA 2000 v USSR 200 warheads
  - By 1955, the USA had 2000 nuclear warheads, the USSR had 200 .
- e. Soviet Conventional forces
  - The USSR had far better conventional weapons (especially tanks)

20. The space race: causes
- a. Adventure and exploration
  - ‘'Space; the final frontier’
- b. Science fiction stories
  - Especially the belief that there was life on Mars and Venus
- c. UFOs
  - Even the CIA compiled dossiers on extra-terrestrial visits
- d. Peaceful co-existence
  - Khrushchev’s idea of ‘peaceful coexistence’ was really ‘unrestrained competition’ to see which was the better system .
- e. One-upmanship
  - Some historians believe that by the late 1950s the Cold War had deteriorated into attempts simply to ‘come out on top’

21. The space race: facts
- a. Space launch vehicles, Aug 1957
  - Both the USSR (R-7) and USA (Atlas-A) developed rockets capable of lifting a payload into orbit
- b. Soviet satellite Sputnik #1, Oct 1957
  - The first (Soviet) satellite; the US Explorer satellite was launched in 1958
- c. Laika the Soviet dog, Nov 1957
  - The first (Soviet) animal in space; the US sent Ham (a chimp) in 1961
- d. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Apr 1961
  - The first (Soviet) manned orbit; the US sent John Glenn in 1962 .
- e. US Apollo program, May 1961
  - President Kennedy announced America’s intention to take a man to the moon

22. U2 Crisis, 1960: causes
- a. Space race
  - Sputnik 1 had given the USSR a psychological advantage in the Cold War
- b. Fidel Castro, 1959
  - Castro’s revolution in Cuba (1959)
- c. China criticised Khrushchev, 1959
  - When Khrushchev visited America in 1959, China accused him of betraying Communism
- d. ‘'Open skies’ discussions, 1955–60
  - The Americans proposed surveillance flights to monitor each other’s nuclear weapons .
- e. Gary Powers was shot down, 1 May 1960
  - A U2 spy-plane piloted by Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet territory

23. U2 Crisis, 1960: events
- a. Gary Powers was shot down, 1 May 1960
  - A U2 spy-plane piloted by Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet territory
- b. US ‘weather research aircraft’ story, 5 May 1960
  - The US, thinking Powers dead, said they had lost a weather plane because the pilot had oxygen difficulties
- c. Khrushchev’s trap, 7 May 1960
  - Khrushchev announced he had Powers alive and the spy camera, and proved the Americans had lied
- d. Paris Summit, 16 May 1960
  - Khrushchev demanded an apology and walked out when Eisenhower refused .
- e. Powers trial, Aug 1960
  - Powers was found guilty in a Soviet court of espionage

24. U2 Crisis, 1960: results
- a. Soviet propaganda victory, 7 May 1960
  - The Americans had been shown to be liars; the Soviets grew in confidence
- b. The Paris Summit collapsed, 16 May 1960
  - Khrushchev demanded an apology and walked out when Eisenhower refused
- c. Eisenhower cancelled a visit to Russia, Jun 1960
  - American attitudes hardened, and they elected Kennedy, who asked them to ‘pay any price … for the survival of freedom’
- d. President Kennedy was elected, 1961
  - A sign of increasing tension in the Cold War .
- e. US Discoverer spy satellites, Aug 1960
  - The Americans developed the ability to take spy-photos from space satellites