7 | ee LONGMAN Ee Ee) SMe Ltd THE COLD WAR PTT Slat li ee e e kgCONTENTS What was'the Cold War? Origins of the Cold War From Yalta to Potsdam Burope 1945-8 ‘The Berlin Blockade Revision guide waene Part Two: The nuclear arms race Introduction 6 From the A-bomb to the H-bomb 7 ‘The arms race 8 Ban the bomb! Anti-nuclear protests Revision exercise Part Three: Containing Communism Introduction 9 Containment in Korea 10 The Cuba Grisis (1) 11 The Cuba Crisis (2) 12 ‘The Americans in Viewam (1) 13 Part Four: The Soviet Uni satellites: Introduction 14 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 15 The Berlin Wall 16 Czechoslovakia, 1968 Revision exercise Part Five: The end of the Cold War Introduction 17 Detente and a new Cold War 18 The collapse of Communist Europe 19° After the Cold War Revision guide BSeaswe 13 4 16 18, 20 32 33 34 36 38 40 Al 42. a4 46 4g‘of that fear. This toot willWHAT WAS THE COLD WAR? a ‘The term ‘Cold War’ was first used by an American They helped their allies to fight each other. For banker in 1947, He was describing the hostility that example, the USA backed Israel and the Soviet existed between the United States and the Soviet Union backed Egypt in the wars in the Middle Bast Union. By ‘cold’ he meant that the two countr were doing all they could to hatm each other without using their armed forces to fight a ‘hot’ war, But how was it possible to make war without fighting each other? The map and diagram on these © They gave help to opposing sides in civil wars. For example, they supported rival governments in a civil war in the Congo, pages show some of the ways in which they did so,» ‘The Americans used armed force to get rid of Look first at the map. Tt shows that the two sides pro-Soviet governments in countries close to the used other countries and other people to do their United States, such as Cuba. fighting for them. They did so in many ways: © ‘The Soviet Union used armed force to stop © They fought each other’s allies. For example, the rebellions against pro-Sovict governments in United States fought against North Vietnam, a nearby countries, such as Hungary. pro-Soviet country, in the Vietnam War, Soviet forces invaded A ‘countries to help set up a ppre-Sovict governments q US forces fought against allies of the Soviet Union =F i ae ‘vals CONGO: ‘The Superpowers ‘counteles fight ca tuperposier conflict, How the Superpowers used other countries to do their fighting for them 2boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games as a protest against a Soviet invasion of Afiha ‘The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was set up fo carry out intelligence-gathering, spying and subversion "The Marshall Plan, 1948; the USA gave 816 billion of aie European countries co stop th spread of communism into western Europe Aid Area of Example: the USA. Example: the Soviet Union conflict The arms 1952: the USA explvted its 1953: the Soviet Union ee fist H-bomd and started exploded its frst H-bomb and ‘building long-range bomber started building long-range aircraft rissiles ‘The space astronaut 1057: dhe works irs antifiil race he first person to satelite, Suni, was walk-on the moon Jauncled into space Defence 1980s: work began on “Star 19805: Soviet researchers ‘Woes’ satellites which use laser ‘experimented with particle beams to destray incoming beams to destroy incoming Soviet missles a American missles he ED Propaganda ‘The ‘Voice of America’ radio ap Progress Publishers printed station brondeast pro- (BBO pro-Soviet books in foreign AAnieriean proggramiacs 0 the (og) Tanguages for export to Sori Union ee! wwencen councrcn Sport 1980; the United States 1984: the Soviet Union Moscow 1980 & boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics through fears for Soviet athlete" salety in USA State Security) ca spying, subversion inteigence-path 1960: the Soviet Union started giving money and arms to the new ani- American government of Examples of the methods which the Superporoers used to fight each other in the Cold War But these were not the only ways in which the Superpowers fought each other. Look now at the diagram. It shows that they also fought a propagan- da war, trying to damage each other’s reputation and to improve their own. They competed in an arms race to develop more and more powerful weapons. ee Study the map carefully. ‘They tried to outdo each other in science and tech- nology, especially in the ‘space race’ to land first on the moon. Even in sport they competed with each other, for example to get gold medals in the Olympic Games. In all of these areas of conflict, they used espionage to find out each other’s plans. i Whisk Go couniles were the aunerpowen! in the Cold Warr 2, Write four sentences to explain why you agree or disagree with this statement: SThere was no. actual fighting between the Superpowers during the Cold War B. Study the diagram above, 1. Choose thee of the areas of contliy listed in the left-hand column, 2. Suggest what you think each Superpower hoped to gain by doing these things.ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR East West Government A one-party state. Only the Commonist Party is {A democzatic state. Many parties are allowed to stand allowed. In theory, the country is run by clected "The leader of the party whieh wins an councils called Soviets, ut at most members of the ‘omnes the head of the government, Soviots ave Communist the country is the Party. Strict limits on many human and civil rights e.g limits ‘on free speech, travel, worship etc, Dissidents (ce. East, and some rights ore guaranteed by law. (But people who try to break those limits) risk uil the 1960 many rights were denied to black imprisonment. Americans.) Average living standards higher than i Social more evenly distributed, s0 fewer people are either Wealth distributed unevenly, so there are rich o poor. people than in the Economie —_A government-run economy: factories, farms, mines, A free-market economy: farms, factories, mines shops, shops, cte. are publicly owned, Profits ae used for et are privately owned. Profits go to the company. the public good. ooNPABaA ANOTHER GREAT Gy |'success ron JOUR LEADER! Cultural “The media are owned and run by the goveenn “The media are owned by private companies and Newspapers, books, radio, films, TV are strictly individuals. Newspapers, books, radio, TV and films censored. are rarely censored. Differences between the communist East and the democratic West ‘The Superpowers had not always been enemies. ‘Though they were on the same side, there was During the Second World War they fought on the deep mistrust between the Soviet Union and the same side against Nazi Germany. Along with western Allies. The mistrust had many catises. At its Britain, they were known as the ‘Allies’. heart was a disagreement about how countriesshould be run. The Soviet Union was a communist country run by a dictator, Joseph Stalin, Britain and the USA were capitalist countries run by elected governments, led by Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt respectively. The picture opposite shows some of the issues on which they were split. A history of mistrust ‘Why should a disagreement about how to run coun- tries cause so much mistrust? The disagreement had begun in 1917 when Communists had overthrown the Russian government during the First World War ‘The new Communist government made changes which angered Russia’s allies, especially France, Britain and the USA. For example, they stopped fighting and made peace with Germany; they confis- cated land, factories and banks from their owners; and they murdered the Russian royal family as well as thousands of political opponents, ‘The governments of Britain, France and the USA decided to get rid of this dangerous, new govern- ment. In 1918 they sent armies to invade Russia and overthrow it. They failed, and the Communists stayed in power. The Communists never forgot that the western countries hated them badly enough to make war on them, Fears of Russian expansion In 1922 Russia merged with five neighbouring states to form a new country, the Soviet Union. By 1936, five more states had joined the Soviet Union. In less than 15 years, Russia had added to itself an area the size of Europe. This made the western countries fear that the Communists were building a powerful new empire in the East. ‘Their fears doubled during the first year of the Second World War, when Soviet forces marched into eastern Poland and the Baltic states. ‘This added an area the size of Britain to the Soviet Union, and brought its frontier even closer to Europe. The Soviet Union at war Stalin, the Soviet leader, was able to do this because in 1939 he had made an agreement with Hitler, the German leader, that they would not make war on, Questions Look carefully at the diagram opposite. Lt C® >» ( Ly each other, In 1941, howeer, Hitler-broke this agreement and invaded the Sovier Union. Churchill, the British leader, immediately put aside his dislike of communism and started sending help to the Soviet Union to fight Germany, which was now their common enemy. The Americans, too, put aside their doubts and started to send aid. Friction between the Allies Although they were now fighting together against Germany, there was friction between them. The western allies did not forget the agreement that Stalin had made with Hitler in 1939, and suspected that he might make a separate peace with Germany. For Stalin, the main cause of friction was the great length of time that Britain and the USA took to open a ‘second front’ against Germany by invading German-occupied France, This meant that Soviet forces diel most of the fighting in Europe up to 1944 The Yalta Agreement ‘ebruary 1945 the three leaders met to settle differences (see the picture on page 6). At a conference in the seaside resort of Yalta, in the Soviet Union, they discussed plans for ending the war and for making a peace settlement. They agreed on five main issues: 1. Liberated Europe. The people of countries liberated (freed) from Navi rule should be allowed to set up their own democratic, independent government: 2. Germany. They would divide Germany into jones at the end of the war. They would each occupy a zone and would take 20 billion dollars for reparations; half to go to the Soviet Union. 3. Poland. The Soviet Union would be given the eastern part of Poland to improve its defences. ‘To make up for this loss, Poland would take land from eastern Germany. 4. United Nations, Nations Organi hey would set up a United tion to promote world peace. 5. Japan. Soviet armies in the Far Bast would invade Manchuria to attack Japanese forces there. 1. Which aspects of life in the East do you think westerners were most likely to criticise? 