The Cold War 1945-189 Flashcards
(17 cards)
Outline the events of the Yalta Conference
February 1945
Germany would be split into 4 zones
UN would replace LoN
Free elections would be held in occupied Eastern Europe countries
Outline the events of the Potsdam conference
July and august 1945
New boundaries of Poland were agreed
The big 3 as well as France would divide Germany
Nazi leaders would be tried for war crimes
Harry Truman has replaced Roosevelt and was far more suspicious of Stalin
Stalin has made a pro-communist government
How did the USA and ussr ideologies differ
America viewed communism as world revolution and saw it as a threat
Describe the ‘Arms race”
USA and USSR raced to create the atom bomb, as a form of bragging their superiority over the other, USA won, Stalin was furious
How did Stalin expand influence in Eastern Europe
Between 1945-1948
Seized power over the Czech in February 1948
Cut off aid to Yugoslavia
Pro Stalin puppet governments in eastern europe
What was the ‘iron curtain’
Churchill’s description of the dividing of europe
What was the Truman Doctrine
March 1947
400 million dollars given to Turkey and Greece to stop the spread of communism
What was the marshal plan
June 1947
17 billion dollars of aid given to European companies to boost their economies
What was the Berlin airlift
June 1948 and may 1949, 8000 tonnes of supplies were supplied to west Germany every day
How was western Berlin different to east Berlin
West was more prosperous and economically developed, people preferred living under the capitalist western side
American spy plane shot down in 1960 spying on soviet territory
Outline the events during the Berlin Wall period
Built on 13th august 1961
Those who tried to escape to the west were shot, they were separated for almost 30 years
USA took no further military action, Kennedy was preparing for confrontation so was relieved
Berlin Wall was bad propaganda for communism as it became associated with oppression
West viewed it as the failures of communism
Outline the events of the Cuba missile crisis
In October 1962, a u-2 spy plane spotted and photographed nuclear missile construction sites of the ussr along Cuba. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba.
Khrushchev agreed to dismantle bases and ordered to turn ships around, the USA lifted the blockade. hotline telephone was established
How did the USA try to protect south Vietnam from communism
Truman doctrine ensured America was willing to provide aid to south Vietnam
Eisenhower supported Diem, leader of the south vietnam, who was anti-communist as well as unpopular
Kennedy and Eisenhower gave money to the south Vietnamese and 12000 troops were there by 1962
Outline the events of the Gulf of Tonkin
1964
North Vietnamese attacked US ships
President Johnson He increased troops in south Vietnamese from 23000 in 1964 to 180000 in 1965 and 500000 in 1967
Bombing camoaign
Why did the USA lose the Vietnam war
-Vietcong received south Vietnamese support due to good treatment of them
- American bombings killed locals so north Vietnamese were more determined
- guerrilla warfare ambushes tricked American soldiers who were young, untrained in jungle combat and not as tactically intelligent
- north Vietnam has ussr and Chinese support
- American public opinion was anti-war following the My Lai Massacre
