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American History - temporary > Cold War (1945-75) > Flashcards

Cold War (1945-75) Flashcards

1
Q

3

Describe USSR losses in WW2

A
  • 27 million dead
  • 25 million homeless
  • 6 million buildings destroyed
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2
Q

4

What was decided at Yalta?

A
  • February 1945
  • Germany should be divided
  • Half of the Germany reparations would go to the USSR
  • USSR would take land from Poland and Poland would be compensated by being given land from Germany
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3
Q

4

Describe what happened at Potsdam

A
  • July 1945
  • Both US and UK had new leader
  • Less amicable but the agreements from the Yalta conference were confirmed
  • 50% of Americans felt that wartime cooperation between the US and the USSR should continue
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4
Q

4

Describe the USSR forcing communism onto eastern Europe

A
  • Stalin started imposing communist regimes on many of the countries they had liberated from the Nazi’s:
  • 1947, Romania - the King was given 2 hours to introduce a pro-communist government
  • The Soviets then forced Czechoslovakia to adopt communism in 1948
  • Only Greece, undergoing civil war, resisted communist rule in Eastern Europe
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5
Q

3

Describe international concern about USSR spreading communism

A
  • Truman was worried about the impact of Communism on Europe but there was little he could do about it
  • In 1946, Churchill spoke of an Iron Curtain dividing Europe
  • By 1949, it was agreed that a state of Cold War had developed between the US and the USSR
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6
Q

5

Describe the Truman Doctrine

A
  • 1947, Truman had offered the support of the US to countries struggling against Communism
  • ‘I believe that it must be the policy of the US to support peoples who resist being enslaved by armed minorities or by outside pressures’
  • The doctrine was first applied to Greece and Tukrey
  • Congress provided for $400m of military/economic aid, May 1947
  • Greece and Turkey did not become Communist so it was deemed successful.
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7
Q

5

Describe Marshall Aid1948

A
  • The US offered a $13 billion package to help European countries to recover from the effects of the war
  • A conference of 22 nations was set up to assess the needs of the affected countries
  • The USSR did not attend and refused permission for countries under its influence to do so
  • Eventually 16 western countries formed the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) to spend the money
  • The aid was partly to prevent countries falling to Communism and this appeared effective in the case of France and Italy
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8
Q

5

Describe what caused the Berlin Airlift 1949

A
  • June 1948, Western zone introduced the Deutschmark
  • Allied zones had experienced strong economic recovery; soviet zone suffered stagnation with imposed communism
  • Western leaders tried to introduce currency into Berlin
  • Stalin cut all transport links with the West
  • He believed he could blockade Berlin into accepting communist rule
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9
Q

4

Describe the Berlin Airlift 1949

A
  • Britain and US organised an airlift of essential supplies to blockaded West Berlin
  • By March 1949, 8,000 tons of supplies per day were being delivered
  • On 9th May, Stalin called off the blockade and things returned to normal
  • It appeared the West had won
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10
Q

5

Describe the early stages of the Korean War and the liberation of South Korea

A
  • Following WW2, Korea was divided into North and South at the 38th parallel
  • The South government was supported by the US but the North was communist
  • March 1950, North Korea invaded the South
    UN sent forces to stop the invasion
  • The vast majority were US and under command of General MacArthur (Supreme Commander for Allied powers)
  • UN forces liberated South Korea
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11
Q

7

Describe the Korean War following the involvement of China

A
  • UN forces liberated South Korea but then invaded North Korea, ignoring warnings from China
  • Truman fired MacArthur for going beyond his orders
  • Some felt Truman was soft and Communism and that North Korea and China should have been invaded
  • China then sent troops to help North Korea
  • Became a stalemate for 3 years
  • The US lost 27,000 troops and one million Korean citizens died
  • In 1953, peace was essentially reached with Korea redivided into North and South
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12
Q

4

Describe the consequences of the Korean War 1950 - 1953

A
  • Sino-American hostility increasing
  • US gave increased support to Taiwan
  • However, also demonstrated that no major power wanted WW3
  • Sacking of MacArthur showed US planned to stick to containment rather than further action
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13
Q

3

Describe NATO

A
  • In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was signed
  • Although it was a defensive alliance, its main purpose was to prevent soviet expansion
  • Countries agreed that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America, would be considered an attack on all (article 5)
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14
Q

3

What was the Warsaw Pact?