2. Which aspects of life in the West do you think easterners were most likely t0 criticise? Copy the timeline on page 12 onto the midadle of a sheet of paper. 1. Write on the left of the timeline events which made the West suspicious of the Soviet Union. 2, Write on the right of the timeline events which made the Soviet Union suspicious of the West. Look at the five points of the Yalta Agreement above, Why do you think Stalin was likely to disagree ‘with Roosevelt and Churchill about the meaning of point 1? (Hint: look at box 1 in the diagram.)FROM YALTA TO POTSDAM This photograph was taken in Berlin in July 1945. It shows British soldiers twho had just taken part in the Allied victory parade through Berlin, resting underneath a picture of the ‘Big Three’ Allied leaders at the Yalta Conference of February 1945: Churchill (lef), Roosevelt (centre) and Statins (right). Post-Yalta tensions ‘The Yalta Agreement seemed a great success at first. But within weeks of signing, the British and Americans were having serious doubts. It quickly became clear to them that Stalin did not share their ideas about democracy for the countries of eastern Europe. This is an example of the Soviet approach to setting up new governments there: “Visiting the Romanian capital, Vyshinsky [she Soviet deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs) stormed into the King’s study, slammed his fist on the table and demanded a new, pro-Moscow government, When the King of Romania demurred [objected}, noting that the Yalta Agreement guaranteed free elections, Vyshinsky looked at his watch. “T will announce the new government in exactly two hours and five minutes,” Vyshinsky snapped, and stalked out, slamming the door so hard the plaster cracked.” The aim of the Soviet forces was clear. As they advanced further into Europe, they wanted to make. sure that the governments which took over from the retreating Germans would be loyal to the Soviet Union. ‘The reasons for this were not so clear. Was Stalin simply trying to protect the Soviet Union by making sure that it had friendly neighbours? Or was he trying to expand the Soviet empire even further into Europe, as he had done before the war (see page 4)?In April 1945 relations between Stalin and the western Allies became even more strained when Roosevelt, the US President, died. The new President, Harry Truman, was less sympathetic towards the Sovict Union, Within days of taking office, Truman received reports that Soviet force: Poland were trying to set up a pro-Soviet govern- ment there, instead of allowing free elections ‘Truman decided to take a tough line on this, and he sent a strongly worded protest to Stalin, Relations between the two countries grew colder. The Potsdam Conference In May 1945 Germany surrendered, By this time the Soviet armies had reached the centre of Ger many and had occupied most of Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, the war against Japan continued in the Far East. To discuss this, as well as the fature of defeated Germany, the Allied leaders met for a final wartime conference at Potsdam in Germany. Since the Yalta Conference, two great changes had taken place. Roosevelt had died and President Truman now spoke for the USA. In Britain, the Conservative Party lost a general election halfway through the conference, so Churchill’s place was taken by Clement Attlee, the new Prime Minister At Potsdam, the Allied leaders confirmed some of the decisions made at Yalta. Germany was to be split into four zones, each run by an Allied army. Germany was to be disarmed, the Nazi Party abol- ished, and war criminals put on trial. Germany was to pay reparations for war damage. On three issues, however, they made no decision: © They did not draw up a peace teaty with Germany. © They did not agree a frontier between Poland and Germany. ©. They did not confirm the promise they had made at Yalta to allow democratic elections in Eastern Europe. 6 The atomic bomb ‘The tension at Potsdam was increased by a new deyclopment in the war against Japan, On the day before the Conference started, the United States test-exploded the world’s first atomic bomb. Questions Although Truman told Stalin very little about the bomb, Stalin had already found out about it from Soviet spies in the USA. He knew, therefore, that the Americans had the most powerful weapon in the world Now that the Americans had the atom bomb, they, had less need of Soviet help in fighting Japan. In August the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, destroying both cities and killing 150,000 people. Although Stalin now declared war on Japan, hoping to gain land before the war ended, Soviet help was no longer needed. Japan sur~ rendered just two days later. "The war in the Far East ended with the Americans firmly in control of Japan. TROUNE WEEIL SOME OF ‘HH: cartoon appeared in the Brivish magazine Punch in February 1945, afier the Yalta Conference. It shows Europe as a jigsaw puzzle being put together by Roosevelty Stalin and Churchill. They are finding it hard to put the pieces together in Germany and Eastern Europe. A. Look at the photograph opposite, and read again the Yalta Agreement on page 5. Suggest why the Allies wanted to publicise the Yalta Agreement with huge posters like the one in the photograph, Look at the cartoon aboye, and read again the information about ‘post-Yalta tensions’ on page 6. 1, What were Stalin’s aims in Hastern Eyrope early in 1945? 2, What different aims in Eastern Europe did Churchill and Roosevelt have? 3, Which country in the jigsaw do you think they found hardest to put together 4, Which pieces of the jigsaw were unfinished after the Potsdam Conference in July 19452a EUROPE 1945-8 The Iron Curtain In May 1945, only days after the defeat of Germany, Churchill sent a message to President Truman, It was about the Soviet forces which had occupied Eastern Europe. He wrote: A. ‘An iron curtain is drawn down upon their front, We do not know what is going on‘behind. ‘There seems little doubt that the whole of the ns east of the line Liibeck~Trieste-Corfu will soon be completely in their hands. ‘The map below shows what Churchill meant: there were 12 million Soviet soldiers in seven of the countries of eastern Europe. This gave Stalin the power to make whatever changes he wanted in these counties, ‘The map shows how he used that power. Over the next two years, Soviet forces did all they could to give these countries communist governments. In some of the countries they did so by rigging elec tions in favour of communist candidates, In others they simply overthrew the existing leaders and put ‘communist leaders in their place. By 1948, six of the seven countries had governments which supported the Soviet Union and were willing to take orders from Stalin. Why did Stalin do this? ‘The Americans had a simple explanation: he was continuing the process of building a mighty Soviet empire that had begun in 1922 (sce page 4). Stalin himself had a different answer, He said in 1946: B. “The Soviet Union’s loss of life (in the Second World War) has been several times greater than that of Britain and the USA put together . . . So what is so surprising about the Soviet Union, anxious for its future safety, trying to see that loyal governments should exist in these countries?” y A o Joknnn) cal pe) & iF PER ws Lf }RANCI {Comm \ nesThe Truman Doctrine (Cominform) in 1947, Its job was to co-ordinate the activities of the communist parties in Europe, thus strengthening their power and influence. By 1948, then, Europe was divided between the communist East and the non-communist West. At first, the division was no more than a line on the map. But before long the communist countries start- ed to fortify their western borders with barbed wire, watchtowers and minefields. By the 1950s the ‘iron curtain’ had become an actual barrier across Europe which few people were allowed to cro: Only one East European country escaped Soviet control. Greece, where a civil war between Communists and Royalists had started in 1944, was occupied instead by British troops. To stop the Communists from winning the civil war, the British gave guns and money to the Royalists. They also gave aid to Greece’s neighbour Turkey. But by 1947 the British could no longer afford to pay for this aid t, the Royalists were sure to lose. President Truman of the USA decided that this must not be allowed to happen. He said that com- munism must be ‘contained’ ~ that is, not allowed to spread beyond the countries that were already This policy became known as the ‘Truman Doctrine. To stop communism spreading into Greece, the US government gave the Royalists 400 million dollars in aid, With this help, they went on to win the civil war in 1949, Marshall Aid ‘That 400 milion dollars was a drop in the ocean compared with what followed. Three months later, the US Secretary of State, George Marshall, announced a much bigger injection of aid for the whole of Europe. By the ‘Marshall Plan’, the US government provided 16 European countries with 17 billion dollars of aid over the next four years (1948-52). The money was used to repair war dam- age and to build up industry. ‘The idea was that peo- ple would be less likely to support comminism if they had jobs, homes and food. Cominform Stalin bitterly criticised the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, He said that the aid was part of an American plan for world domination, and he did not allow the East Buropean countries to accept any L____ of it, Moreover, he tightened his grip on them by, ‘Gome on Sam! It’s up to us again.’ This cartoon setting up a Communist Information Bureau appeared i Punch in October 1947. Questions A. Look at the map. Using the text on these pages, explain: why there were so many Soviet soldiers in Fasten Europe in 1945, how so many countries in Eastern Europe became communist. what might have happened if the British and Americans had not given aid to Greece and Turkey. Look at the passage marked B on page 8. How did Stalin justify the fact that he had imposed pro-Sovict governments on Fasten Europe? k to page 5. What different explanation did the western Allies have of the Soviet take- Look at the cartoon. 1. Who was ‘Marshall’ and what was the ‘American Aid? shown in the foreground? 2. What did the cartoonist want us to think was about to happen to Western Burope? 3, Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement’ ‘Marshall and Uncle Sam wanted to give aid to Burope because they were kind-hearted,”THE BERLIN BLOCKADE In 1948 the Cold War very nearly became a ‘hot? war when the Soviet Union disagreed with the west ern Allies over the future of Germany For the past three years, Germany had been a divided country. After defeating Germany in 1945, the Allies had split it into pieces. As the map below shows, they gave Prussia to Poland, and divided the rest of the country into four zones. Bach zone was occupied by an Allied army. Berlin, the capital, which was deep inside the Soviet zone, was split into four sectors, Two views of Germany’s future ‘The Soviet and western Allies ran their zones in cntirely different ways. Stalin wanted to keep Germany weak and divided so that it could never again attack the Soviet Union, He also wanted Germany to pay the cost of repairing war damag ws e-5 Betish Zone SY ae LAY Creag ‘The division of Germany in 1945 and the Berlin Airlift of 1948-9 10 Like the Sovict Union itself, the Soviet zone was run asa communist country. Britain, France and the United States ran their nes along capitalist lines. Far from wanting to keep Germany weak, they wanted their zones to recover quickly from the war. A strong Germany, they believed, would help the rest of Europe to recover, So they did what they could to encourage German businesses to grow. In particular, they started using new curreney ~ the Deutschmark ~ in their zones. This replaced the Mark which had dropped in value through inflation. These changes quickly strengthened the economy the westen zones and in the western sectors of Berlin. Before long, output was rising and there was more to buy in the shops. This alarmed Stalin, If western Germany became rich and strong, he thought, it might once again be able to threaten the Soviet Union, 2s S POLAND Y; on Brive {West Berliners watch an American plane, loaded with food supplies, touching down at Tempelhof Airport in Bertin, during the blockade of 1948-9. The Berlin Blockade and Airlift Stalin decided to force the western Allies to leave Berlin, In June 1948 Soviet forces closed all rail- ways, roads and canals leading from their zone into the western sectors of the city. This immediately cut off all food and fuel supplies. ‘The people of Wes Berlin faced starvation, But the Americans, British and French refused to abandon Berlin. If West Berlin was taken by the Soviets, western Germany would surely be their next target. So they gathered together a huge fleet of air~ craft to take food, coal and clothing to Berlin along three air corridors (see map), The Berlin Airlift, as this rescue mission was known, lasted for nearly a year. It kept the people of West Berlin alive until Stalin gave in and lifted the blockade in 1949, Questions Consequences of the Blockade The Blockade failed to stop the Americans, Br and French from strengthening the western zones In 1949 they joined their zones together to form a new country, known as West Germany. ‘The Soviet Union responded by turning its own zone into a new country, known as Bast Germany. ‘The Blockade also forced the western Allies to think about how they should deal with any future disagreements with the Soviet Union, Together with Canada and nine western European countries, they formed in 1949 a military defence structure called the North Adantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). If any one of them was ever attacked by the Sovier Union, they would join forces and fight the attack together: A. 1. Why did Stalin want to make the western Allies leave Berlin in 1948? 2. Why were the western Allies so determined not to leave Berlin? B. Look at the photograph. 1. Suggest the most likely reason why the children were taking an interest in the airlift: 2, For what extra reasons might the adults have been watching the airlift? Look at the painting on the cover of this book, and read the caption on the inside back cover. 1, Describe in your own words the scene shown in the painting. 2, ‘The artist could have shown happy children watching the plane land (as in the photograph above). Why do you think he decided instead to paint the airlift from a graveyard? 3, Which do you think best portrays the importance of the Berlin Airlift: the painting or the photograph? Explain your answer,Revision guide “1917 ‘A. Find the timeline which you started after reading pages 4-5. 1918 B. Now add these events to the timeline for 1944-8, using pages 6=L1 to remind yourself when they happened. (Remember to put events which made the West suspicious of the Soviet Union on the left, and events which made the Soviet Union suspicious of the West on the right.) 1922 © The USA test-explodes the first atomic bomb. © Stalin blockades the western sectors of Berlin, © Soviet forces in Romania set up a pro-Soviet government there. © Truman protests at Sovict attempts to set up a pro-Soviet government in Poland. © The western Allies form a military defence organisation, NATO (North Atiantic Treaty Organisation) ¢ Harry Truman, not a Soviet sympathiser, becomes US President, © The Potsdam Conte Germany and Poland, or on demo Europe. nce fails to agree on the frontier benween tic elections in Rasteen © The Second World War ends with 12 million Soviet soldiers ‘occupying Bastern Europe. The western Allies introduce a new currency into their ‘occupation zones in Germany. 1936 ¢ ‘Truman announces the “Truman Docurine’ of containing communism. © Start of Marshall Aid to help European countries repair war damage. 5 © Stalin sets up Cominform to co-ordinate communist parties in 0 Europe. 1941 C. Look at your completed timeline, Which events on it were long-term eauses of the Gold War? D. Judging by your completed timeline, do you think that the Cold rreoaah 1944 War was caused AuSeJAEEe 1. mainly by the West? 1945 2. mainly by the Soviet Union? by both of them equally? ASaaGeaan ixplain your answer. 1946 1947 1948 1949 Timeline, 1917-49 ear SE A ST TES 12FROM THE A-BOMB TO THE H-BOMB ‘The United States was the first country to own nuclear weapons. ‘The Americans test-exploded the world’s first atomic bomb on 16 July 1945. Three weeks later they dropped their second bomb on Hiroshima, and the third on Nagasaki, killing more than 150,000 people and foreing Japan to surrender. For the next four years, the USA was the only country with nuclear weapons. By the time the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb in August 1949, the Americans had built up a stock of nearly a hundred bombs, as well as long-range air craft to drop them. When they learned that the Soviets had exploded an atomic bomb, the Americans began work on a far more powerful nuclear weapon, the hydrogen bomb. ‘This used the fusion, rather than fission, of atoms to create a ‘thermonuclear’ explosion of immense heat and force. They exploded the first H-bomb in November 1952, Unknown to the Americans, the Soviets had started work on their own H-bomb at almost the same time. They exploded their first H-bomb nine months later, in 1953, Why the H-bomb? Atomic bombs were so powerful that there was no real need for the more powerful hydrogen bomb. So why did both sides build such destructive weapon: ‘As you have read (page 8), in 1947 President ‘Truman started to follow a policy of ‘containment? towards the Soviet Union. In other words, he aimed to ‘contain’ communism within the countries where This cartoon reflected the fears of many Americans during the Gold War. A bear, the symbol of Russia and the Soviet Union, is about to take hold af the world. tFlash or 2 Heat A nuclear bomb exploding above the ground produces a blinding fash, electromagnetic pullse, and nuclear radiation, hen it produces a fireball with a temperature of over one million degrees centigrade, Abbeat wave radiates from the fireball Ppes\ Phe heat wave is followed by a blast wave. This is doubled instrength wher reflected blast smonges with the original wave, "The lowe preswute at the centre sucks up dust ina mushroom shaped! cloud which disperses as radioactive fallout. Set of diagrams showing the effects, in stages, of a nuclear description of the after-effects of the Hiroshima bomb, bomb exploding «dove ground. Tura to page 18 for a 14‘This Soviet poster of 1952 shows an American general placing the American flag on an air base in Greece, ewhich joined NATO in that year. Flags show that there were already air bases in Britain, Spain, Italy and North Africa, As hhe does so, an American politician in his pocket is making a speech about ‘peace’, ‘defence’ and ‘disarmament’. it already existed ~ in Eastern Hurope and the Soviet Union, In 1949, however, China became a commu- nist country. A year later, communists in North Korea invaded South Korea, threatening to make it communist too. Truman and his advisers decided that they must increase US military strength to halt this spread of communism in the Far East. The car- toon opposite reflects their views. ‘To Stalin, the Soviet leader, it seemed that the Americans were not only trying to contain commun- Questions . Look at the American cartoon (opposite). 1. Which country is represented by the bear? ism but were also trying to destroy the Soviet Union. As you have read, Stalin saw the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid as part of an American plan to dominate Europe. He saw the build-up of American forces in Europe after the formation of NATO in 1949 as part of the same plan. Most wor- tyingly from the Soviet point of view, the US Air Force set up air bases in NATO countries from which its bombers could reach targets in the Soviet Union, The poster above is 2 comment on that. 2. What did the cartoonist want people to think the bear was doing? 3. Using the information on the: portray the country in this way. B. Look at the Soviet poster. 1, Which country is represented by the sold 2, What did the artist want people to think ubout this country? (Refer in your answer to the gun. and money in the soldier's pockets, and to the soldicr’s appearance.) 3. Using the information on these pages, name two events which may have made the artist portray this country in t pages, name two events which may have made the cartoonist| THE ARMS RACE Now that they both had H-bombs, the Soviet and American governments began an ‘arms race’ to build nuclear weapons. By 1987 they had around 50,000 between them. ‘Their explosive power was equivalent to 15 billion tonnes of TNT of, to put it another way, equal to three tonnes of TNT for each human being, Both sides had enough nuclear bombs to Kill the entire human race several times over, It isn’t possible, of course, to kill people more than once. So why did the two sides make more weapons than they could ever possibly need? Eisenhower, the ‘new look’ and deterrence ‘The first step in this arms race was taken by President Bisenhower of the USA. He followed Truman as President in 1953, Hisenhower wanted to keep taxes low while also making the Americ economy strong. But he also wanted powerful defences against the Soviet Union. At that time it cost 1700 dollars to make one tonne of high-explosive "NT, but nuclear material could produce as big an explosion for only 23 dollars. The cost of matching Soviet military strength with conventional weapons was therefore 70 times greater than matching it with nuclear weapons. Bisenhower therefore ordered a ‘new look’ defence policy ~ the making of so many nuclear weapons that the USA could answer any Soviet threat with ‘massive retaliation’, He thought that fear of this retaliation would deter the Soviets from making a threat in the first place. This idea was known as nuclear deterrence 16 The ‘bomber gap’ Even so, the Americans made more weapons than were needed to deter the Soviet Union. ‘This was partly because they over-estimated the strength of the Soviet Union, In 1955, for example, the Soviet Force put on an air show to display their new B-4 bomber, capable of carrying nuclear weapons to the USA. As only ten bombers had been built, and as the Soviets wanted to impress foreign observers, the pilots flew in a wide circle and passed over the air show a second time, making it seem as if there were 20 bombers. Worried that there would be a ‘bomber gap’ between the American and Soviet air forces, Eisenhower ordered twice as many of a new American bomber, the B-52, to be built. The ‘missile gap’ In 1957 the Soviets tested the world’s first intercon- tinental ballistic missile (CBM). ‘This could carry a ar bomb to its target much further and much ster than any aircraft. ‘The Americans immediately began their own missile-building programme. Again they built more than were needed. American experts estimated that the Soviet Union would have ten times more missiles than the USA. by 1961, so there would be a ‘missile gap” between the two countries. When a presidential election took place in 1960 the Democratic candidate, John Kennedy, criticised President Hisenhower for not building cnough missiles. He promised to close the ‘missile gap’ by building more missiles if he became president, ‘This was popular with the voters, and it was oneof the reasons why he won the election, When he took office, Kennedy soon found out that there was in fact no missile gap. However, he did not think it possible to go back on his election promise. By 1963, therefore, the USA had 550 ICBMs while the Soviets had fewer than 100, The policy of MAD When he became President, Kennedy dropped Eisenhower’s policy of deterrence. He could see that, even though the Americans had more missiles than the Soviet Union, there was a defect in the idea of ‘massive retaliation’. The defect was that they could not be sure of destroying every single Soviet missile when they retaliated. Even if only two or three Soviet missiles remained untouched, they would still cause immense damage if they hit the USA. There was, therefore, no advantage in having more missiles than the Soviet Union. So Kennedy adopted a new policy. His aim was not to have more missiles than the Soviets, but to have roughly the same. Both sides would thus have the ability to destroy each other. Neither could defeat each other without itself being destroyed and so there would be a ‘balance of terror” between them. Questions This policy was known as MAD ~ short for Smutual- ly assured destruction’. From MAD to NUTS MAD was quickly overtaken by two new develop- ments. First, both sides started to build anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs). These were rockets designed to intercept attacking ICBMs before they reached their* targets. Both soon realised that the new missiles made war more, rather than less, likely. If ABMs really could protect them, each might be tempted to attack the other in the belief that they could survive a war At about the same time, both sides also started to make missiles which could carry more than one war |. Known as a MIRV (multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicle), a single missile could hit several targets. Moreover, these new missiles were highly accurate, This undermined MAD thinking because, if both sides could now hit small targets such as each other’s missile launch sites rather than cities, it would be possible for one of them to win a war without being destroyed in the process. The Americans called this the Nuclear Utilisation ‘Targeting Strategy, or NUTS for short. A. ‘There are several hinds of reasons why so many missiles were built in the ‘arms race’, Find one example of each of these kinds: 1, financial reasons 2. political reasons 3, military reasons 4. mistake B. Many people at the time felt that the policy of MAD really was mad, 1, What do you think they felt was so wrong with it? 2, How can the policy be defended against this criticism? ‘ An American long-range Titan missile is test-launched from its underground silo in California in 1963, In a war, the black nose cone would have contained a hydrogen bomb. 17BAN THE BOMB! ANTI-NUCLEAR PROTESTS This sot of photographs shows tohat happened 10 a brick- built house Skim atvay from a nuclear test-explosion. It was hit 11 seconds after the explosion, frst by a searing blast of heat, then by a shock stave with a force of around 200 tonnes, then by a 300 km-per- hour woind. During the carly years of the arms race, few people had setious doubts about nuclear weapons, Many Americans were proud to have the most powerful bombs in the world. Soviet people generally wel- comed the news that their country had exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949; as did the British in 1952. This quickly changed. During the 1950s the public grew to fear nuclear weapons, and millions joined protest groups to campaign against them, The Hiroshima aftermath Public fear began to grow as information became available about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. At first, people knew only that the atomic explosion was 2000 times more powerful than the biggest bomb ever made. They had no idea of what this meant in practice. In the years after 1945, a growing number of books and articles described the effects, Near the centre of the explosion, people had ‘been vaporised by its heat (turned to steam) leaving only their shadows on roads and walls. Further away, people had been dreadfully burned, crushed beneath falling buildings, or torn to pieces by flying glass (look again at the artwork on page 14). 18 ‘The heat and the blast killed nearly 80,000 people instantly, but a third killer was to claim many more lives: radiation, which alters the chemical balance of a person’s body and injects excessive energy into the cells. Tens of thousands died within weeks of the atomic explosions from internal bleeding, many more from cancer in the years which followed. Nuclear testing Fear of nuclear weapons continued to grow asa result of weapon tests in the 1940s and 1950s, As each country developed more and more powerful bombs, they tested their power by exploding them, sometimes underground but more often in the air. ‘These tests released huge clouds of radioactive dust, into the atmosphere. People started to realise what this meant when, in 1954, the crew of a Japanese fishing boat, ‘Lucky Dragon’, were badly injured by radiation after fishing 100 km away from an American nuclear test site. Scientists warned that atmospheric testing could seriously damage the environment in all parts of the world. As nuclear weapons grew in power, so people became more aware of what might happen to themin a nuclear war, Many, for example, believed that there would be only a ‘four-minute warning? before enemy missiles exploded overhead — giving them no time to escape. Some people built underground ‘fall-out shelters’ in their gardens, but most people knew that they stood little chance of survival Scientists calculated that in a nuclear attack on Britain, more than 100 Soviet missiles would hit ta gets all over the country, killing at least 40 million people (three-quarters of the population). The photographs opposite gives some idea of what would happen to people’s homes in a nuclear war, Protest movements In response to such fears, many people joined or supported anti-nuclear movements which sprang up in Europe and the United States. The largest were Britain’s Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) formed in 1957, and West Germany’s Questions A, Look at the photographs opposite. Mombers of OND on their annual march from London to the | rescareh base in | Aldermaston, in 1959. Many of the marchers are carrying circular “ban the bomb” signs. Campaign Against Nuclear Death. Through mass protests such as CND’s annual Aldermaston March Gee photograph above), campaigners tried to per- suade governments to stop the development of nuclear weapons ~ to ‘ban the bomb’ In 1963 the USA, Soviet Union and Britain signed a Test Ban Treaty, agreeing not to test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, underwater or in space. It seemed that CND had achieved one of its main aims, and membership dropped sharply. ‘The protest movement revived in thé 1980s when the Americans and Soviets statiofied powerful new missiles in several western European countries. Probably the most famous protest took place at Greenham Common, between 1981 and 1989, when women maintained a ‘peace camp’ outside the gates of a US nuclear air base in England, By the end of the 1980s there were at least 1400 peace groups in countries around the world, with many millions of members. 1. Describe in your own words what happened to this house. 2. Use your imagination to describe what would happen if'a whole town wa like this. Look at the photograph above. hit by an explosion 1, Why do you think these people wanted the government to ‘ban the bomb’? 2. ‘The picture shows that men and women, young and old, wanted to-‘ban the bom! . Why do, you think there was such a wide range of people in CND? Look back to chapter 7 on pages 16-17, What arguments were there against banning nuclear weapons?Revision exercise ‘Test your knowledge and understanding of Ps ‘Two by answering these ques A. When, where and by whom have nuclear weapons been used in a war? B. 1, Why did Americans feel confident until 1949 that they could win a war using nuclear weapons? 2. What events in 1949, 1953 and 1957 reduced American confidence that they could win a nuclear war? “The policy of MAD (mutual assured destruction) created a ‘balance of terror’ between the USA and viet Union in the 1960s 1. Explain the idea of a ‘balance of terror’. 