A
  • Soviet Union set up its own rival to NATO
  • Set up 1955
  • Military alliance of 8 nations headed by USSR
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15
Q

5

Describe what happened in Hungary during Eisenhower’s presidency

A
  • 1956, Khrushchev began to relax the controls Stalin had imposed on Eastern Europe
  • But then, moderate communists in Hungary (led by Imre Nagy) threatened to leave the Warsaw Pact
  • Khrushchev sent tanks and had Nagy shot
  • Janos Kadar took over leading Hungary,
  • US did not intervene- simultaneous issues in Suez detracted attention
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16
Q

5

Describe the Berlin Ultimatum

A
  • West spied on East Berlin
  • Nuclear warheads stationed in West Germany
  • Khrushchev threatened to block off access to West Berlin
  • Nov 1958, Khrushchev gave the West 6 months to close off access to West Berlin from the East
  • The West refused and Khrushchev backed down March 1959
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17
Q

5

Describe the summits between Eisenhower and Khrushchev

A
  • Kruschev and Eisenhower had their first ever summit Sept 1959
  • Atmosphere was relaxed but no progress was made on Berlin
  • The second summit was supposed to happen May 1960 but this failed as U2 US spy plane had just been shot down over soviet territory
  • Gary Powers had been captured
  • Eisenhower was forced to admit the planes intent and Kruschev refused to attend the summit
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18
Q

5

Describe the Suez Crisis 1956

A
  • July 1956, Egyptian leader (Nasser) took control of the Suez Canal
  • Britain and France, with the help of Israel, invaded the canal zone
  • The US did not support the invasion and forced the West to withdraw using financial sanctions
  • Eisenhower believed relationships with east were needed for oil and to protect against the Communist bloc
  • Eisenhower was angered that the UK acted without informing the US
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19
Q

3

Describe US involvement in the Chinese Civil War 1945-1949

A
  • US gave aid to Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalists over Mao and the Chinese Communist Party
  • 1949, Chiang fled to Taiwan
  • US refused to acknowledge the People’s Republic of China (Mao) and instead only had diplomatic relations with the Republic of China government in Taiwan
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20
Q

3

Describe reasons for Chinese-American tensions during 1945-60

A
  • US hated communism and was convinced there must be a link to the USSR
  • Mao hated capitalism and resented the US for supporting Chiang during and after the Civil War
  • Both sides interpreted the Korean War as a sign that the other was an aggressive threat
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21
Q

3

Describe the US-Taiwan Defence Treaty 1954

A
  • Established US military bases in Taiwan
  • US promised to give aid and provide military support to Taiwan if attacked by PRC
  • reaffirmed US recognition of Republic of China (Taiwan) as sole govt
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22
Q

6

Describe US-Chinese relations following the Korean War

A
  • Dulles (Sec of State) insisted that Chinese communism was worse threat than Soviet Communism
  • US put a trade embargo on China
  • Kept China out of the UN
  • US-Taiwan Defence Treaty 1954
  • Trumansent US 7th fleet to Taiwan straits
  • The shelling of Quemoy and Matsu
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23
Q

4

Describe the shelling of Quemoy and Matsu 1955

A
  • Mao shelled Chinese Nationalist Islands of Quemoy and Matsu in 1955 in retaliation to Sino-American treaty 1954
  • Eisenhower’s nuclear threat caused China to back down
  • Repeat crisis in 1958 saw Eisenhower order the involvement of US Navy 7th Fleet to protect Taiwanese supply lines
  • Eisenhower talked of using nuclear weapons
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24
Q

5

Describe the race to the atomic bomb and then the hydrogen bomb

A
  • US tested its first atomic bomb in 1945
  • USSR modernised atomic research programme and increased espionage
  • USSR tested first bomb in 1949
  • US tested first H-bomb at Bikini Atoll in 1954
  • USSR in 1955
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25
Q