2. How was the ‘balance of terror’ upset by the development of (i) ABM missiles, (ii) MIRV missiles? D. Look at the cartoon below. Explain as fully as you can what you think the cartoonist meant. HELLO? imo! AP THERES ANYONE DEPT ALIVE. Tp Uke TO UNIEE Winer /BD4 ga = WEA WORLD LEAGUE TO. : Ce OUTLAW cig ©S An American cartoon of the 1960" commenting on the failure of the USA and Soviet Union to agree a reduction in their nuclear weapons 20CONTAINMENT IN KOREA Causes of the war From 1910 to 1945 Korea was part of Japan. When the Allies defeated Japan in 1945, US and Soviet forces occupied Korea. Soviet troops occupied the area north of the 38th Parallel, or line of latitude. US troops occupied the area south of it. ‘The Allies’ intention was to make Korea an inde- pendent country, but they could not agree on a form of government for it. The United Nations tried to settle the matter by holding elections for a new gov- ermment in 1948, But communists:in the North refused to accept the election result, which brought to power a Nationalist government led by Syngman Ree. They set up their own communist government in the North, led by Kim l-Sung. The USA and Soviet Union withdrew their troops from Korea, leaving it divided between the two. ‘The new governments quickly started to quarrel. Both claimed authority over the whole country, and both backed their claims with force. ‘Thousands of soldiers died in border clashes between them. Then, ‘on 25 June 1950, North Korean forces crossed the border in a full-scale invasion of the South. A South Korean observation post on a mountain ridge beteveen North and Sowh Korea in 1950, North Korean territory is on the right of the ridge. The American response ‘The United States immediately asked the United Nations to take action to stop the invasion, Under US pressure, the UN created a military force from the armies of 16 member states, and sent it to help the South Korean army fight the invaders. Though this was a United Nations army, it was dominated from the start by the United States. The USA was to provide 302,483 of its 341,828 troops, 86 per cent of its ships and 93 per cent of its aircraft, Why did the USA send so many troops to Korea? Early reports of the invasion told them that the North Koreans were armed with Soviet tanks, air- craft, guns and ammunition, To the Americans, the invasion scemed a clear case of Soviet aggression. It was not just Soviet aggression, though, that alarmed the Americans. Nine months earlier, com- munists had taken power in China, Korea’s nearest neighbour. Communists were also fighting for power in Vietnam, Malaya and Indonesia. [t appeared to the Americans that while communism had been contained in Europe, it was fast spreading from the Soviet Union into AsiaF] [PUN Races move North, A |? SepeSetaner 80 CHINA, "0 hin I50 Prev yt ‘reas oecuied by UN, EB comin occupied sea Tie ON countorntind, i rage te’ E commit advances Four stages in the Korean War, 1950-53 Only ten years earlier, Asia was being conquered by another force ~ the Japanese empire. ‘The United States had done little to stop it, and in 1941 was humiliated by Japan’s attack on its base in Pearl Harbor. Looking at Korea in 1950, the Americans were determined that this mistake would not be repeated, Events of the war ‘The North Korean invasion was very fast. Within two months the Communists had trapped the South Korean and UN forces in a small area around Pusan (see map 1). ‘Their defeat seemed certain until UN sea-borne forces landed at Inchon and recaptured the capital, Seoul, Now the South Korean and UN troops at Pusan were able to counter-attack and to drive the Communists back to North Korea (map 2). Despite a warning by China not to cross the 38th Parallel into North Korea, UN forces advanced to within 100 km of the Chinese border. As a result, the Chinese government sent 300,000 ‘volunteer’ troops to support the North Korean army. They drove back the UN troops and advanced into South Korea (map 3). UN forces halted the Communists in f 1951, and pushed them back across the 38th Parallel in March. General MacArthur, the UN Commander, wanted to continue north and attack China directly, using nuclear weapons against Questions Look at the photograph. 1, On what line of latitude was this border post? 2, Why was Korea divided by this line in 1945? Chinese cities, But Truman, the US President, feared that this would bring the Soviet Union into the war, and he sacked MacArthur, The war now settled into a long stalemate, The two sides built trenches and fortifications on either side of the 38th Parallel so that neither could advance any further. Two years later, they signed an armistice at Panmunjom (July 1953). ‘This left Korea divided at the 38th Parallel into two separate countries Results of the Korean War For both North and South, the Korean War brought appalling destruction. Around four million people were killed, Millions more were homeless and starv- ing, Huge areas of land lay wrecked and useless. ‘Did the Americans achieve their objective of con- taining communism? Tn one way, the answer was yes. Like the Iron Curtain in Europe, the 38th Parallel became an unpassable barrier. Behind it, South Korea not only remained independent and non-communist but also became one of the strongest economics in the region. By the 1990s it was one of the ‘tiger economies’ of Asia, But on the other side of the 38th Parallel, North Korea remained a communist country. By the mid-1990s it was the only country in the world still with a Soviet: style government and economy. Write captions for cach of the maps, briefly explaining the events shown, - Give three reasons why the Americans sent so many troops to Korea between 1950 and 1953. Did the Americans succeed in their aim? Explain your answer, 2310 THE CUBA CRISIS (1) In 1962 the Soviet Union and the United States would make up for another advantage that the came very close to fighting a nuclear war against United States had over the Soviet. Union. each other. This crisis came about when the Khrushchev disliked the fact that the Americans had Americans found out that the Soviets had built 15 Jupiter missiles based in Turkey, not far from the launch-pads for nuclear missiles on Cuba, an island Soviet border (see map below). These could destroy 150 km from the Florida coast every city in the south of the Soviet Union within six minutes of being launched. > Why did Khrushchev pick Cuba? Cuba was an Why Cuba? obvious choice because, in 1959, a government sym- Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, had three reasons for pathetic to the Soviet Union had come to power. Its building nuctear missile sites in Cuba, First, he was leader, Fidel Castro, quickly angered the US gov- desperate to create a nuclear balance with the ernment by taking over American-owned compa- United States. As you have read, the two countries nies, by making trade agreements with the Soviet were in an ‘arms race’ to build more nuclear Union, and by declaring that he was a communist. weapons than the other, By 1962 the USA was In 1961 the US government decided to get rid of clearly winning the race. It had 295 long-range him. It helped a group of Castro’s enemies try to missiles against the Soviets’ 75. As the Soviet Union overthrow him by invading Cochinos Bay (The Bay had plenty of shorter-range missiles, a cheap and of Pigs) in April 1961. ‘The invasion failed, and all guick way of catching up with the Americans would 1500 attackers were killed or wounded. This ‘Bay of be to put some of these on a base close to the Pigs incident’ led Castro to see the USA as an enemy United States, and to look for more support from the Soviet Union. A short-range missile base close to the USA Cuba was thus a natural friend of the Soviet Union. iin SOK 5) WP see ssa ant? So ‘ PSs SY w, Cuba and the United States, and Turkey and the Soviet Union 24A photograph taken by an American U-2 ‘spy-plane? showing a missile site being built on Cuba on 14 October 1962 The missiles are discovered In 1962 Castro agreed to the placing of 64 SS-4 and SS-5 missiles on nine bases in north-west Cuba, Between July and October 43,000 Soviet servicemen arrived in Cuba, along with hundreds of tanks and anti-aircraft missiles, to operate and to defend the bases. It was all done in secrecy. The equipment was unloaded at night, and the servicemen arrived on cruise-ships dressed as holidaymakers, On 14 October, the secrecy was broken, An American U-2 ‘spy-plane’, flying high above Cuba, took photographs of large-scale construction work Experts who studied the photographs concluded that it was an SS-4 missile launch site. The American President, John #. Kennedy, was immediately informed. ‘On hearing the news, Kennedy summoned a meet- ing of top officials known as ExComm (Executive Committee of the National Security Council). ‘They discussed three possible courses of action: to launch a muclear attack against the missile sites; to invade ‘Cuba; or to blockade the seas around Cuba to stop more missiles being brought to the island. ‘They knew that any of these actions could lead to war with the Soviet Union. Why did they respond so strongly? The American response AL first sight, it seemed that the main reason was the closeness of Cuba to the United States (sce map). Questions A. 1. What was the ‘Bay of Pigs incident’? ‘The SS-4 missiles could hit the capital, Washington, within 20 minutes of being launched. The SS-5 mis- siles could hit almost any US city. The missiles seemed to threaten totally the security of the United States In fact, the missiles didn’t add to the nuclear threat that already existed, ExComm knew that in 2 nuclear war the USA would be hit by the Soviet Union’s long-range missiles. With or without the Cuban missiles, the USA would be destroyed. But few people outside ExComm could see this. To the American public, the Cuban missiles appeared to be a major threat. Kennedy could not afford to ignore public opinion, especially as elections for the US Congress were only three weeks away. ‘The Soviet missiles outraged public opinion in another way. In 1823 President James Monroe had said that the United States would not allow any European country to take control of any country in North or South America. Known as the Monroe Doctrine, US governments had followed this policy ever since, The placing of Soviet missiles on Cuba challenged this cornerstone of American policy. ‘There was another reason for ExComm’s strong response. They felt that if they didn’t take tough action over Cuba, America’s allies might doubt their willingness to stand up to the Soviet Union on future occasions. Moreover, if the Soviets them selves doubted American willingness to stand up to them; they might be encouraged to challenge the United States elsewhere in the world, . How did it change relations between the USA and Cuba? . I ithad not happened, do you think Khrushchey would have been able to put Soviet missiles on Cuba? Explain your answer. In what ways do the photograph and map show that American security was threatened by the missiles on Cuba? . Why was this threat more apparent than real? 25 yore Hy MA1 1 THE CUBA CRISIS (2) The US blockade Kennedy was told about the Cuban missiles on 16 October 1962. For the next six days, in round-the- clock meetings, he and his advisers (ExComm) dis- cussed what they should do, They kept the news of the missiles secret On_.22 October Kennedy went on television to tell Americans about the missiles and to explain what he intended to do. He told them that he had ordered a blockade of Cuba, ‘This meant that US warships would stop Soviet ships from bringing any more missiles to the island. Kennedy said. that he would not lift the blockade until the missiles already there had been removed. And he told viewers that Marines wad about President John Kennedy’s blockade af Cuba (23 October 1962) he had ordered the armed forces to get ready for ‘any eventuality’. Had they known what this involved, people would have been even more scared than they were by Kennedy's broadcast. US nuclear bombers and mis- siles were put on their highest stage of readiness for war ~ ‘Defence Condition 2’ ~ the only time in the Cold War that this ever happened. In ports on the lorida coast, the largest sea-bome force since the Second World War gathered for an invasion of Cuba. Khrushchev’s response At first, it seemed that Kennedy’s approach was working, On Friday 26 October Khrushchev sent Kennedy a secret message suggesting a deal. If Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba, Khrushchev would withdraw the missiles from the island. The next morning, two Soviet ships steaming towards Cuba with missiles on their decks, tumed round when they reached the blockade line and went home. One of Kennedy’s advisers said of Khrushchev's actions: ‘We were eyeball to eyeball, and the other fellow just blinked.” But two events later that day worsened the crisis, First, an American U-2 ‘spy-plane” was shot down by a Soviet missile as it took photographs over Cuba, Then Khrushchev sent Kennedy a second, much tougher message. And this one was not secret: it was broadcast on the radio. It said that Kennedy must not only promise not to attack Cuba but must promise also to remove the Jupiter missiles from “Turkey. Pressures on Khrushchev and Kennedy Khrushchev took 1 second, tougher line under pressure from the Sovict military leaders, He later described how, that Saturday morning, he asked them if they were sure that this would not lead to a war in which 500 million people would die: “They looked at me as if Twas out of my mind, on, what was worse, a traitor, The biggest tragedy, as they saw it, was not that our country might be destroyed, but that the Chinese or Albanians (contmuatist countries which were not allies of the Soviet Union) would accuse us of weakness.” Like Khrushchev, Kennedy was also under pressure from his generals. The Air Force chief, for example,Long-range ICBMs (inter-continental ballistic missiles) are wheeled through Red Square in Moscow on 7 November 1964 during the military display held every year to mark the anniversary of the 1917 Revolution told him on the day when the missiles were discov- was now over. Moreover, the crisis had shown both ered: ‘It’s the greatest defeat in our history, Mr sides how dangerous the arms race had become President. We should invade today.” Within months of the end of the crisis, Kennedy and However, Khrushchev’s second, tougher message Khrushchev had agreed that they should discus did not lead to war. Kennedy got round the problem ways of reducing the threat of nuclear war. The first of the two messages by accepting the first in public result of their discussions was the setting up in 1963 and replying secretly to the second. He sent his of a ‘hot-line’ between Moscow and Washington. brother Robert to the Soviet embassy in Washington ‘This was a teleprinter link which would allow the to say that they would remove the Jupiter missiles two leaders to communicate with each other quickly from ‘Turkey once the crisis was over. Khrushchev and easily in any future crisis, Later in 1963, the wo therefore agrced to remove the Soviet missiles from sides signed a partial nuclear test ban treaty, agree- Cuba. To the public, however, Khrushchev ing not to test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, appeared to have backed down. ‘The crisis did not, howevery end the arms rac ‘The Soviet military leaders were now more than isi ever determined to catch up with the United States. Aftermath of the crisis ‘They speeded up their long-range missile-building Both sides continued to exchange angry messages programme and by 1970 had 1300 missiles com- for some weeks, but the immediate danger of war pared to 1054 American missiles (sce picture above). Questions ‘A. Look at the picture on the opposite page. 1, What was the ‘blockade’ on the newspaper headline? 2. Suggest why the man reading the paper was looking worried, 3. As there was a bomb shelter nearby, did the man need to be worried? Explain your answer, B, Why wore Kennedy and Khrushchey both under pressure to take tough action against each other? C, Look at the picture above. 1, Why did the Soviet Union build so many of these missiles after 1962? 2, Suggest why the Soviet government displayed such missiles in public, 3, Does the fact that the Soviet Union contiriued to build long-range missiles after the Cuba Crisis mean that they had learned nothing from it? Explain your answer. 27ZZ THE AMERICANS IN VIETNAM (1) z,om 1945 to 1975 Communists and their oppo- nts fought a war for control of Vietnam, a country ere Suth-East Asia (see map below). For much of P at time, the United States was involved in the wars agrst by giving money and weapons to the anti- ‘ommunists, later by using its own armed forces to nt the Communists, at C fish Origins of American involvement nen the Vietnam War began in 1945, Vietnam was french colony. Together with Laos and _ambodia, it was known as French Indo-China “During the Second World War, however, Indo- hina had been occupied by the Japanese. When Poi South Vietnam decided by the 1954 Genes Japan was defeated in 1945, the French returned to take back control of Indo-China, But a communist independence movement called the Vietminh wanted to be free of both Japanese and French control. Led by Ho Chi Minh, they declared in September 1945 that Vietnam was a free republic, and took control of much of the northern part of the country. The French government did not want to lose this valuable colony — which provided rice, sugar, rub- ber, and minerals ~ and sent French forces to get rid of the Vietminh, Although these were some of France’s best troops, including the Foreign Legion, they made little progress in the thick jungles and mountains of north Vietnam. Over the next seven years more than 75,000 French soldiers were killed in action against the Vietminh. Finally, in 1954, an entire French army surrendered to them after being cut off in their fortress at Dien Bien Phu. Humiliated and beaten, the French left Indo-Chin: in 1954, By the Geneva Agreements of 1954, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became independent countries, though Vietnam was divided between the communist-held North and anti-communist South. The domino theory Jn their war against the Vietminh the French received huge amounts of aid from the United States. By 1954, the American government had poured 1.4 billion dollars into the French war effort ~ a third of the total cost of the war. Why did they do so? Vice-President Nixon of the USA explained why in a speech in 1953: ‘Why is the United States spending hundreds of millions of dollars supporting the French in the fight against Communism? If Indo-China falls, Thailand is put in an almost impossible position. The same is true of Malaya with its rubber and tin, ‘The same is true of Indonesia...” In that speech, Nixon was describing what the US government called ‘the domino theory’. ‘This was the idea that if one country fell under communist control, the country next to it would soon fall too, followed by the next ~ bike a row of dominoes falling. over, Fearing that the domino effect would lead to all of Vietnam becoming communist, the US government gave aid to South Vietnam and started training a South Vietnamese army. When an anti-communist politician, Ngo Dinh Diem, became the firstA Vietminh regiment marches through a jungle clearing in North Vietnam in 1952 President of South Vietnam in 1955, the USA gave him their full support. Diem received aid totalling 3 billion dollars over the next four years, Diem’s dictatorship President Diem governed as a dictator, He impris- oned and executed opponents, and he persecuted Buddhists, the country’s main religious group. In response to this, communist guertiflas set up a National Liberation Front in South Vietnam in 1960. Known as the Vietcong, they had the backing of North Vietnam. They began an armed struggle against Diem. By 1961 almost 60 per cent of South Vietnam was under their control, ‘To help Diem fight the Vietcong, the USA sent ary ‘advisers’ to South Vietnam, along with large amounts of equipment including helicopters, ‘The advisers helped the South Vietnamese to fight Questions Look at the photograph above. Who were the Vietminh? but did not take part in combat. While Kennedy was President, from 1961-3, their number grew from 900 to 11,000, But Diem was a deeply unpopular leader. By 1963 there were widespread demonstrations against his rule, led mainly by Buddhists. ‘This increased support for the communist Vietcong. Hoping that a change of leader would reverse this, the USA cut off aid to Diem and did nothing to stop his generals from murdering him in a coup in November 1963. Diem’s death changed nothing. He was followed by a succession of incompetent generals, and there were six changes of government in 1964 alone. With cach change of government, the communists gained support while the South Vietnamese army steadily lost control of the county. Fearing that South Vietnam would fall to the communists if nothing was done, US President Johnson decided that much greater American involvement was needed. | Why were they at war with the French when this phOtograph was taken? . Who won the war and what was the result of it? . Explain in your own words the ‘domino theory’. . Ona copy of the map opposite, show what the Americans thought would happen in South-East Asia if Vietnam became communist. . Who were the Vietcong? Why did the Americans help the South Vietnamese to fight the Vietcong? . Why did they decide to give more help in 1963-4?13 THE AMERICANS IN VIETNAM (2) The Tonkin Resolution American ‘involvement in Vietnam grew rapidly in 1964. It grew after North Vietnamese naval boats fired on an American warship, USS Maddox’, in the Gulf of Tonkin. In retaliation, President Johnson ordered the US Air Force to bomb targets in North Vietnam, Soon after, Congress passed the Tonkin Resolution, giving Johnson the power to take any action he thought necessary to halt further