3

Describe military spending in this period in the 1950s

A
  • $40 to 50 billion a year in the 50s
  • 90% of foriegn aid to US allies was used for military
  • Technological advancement such as the first IBM computer in 1953
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26
Q

5

Describe the Berlin Wall Crisis 1961

A
  • June 1961, Krushchev met Kennedy in Vienna and gave the ultimatum that something had to done about Berlin by December 1961 or he would close the access routes
  • August 1961, Krushchev ordered the building of the Berlin Wall
  • From 5pm 27th October to 11am 28th October, fully armed US and Soviet tanks faced off at the border between east and west Berlin (18hr standoff)
  • ‘flashpoint’
  • After 18 hours, the US tanks pulled back
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27
Q

5

Why was the Berlin Wall Crisis 1961 important?

A
  • Could be said to bring stability to Germany as it finally sealed off the two sectors
  • Both US and USSR resumed nuclear testing
  • Soviet propaganda claimed that the wall was a success as the US was unable to prevent its construction
  • Western propaganda claimed it showed that the USSR had to wall its people in
  • Some believe that Krushchev saw it as such a success that it encouraged him to place missiles in Cuba
28
Q

3

Why was detente possible?

A
  • Both US and USSR wanted to limit arms in order to reduce their defence spending
  • Nixon hoped improving relations with the USSR might mean the Soviets encourage the North Vietnamese to end the war in Vietnam
  • The USSR did not want the US to have better relations with the Chinese than with them
29
Q

5

Describe the Bay of Pigs 1961

A
  • In April 1961, Kennedy sanctioned the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba
  • Cuban exiles were to return and create a national uprising
  • It failed terribly due to poor planning and lack of support from the cuban people
  • It was a humiliation to the US and brought Cuba closer to the USSR
  • At the end of 1961, Castro announced his conversion to communism
30
Q

5

Describe the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

A
  • The Soviets were concerned by the presence of US missile bases in Italy and Turkey
  • Soviets plan to place nuclear missiles on Cuba
  • Kennedy placed a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent missiles reaching the island
  • Kennedy and Khrushchev negotiated via letters
  • The US agreed to secretly withdraw missiles from Turkey (but secretly) as long as USSR did not place missiles in Cuba
31
Q

4

What was ‘Ping-pong’ diplomacy?

A
  • World Table Tennis Championship held in Japan on April 6th 1971
  • An american player missed his teams bus after practice and was then offered a lift by the chinese team
  • Cowan and Zedong’s unlikely friendship was widely publicised
  • The American team was then formally invited on an all-expenses paid trip to China
32
Q

6

Describe the effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis,1962

A
  • It was perceived that Kennedy had won and Khrushchev had backed down (Particularly as the deal over Turkey was not revealed for some time)
  • It has been said that the pride of this success led the US to act over confidently in Vietnam
  • The Soviets retaliated by working hard to achieve nuclear parity by the end of the decade
  • International relief following the deescalation of crisis
  • A hotline link was established between the Whitehouse and the Kremlin
  • The Partial Test Ban Treaty, 1963
33
Q

1

Describe the Partial Test Ban Treaty 1963

A
  • US and the USSR agreed to stop testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere
34
Q

4

Why did Chinese-US relations improve during the 1970s?

A
  • April 1971, US lifted its 21 year trade embargo with China
  • China-USSR relations had deteriorated (Sino-Soviet ideological split - Mao criticised as revionist)
  • Nixon hoped relations with China might help end the war in Vietnam as the Chinese were close allies of the North Vietnamese
  • Moa wanted to stimulate Chinese trade and industry
35
Q

2

Define detente

A

‘A reduction in tension’

The improvement of US-Soviet relations in the years after the Cuban Missile Crisis

36
Q

3

What was SALT 1?

A
  • Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty 1972
  • Imposed limits on nuclear capabilities on US and USSR
  • The first treaty of its kind
37
Q

4

Describe the Helsinki Agreements 1975

A
  • The US, USSR and 33 other countries made declarations on 3 main issues
  1. The West recognised borders in Eastern Europe and the Soviets accepted the existence of West Germany
  2. Agreed to respect basic human rights and freedoms
  3. Closer economic, scientific and cultural links
38
Q

When did Nixon visit China?

A

1972

39
Q

2

Describe how ‘containment’ led to US involvement in the Vietnam war

A
  • The US want to stop the spread of communism
  • The domino theory - US convinced that if Vietnam fell to communism it would be followed by its neighbouring states, especially Laos and Cambodia
40
Q

4

Describe US involvement in Vietnam before the Vietnam War

A
  • US determined to prop up South Vietnam
  • US prevented any further elections planned for 1956 as they knew that the communists would win
  • The US prevented fair elections realising Communism would win.
  • 1965, Ho Chi Minh ordered Vietcong to begin invasion of the south
41
Q

4

Describe how weakness in the South Vietnamese government led to US involvement in the Vietnam war

A
  • Diem was corrupt
  • November 1963 Diem was overthrown and replaced by a series of weak and short-lived governments
  • Vietcong became popular in south
  • Under Kennedy the US tried to reduce Communist influence through the Strategic Hamlet policy
42
Q

4

Describe the Strategic Hamlet Policy?

A
  • Extensive security programme to move rural inhabitants into fortified villages
  • More easily protected and segregated from Viet Cong
  • Hugely unpopular in Vietnam
  • 5k built by 1962
43
Q

4

Describe the Gulf of Tonkin incident

A
  • 2nd August, 1964 US destroyer Maddox was fired at by North Vietnamese patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin
  • Two days later there was an alleged second attack but later evidence showed this never happened
  • Johnson used this to persuade congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
  • It was suggested Johnson may have engineered the Gulf of Tonkin incident for greater military support
44
Q

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

A
  • Gave Johnson the power to use any military measure he thought necessary to defend South Vietnam

At the time it was supported by:
- 85% of public
- All of House of Representatives
- All of the Senate minus 2

45
Q

3

Describe how the strengths of the Communists helped defeat the US in Vietnam

A
  • North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops were highly motivated for the reunification of Vietnam
  • Vietcong battle tactics and tunnels
  • The North Vietnamese and Vietcong were supported by the population in the South and by the Soviet Union and China
46
Q

3

Describe the Vietcong battle tactics

A
  • The Vietcong fought a low-tech war using Guerilla tactics
  • They avoided head on battles which reduced the effectiveness of the US superior weaponry
  • There tactics were much better suited to the jungle terrain of South Vietnam
47
Q

3

Describe the Vietcong tunnels

A
  • These tunnels were deep and extensive, used for getting around and sheltering from bombing raids
  • They were heavily booby-trapped making them a death trap for US forces and the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam
  • The tunnels around Saigon ran for 320km
48
Q

2

Describe support for North Vietnam and the Vietcong

A
  • The Southern people hid the Northern fighters and aided their guerilla tactics
  • The USSR and China supplied the North with rockets, tanks and fighters planes
49
Q

4

Describe how the weakness of the US forces led to their defeat in Vietnam

A
  • US troops were inexperienced and unmotivated
  • Lack of support at home
  • US tactics such as Search and Destroy and chemical warfare further encouraged the Southern Vietnamese to turn on them
  • The Tet Offensive, 31st January 1968
50
Q

4

Describe the My Lai massacre 1968

A
  • A US patrol killed 347 Vietnamese civilians, wiping out the whole village of My Lai
  • US military attempted to cover it up but this was unsuccessful
  • Lieutenant Calley was found guilty of the murder of 109 people and was sentenced to 20 years hard labour in 1971 (he was released 1973)
  • Shocked the US public
51
Q

3

Describe the Tet Offensive 1968

A
  • The Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched an attack on over 100 towns and cities in South Vietnam during the New Year
  • They even captured the US embassy in Saigon
  • This brought further loss to US military morale and further criticism at home
52
Q

2

Describe Operation Rolling Thunder

A
  • The US bombing campaign of North Vietnam, lasting 3.5 years from 1965 to 1968
  • Aimed to destroy Vietcong supply routes to the South
53
Q

4

Describe Operation Trail Dust

A
  • Chemical warfare programme from 1962-71
  • ‘Agent Orange’ - highly toxic weed killer used to destroy the jungle
  • Napalm - highlly flammable gelling agent
  • Estimated 400k deaths due to
54
Q