aggres- sion. Johnson used this power to send combat forces to South Vietnam in March 1965.Soon after, giant B-52 planes began regular bombing raids on the North in ‘Operation Rolling Thunder” The Americans get bogged down ‘The number of US troops in Vietnam grew to 380,000 in 1966, and the bombing of the North continued. But the Americans made little progress against the Vietcong, who avoided fighting them in major battles. Based in well-hidden underground shelters like the one pictured below, the Vietcong instead used guerrilla tactics, such as ambushes and sabotage. Although heavily armed, the Americans often found it difficult even to find their enemies, let alone fight them, Moreover, many of the Americans were young conscript soldiers, often led by inexperi- enced offic: Just as the United States gave military aid to the South, so Communist China and the Soviet Union gave aid to the North, The Soviet Union, for Fao it hidden centylesit shaft », NORTH ¢ VIETNAM THAILAND ( Lo Ne Qt tn aad yet ang aN inti Oftentre An antist’s impression of a Vietcong tunnel system used for storage and concealmentexample, provided the North with anti-aircraft defences against American bombers. Much of this aid found its way to the Vietcong in the South along a network of hidden forest paths known as the Ho Chi Minh trail (see map). Hearts and minds Both the Americans and the Vietcong tried to win the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese peo: ple with acts of kindness, For example, American atmy doctors provided medical services in poor vil- lages, while the Vietcong gave land to peasants. But the Americans did more harm than good to the ord naty people. In their search for the Vietcong, they often went on ‘search and destroy’ missions, burn= ing the homes and possessions of anyone suspected of helping them. They used chemical sprays to uncover Vietcong supply trails in the jungle, but these destroyed rice-crops as well as trees, ‘Their bombs caused massive destruction: more American bombs fell on Vietnam in three years than fell on Europe in the whole of the Second World War Although the Vietcong also used extreme cruelty on many occasions, it was the Americans who came to be hated most as aggressors. Anti-war protests ‘The war also became very unpopular in the United States. By 1967, 160 American soldiers were being Killed every week, while the huge cost of the war took money away from much-needed health and housing reforms. Young people especially organised anti-war protests and many young men burned their draft cards. The Tet Offensive, 1968 By 1968 there were more than half a million American soldiers in Vietnam. Despite this, on 30 January 1968 the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army were able to launch the ‘Tet Offensive’, They took contro! of dozens of towns and cities in South Vietnam. Although the Americans and South Vietnamese eventually drove them back, the US government now began to realise Questions ‘AUS marine sets fire toa Vieinamese hut during a ‘search and destroy’ mission against the Vietcong that the war could not be won, A new President, Richard Nixon, decided to bring the troops home. Vietnamisation Nixon did not bring the troops home immediately. An immediate withdrawal would be seen as a defeat and harm US credibility around the world. Nixon therefore began a process of “Vietnamisation’ ~ slowly handing over the fighting to the South Vietnamese amy while providing them with air and naval support. By 1973 the process of Vieinamisation was com- plete. The US and North Vietnamese signed a peace settlement, ending direct American involvement in the war. But the South Vietnamese army, poorly ted and demoralised, was no more able to win the war than the Americans had been, In 1975 the, North Vietnamese Army launched another great offensive, captured the southern capital, Saigon, and toppled the government. Ho Chi Minh, the North Vietnamese leader, took control and united North and South as a single country. ‘The governments of Cambodia and Laos fell to Communists at around the same time: the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the Pathet Lao in Laos, All of Indo-China, as the French had called it, was now communist Look at the picture opposite. Make a list of difficulties that American soldiers would have faced if they fought the Vietcong in this area, 1, Why did the American soldiers in the photograph above bum the huts? 2. What effect was this likely to have on the ‘hearts and minds? of villagers? Find three reasons why the Americans decided in 1968 to withdraw from Vietnam. From 1047 onwards the policy of the US Presidents was to ‘e ‘ontain communism’, ‘They feared that if they did not contain it, one country after another would fall to communism. How successful was the policy of containment in South-Hast Asia? Explain your answer.Revision exercise A. Part Three of this book describes three American attempts to ‘contain’ communism. How successful were they? Use the information on pages 21 to 31 to complete a copy of this table, (One columa has been done for you as an example.) Then answer the questions beneath, Korea Cuba Vietnam When did it | 1950-58 happen? | Why did the | 10 etop communist North USA take | Korea from taking control of action? South Korea What actions | tt sent 500,000 troops ae ! did the USA | nell as planes and ships t take? support the South Korean ary. | What were er since 1955 Korea has the results of | been dlvided at the 58th its action? — | Parallel between the communist North ard non-communiot South, What were | Four million people were killed the costs of || in the war: There was massive the actions? | destruction of land arid housing. B. Looking only at the fourth row of your table (‘results’), which of the thr | communism do you consider were (i) most successful, (ii) least successful? tempts to contain xplain your answer Looking at the fifth row of your table (‘costs’), explain whether you think cach attempt to contain communism was worth the cost. SN STD SIS EERE SSE EE ESE ESR14 THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION OF 1956 Hungary was one of the Soviet ‘satellites’ in Europe. In 1956 its people joined in a revolution to break free of Soviet control. What caused them to do this and what were the results? Soviet control of Hungary The Soviet Union controlled Hungary in the same way that it controlled all its satellites. As you know, the Soviet Army occupied Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War. ‘The presence of the army gave Stalin the power to put men who sup. ported him into the governments, armed forces and communist parties of these countries. By 1949 each satellite state was headed by a ‘mini-Stalin’ who was the country’s Communist Party leader. In Hungary the ‘mini-Stalin’ was Matyas Rakosi With such people in power, Stalin was able to run, part of the Soviet ‘Their economies were run on Soviet lines, with five-year plans to build up heavy industry. Private farms were joined together to make state- owned collective farms. Opposition was crushed by aa large secret police force. Moreover, the satellites were linked by two Soviet-dominated bodies: Comecon, created in 1949, set up a common market to boost trade between communist-controlied coun- tries; and the Warsaw Pact, created in 1955, put their armies under joint control. Dislike of Soviet control None of this was popular with the people of Bastem Europe. Collective farming led to food shortages. ‘The emphasis on heavy industry led to a shortage of consumer goods, and living standards dropped. The secret police persecuted churchgoers and non-com- munists. The communist-controlled media stifled free speech. But the secret police could not crush all opposi- tion, When Stalin died in 1953, workers in East Germany went on strike and demonstrated for economic reform. Although the Soviet leaders who succeeded Stalin crushed the demonstrators with armed force, they could see that action was needed to stop further protests in the satellite states, Khrushchev’s ‘thaw’ ‘Two events in 1955 raised people's hopes for more freedom in Eastern Europe. First, the new Soviet feader, Nikita Khrushchev, ended a long argument with the Yugoslav leader, Tito. Yugoslavia, although communist, had never become a satellite because the Soviet Army did not occupy it in 1945. Tito had resisted Stalin's attempts to take control, and had broken off relations with him, Now Khrushchev restored relations and accepted that Yugoslavia had the tight to be independent. This raised hopes of greater independence in the satellite states. ‘The second event concerned Austria, Por the past ten years Austria, like Germany, had been occupied by the wartime Allies. Now, in 1955, an Austrian State Treaty ended the occupation. As Soviet troops left their zone of Austria, neighbouring East Europeans began to hope that Soviet troops would soon leave their countries People’s hopes rose still further in 1956. In a speech to the Soviet Communist Party, Khrushchev criticised Stalin as a tyrant who had done much damage, Soon after he began a programme of ‘de- stalinisation’, allowing Soviet citizens a little more freedom. People in the satellite states began to expect a similar ‘thaw’ Revolution in Hungary Tn Hungary they demanded an end to the rule of the mini-Stalin, Rakosi. In mass demonstrations they called for democratic rights, for the sacking of Stalinists, and for the withdrawal of Soviet forces. ‘They tore down statues and pictures of Stalin (see picture on page 33). When police fired on them, heavy street fighting began. 34 Hungarian sebels burn official portraits ofthe Prime ‘Minister, Matyas Rakosi, on 23 October 1956Desperate to keep order in Hungary, Khrushchev at first allowed two moderate leaders to take power: Imre Nagy (pronounced Noj) became Prime Minister; Janos Kadar became Party leader. With demonstrations and street fighting continuing, both wore under pressure to make big changes. At the end of October, Nagy announced that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact, that it would be a neutral country, and that there would be democratic elections. This delighted the people, but appalled Khrushchey. He gave orders for the Soviet Army to Questions a iss : Hungarian rebels walk past a Soviet tank during a lull in the fighting in Budapest in Nowember 1956. The holes in the building bekind them show the effects of Soviet gunfire on the city halt the revolution before it could go any further. On 4 November 1956, 2000 tanks and 60,000 troops invaded the capital, Budapest. ‘The people of Bucharest did what they could to halt the tanks. They threw petrol bombs at them and poured barrels of liquid soap onto street corners to make them skid. But they could do nothing against the heavy guns of the troops. ‘These destroyed half of Budapest, killed some 3000 peo- ple, and forced at least 160,000 people to flee from the country. Soon after, Nagy was arrested and later hanged. Look at the picture on page 33, Find at least three reasons in the text on page 34 why these people wanted to destroy the statue of Stalin 1. Who was Rakosi, whose picture is being burnt in the photograph opposite? 