3

Describe the US ‘Search and Destroy’ campaign in Vietnam

A
  • 1965, Introduced by Commander Westmoreland
  • Entailed using helicopters to descend on villages suspected of assisting Vietcong forces and destroying them
  • Referred to by US troops as ‘Zippo’ raids after the the name of the lighters they used to set fire to the thatched houses
55
Q

3

Describe the cost of the Vietnam War

A
  • By the time of the Tet Offensive in 1968, more than 36,000 of the US military had been killed
  • Protests were being held in every major city
  • In 1964, the Vietnam war cost the US government less than half a billion dollars but by 1968 the cost was at $26.5 billion
56
Q

4

Re-do card

Describe Nixon’s role in US withdrawal from Vietnam

A
  • In 1968, Nixon was elected on the promise to withdraw from Vietnam
  • Nixon’s initial plan was unveiled in May 1969, with the aim of training up Southern Vietnamese soldiers to replace american forces (Vietnamisation)
  • This failed as the South Vietnam forces were much weaker than the North
  • Peace talks began in 1968 but made no real progress until Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, after which the Chinese government encouraged more cooperation from the North Vietnam government

Also banned agent orange in 1971

57
Q

4

Describe the end of the war in Vietnam

A
  • On 23rd January 1973, a ceasefire was signed with the US in Paris, followed four days later by a formal peace treaty
  • The US promised to withdraw all of its troops and allow Vietcong to keep all captured areas of South Vietnam
  • Nixon spoke of ‘peace with honor’
  • Within 2 years, the Communists had defeated the South Vietnamese and reunited Vietnam (Fall of Saigon April 1975)
58
Q

5

Describe the effects of the Vietnam War

A
  • Cost the US $30 billion each year of war
  • Made Johnson very unpopular
  • Encouraged improved relations with China and the Soviet Union
  • Nixon Doctrine
  • 60,000 US troops killed and 150,000 wounded
59
Q

1

Describe the Nixon Doctrine

A

Stated that the US expected its allies to take care of their own military defence

60
Q

4

Describe SEATO

A
  • formed 1954
  • consisted of US, France, GB, NZ, Australia, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan
  • lack of SE nations opened up accusations of imperaliastic capitalism
  • US officials believed SE Asia to be crucial frontier in fight against communist expansion
61
Q

4

Describe Truman and Vietnam

A
  • Neutral at first
  • Korean War and flow of Chinese/Soviet aid to Viet Minh prompted Truman to reexamine Vietnam policy
  • Sent 35 military advisers + transport planes/jeeps
  • Funding over ⅓ of France’s war costs by end
62
Q

4

Describe Eisenhower and Vietnam

A
  • Eisenhower keen to avoid another SE war after Korean experience
  • Yet Eisenhower keen to prevent domino theory
  • Eisenhower spent $2bn in aid (1955-60) and military advisors increased to 1k
  • elections prevented
63
Q

6

Describe JFK and Vietnam

A
  • Lambasted previous efforts to assist French
  • Anti-Vietnam action stance changed in 1960 amid concerns he appeared soft on communism
  • Provided South with jet fighters, helicopters, armoured personal vehicles
  • Authorised use of agent orange and napalm
  • Military advisors rose to 16k - some participated in clandestine (secretive) combat operations
  • Originally a Diem supporter, JFK sanctioned CIA coup to overthrow his autocratic rule which resulted in his assassination in 1963 weeks later
64
Q

4

Describe the FP of different American Presidents in the Cold War

A
  • Truman - Truman Doctrine + containment
  • Eisenhower - ‘roll back’
  • JFK - brokemanship
  • Nixon - Nixon doctrine
65
Q

3

Describe the Geneva Agreements 1954

A
  • Agreed that Vietnam would be divided along 17th parallel
  • Diem control in South, Minh control in North
  • elections in 1956
66
Q

Buddhist monk burnt himself in (…) in (…) and captuured by (…)

A

Saigon
1963
Malcolme Brown, American journalist

American History - temporary (11 decks)

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