2. 1 2. taken? 35 ‘Why did these people want to burn his picture? . The people in the photographs on these pages appear to be happy. Suggest why. . How and why would these people’s feelings change in the week after the photographs were15 THE BERLIN WALL You have read that Berlin, the capital of Germany, was divided ‘into four sectors at the end of the Second World War, Soviet forces occupied the eas em sector. British, American and French forces occupied the western sectors. Stalin disliked this arrangement because it allowed the western allies to keep their forces inside the Soviet zone of Germany. He tried to force them to leave by blockading their sectors in 1948-9, but the blockade failed and they stayed there In 1949 the western allies merged their zones of Germany and allowed them to beconie an indepen- dent country ~ the German Federal Republic, better Known as West Germany. Five months later, Stalin allowed the Soviet zone also to become an indepen dent country ~ the German Democratic Republic better known as East Germany. However, Berlin remained a divided city, occupied by Soviet, British, French and American troops. West Berlin belonged to West Germany, while East Berlin belonged to Bast Germany. The West German ‘economic miracle’ Over the ten years that followed, an ‘economic mira- cle’ took place in West Germany. Helped by Marshall Aid and by the new currency introduced in 1948, West Germans quickly rebuilt their wardam- aged country. As output and trade grew, living star dards improved dramatically. ‘The economic miracle did not happen, however, in East Germany. ‘The Soviet Union continued to take reparations from it to repair its own war dam- age. With a quarter of its industrial output going to the Soviet Union, Hast Germans continued to suffer from food and housing shortages, low wages and poor living standards, Hoping to share in the West ‘economic miracle’, many East Germans left their country to live in West Germany. ‘Their government tried to by closing and fortifying the border in The East-West German border thus became part of the fron Curtain whieh divided Europe. But there was still one gap in the Iron Curtain: Berlin. East Germans could still leave their country by crossing from the Soviet-occupied sector into one of the western sectors. From there they could travel by plane to West Germany. By 1961 around three million people had done this. That was about a sixth of the entire population. ‘The East Germans and the Soviet Union could 36 not allow this to continue. Many of those who left were skilled workers. Without their skills, factories, hospitals, schools and offices would gradually grind to a halt. Moreover, it was deeply embarrassing to the Soviets. Ever since their revolution in 1917, the Soviets had tried to persuade other countries“that the communist system was far better than the capi- talist system. This was hard to do when a thousand Fast Germans a week were leaving their communist society to live in a capitalist one. A wall is built On 12 August 1961 a record 4000 Bast Germans made their way into West Berlin to start new lives in the West, In the small hours of 13 August, Soviet ‘The border beteveen East and West Berlin twas closed so suddenly and the wall built so quickly that thousands of people were cut off from friends and relations. This picture shows people in West Berlin waving across the wall to amily and friends in Kast Berlin in autwnn 1961,West Berliners look over the Berlin Wall soon afer it ra: @ height of 4 metres. and East German ‘shock workers’ closed the border between the Soviet and western sectors and put barbed wire across the streets. The western allies in Berlin were taken by sur- prise. They protested to the East German and Soviet authorities, but did not try to re-open the border. “Three days later, the Bast Germans began to replace the barbed wire with a wall of concrete blocks. When they had finished, West Berlin was surround- ed by a wall, four metres high and 111 kilometres long. Border guards in 300 watch towers and 50 bunkers made sure that nobody could cross it. ‘The East Germans explained their action by claiming that enemy agents had been using West Berlin as the centre of spying operations against East Germany and the Soviet Union. They called the wall ‘the anti-fascist protection barrier’. But nobody was ever caught uying to cross the wall into East Questions Berlin, It was the other way round: East Germans continued to escape to the West, ‘They did this by digging tunnels, swimming across canals, and even by climbing the wall: 190 people were shot dead try- ing to do so. West Germans called it the ‘wall of shame’. To them, it was a prison wall whose only purpose was to keep 17 million people inside East Germany. For the next 28 years, the Berlin Wall was the most famous symbol of the Cold War. On one side of it, the citizens of West Berlin enjoyed high living standards, with plenty to spend in well-stocked shops; while, on the other, the citizens of East Berlin lived in cramped apartments and had much less to spend their money on. On one side they could vote in elections for the party which they wanted to gov- ern them, while on the other they could only vote for candidates belonging to the Communist Party. 1, What was the West German ‘economic miracle’ of the 1950s? 2, Why did this ‘miracle’ not take place in East Germany? 1. Why did the East German government close the border between East and West Germany in 1952? 2. For what additional reason did they close the border and build a wall between East and West Berlin in 1961? Use the photographs and your imagination to list ways in which everyday life in Berlin was affected by the building of the wall.16 CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 1968 For 12 yeats after the Hungarian revolution of 1956, few people in the satellite states dared to oppose the Soviet Union. ‘They had seen what had happened to the Hungarians. This changed in 1968 when the people of Czechoslovakia mounted a new challenge to Soviet authority. ‘The countries which today are called Slovakia and the Czech Republic were a single country in 1968 Czechoslovakia. Like the other Soviet satellites, it was @ one-party state governed by Communists. Its economy was government-run. The emphasis was on heavy industry, rather than consumer goods, and on collective farming. Strict censorship made it diff: cult for opponents to criticise the government, and a large secret police force arrested anyone who did so. In the early 1960s the Czech economy began to weaken. This was parily because the Iron Curtain prevented the Czechs from trading with two of their neighbours, West Germany and Austria, As trade slumped, factory output went down, so wages and living standards fel Novotny’s dictatorship The Czech leader, Antonin Novotny, was a hard- line Communist. Although he could see that the economy was in trouble, he was unwilling to move away from Soviet-style control of the economy. AS wages and living standards continued to fall, dislike of Novorny grew, and there were demonstrations against him. He was especially disliked in the cast- em part of the country, Slovakia, because he would not allow the Slovaks equality with the Czech; Novotny cracked down in 1967, increasing cen- sorship and arresting opponents, but this made him even more unpopular. Bearing that he was losing control, the Communist Party sacked him in 1968 and put in his place a man who favoured reform, Alexander Dubeek (pronounced Doob-check).. ‘The Prague Spring Dubcek quickly got rid of the other hard-liners in the government and relaxed press censorship. Then he issued an Action Programme of plans for reform. ‘The reforms included allowing minor parties to join the communist-run government, giving people more democratic rights, and allowing equal rights to the Slovaks. As it was announced in April, people saw the Action Programme as the start of a ‘Prague Spring’ (Prague was the Czech capital). Dubcek’s plans were similar to some of the reforms which the Hungarians demanded in 1956. 38 But there was one big difference: where the Hungar- ians were anti-communist and anti-sovict, Dubeck tied to keep on good terms with the Soviet Union, and he had no intention of getting rid of commu- nism. His aim was to improve communism, to make a system of ‘communism with a human face’. ‘The Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, did not see it in the same light. Nor did the leaders of Bast Germany and Poland, They feared that the Czechs would leave the Warsaw Pact and become friendly with western countries. They also feared that the desire for reform would spread to their own coun- tjes. So, in July 1968, the leaders of five Warsaw Pact countries (the Soviet Union, Poland, Hast Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria) sent a message to Dubeek that he must end his ‘anti-socialist” pro- gramme. In reply, Dubeek told them that he would not leave the Warsaw Pact and that his reforms would not endanger any of their countries The invasion of Czechoslovakia A week later, Dubcek started to put his Action Pro- gramme into effect. Fearing that there would be no end to the reforms, the Group of Five decided to remove him and his supporters from power. On 21 August 1968 Soviet troops, backed by units from the other four countries, invaded Czechoslovakia to end the Prague Spring. Although half a million soldiers country, there was little bloodshed. The government told the people to make only passive resistance. So, for example, they removed almost every str in the country to confuse the tank drivers, but they did not fight the tanks as the Hungarians in 1956, Within a few days, the whole country was under occupation and Dubeek was under arrest. Dubeek was very popular, and the Soviet forces could not find anyone to replace him. He was there= fore allowed to stay in power for some time, although with restrictions on his power, In 1969 he was demoted to a much less powerful position before being expelled from the Party in 1970. fept into the The Brezhnev Doctrine After the Prague Spring, Brezhnev made it clear to the world what would happen to any country which tried to follow Czechoslovakia’s example. He said that if a communist country started to go back towards capitalism, other communist countries would take action to stop it doing $0. This became known as the ‘Brezhnev Doctrine’