Unit 3: Chapter 1: Reasons for the Cold War

1. Firstly, it was due to the decisions made during WW2. For

example, the delay in the opening of the third front by the Western
Powers was perceived by Stalin to be an attempt to weaken the
Soviets as the Nazis were massacring Russians to the millions. Such
continuing distrust and suspicions led to the superpowers taking
opposing steps to strengthen their own economic security interests
when the wartime marriage of convenience was over. Both
superpowers had to put aside their distrust and suspicions during
WW2, but these suspicions resurfaced right after WW2.
Secondly, it was due to the ideological conflicts. USSR wanted to
incite world revolutions and destroy capitalism. USA wanted a free
society based on democracy and capitalism. Communist ideologies
aimed to create a utopian world, while USA emphasized the
importance of individual rights, properties and a free market. These
fundamental ideological differences were clear when they competed
for global influence after WW2, causing the breakdown of wartime
alliance and outbreak of Cold War.

2. Firstly, it was due to the ideological conflicts. USSR wanted to

incite world revolutions and destroy capitalism. USA however,
wanted a free society based on democracy and capitalism.
Communist ideology aimed to create a utopian world, while USA
emphasized the importance of individual rights, properties and a
free market. These fundamental ideological differences were clear
when they competed for global influence after WW2, causing the
breakdown of wartime alliance and outbreak of Cold War.
Furthermore, it was due to the decisions made during WW2. For
example, the delay in opening of the third front by the Western
Powers was perceived by Stalin to be an attempt to weaken the
Soviets as the Nazis were massacring Russians to the millions. Such
continuing distrust and suspicions led to the superpowers taking
opposing steps to strengthen their own economic security interests
when the wartime marriage of convenience was over. Both
superpowers had to put aside their distrust and suspicions during
WW2, but these suspicions resurfaced right after WW2.

3. It was firstly due to the US containment policies. These include,

the Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine and NATO. Truman was aware
that many European countries will still struggling after the end of
WW2 with bankruptcy and the largest migration crisis in a century.
George Marshall, a former US Chief of Staff put forward the Marshall
Plan. Many European countries received this aid. Stalin was angered
by this and refused to allow E. European states to accept this aid.

Furthermore, Truman Doctrine also resulted in the curbing the

communist threat from the USSR between the years of 1945 and
1949. He pledged to help any country that was under the threat
from minorities. Greece received 400 million pounds worth of aid
given to the royalists fighting against the communists. Turkey
received similar aid. It managed to suppress communist threat and
prevented the spread of communism.
In addition, NATO was set up in 1949, with W. European countries
joining. This caused USSR to be provoked by military alliance and
stationed of troops right beside its satellite states. Thus, these saw
the USA as challenging the USSR, bringing the differences of the
superpowers out clearly, through the policies.
These policies as part of the US containment policies resulted in
tensions between USA and USSR being deteriorated as USSR felt the
strain from USA in preventing Soviet expansionist policies.
Another reason was due to the Soviet actions taken after WW2. For
example, one was the Berlin Blockade. The Allies had different views
about the future of Germany. USA, France and the United Kingdom
felt that Germany should be strong, while Stalin wanted Germany to
remain weak and poor so that it would not be a threat again, and
wanted complete control of Berlin. Stalin ordered a blockade by
closing roads, railways and canals to drive the allies out of Berlin
and force West Berlin to surrender in 1948. USA ordered a huge,
costly airlift operation to help the West Berliners. Stalin realized his
failure and lifted the blockade a year later in 1949. This drove the 2
sides further apart and intensified the Cold War. Thus, these actions
by the USSR also helped to deteriorate the relations between USA
and USSR during 1945 and 1949.

4. It was successful because:

US containment policies such as Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine and
NATO were effective in deterring USSR and Communism. For
example, through Truman Doctrine, Greece received 400 million
dollars on aid to fight communists to the royalists. Greece went on
to defeat the communists with USAs help. Similar measures were
taken in Turkey to curb communism. Furthermore, Marshall Plan also
helped by allowing countries to accept US aid to rebuild, and
keeping them away from communism. In addition, NATO was a
military alliance comprising of USA, Canada and the W. Europeans
and N. Europeans. This provided a deterrent against USSR capability
to spread communist influences. Thus, this was effective in curbing
the communist threat.

It was also successful because the US managed to contain

communism in Asia-Pacific through the Korean War in 1950 to 1953.
The US managed to stop the invasion of South Korea and managed
to push the North Koreans to the 38th Parallel, thus stopping the
communists from establishing a sphere of influence in Asia-Pacific
and stopping the momentum of the communists. The US managed
to hold the later Chinese and North Korean offense at the 38th
Parallel, containing communism to North Korea only. Thus, US
containment policy was effective in curbing the communist threat.
It was not successful because:
US containment policies failed to stop USSRs reactions to its
policies. USSR established Cominform, Comecon, and Warsaw Pact.
Cominform was set up to allow states to be linked and trade
between each other. Comecon was also set up to counter NATO, a
military alliance of communist states. It was successful in containing
western influences. In Hungary in 1956, Hungarians supported Imre
Nagy which introduced reforms and tried to break away from the
Warsaw Pact. USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries invaded Hungary
and restored communism to Hungary. This showed that US
containment policies was not entirely successful in curbing the
communist threat.
In conclusion, the US containment policy was largely successful.
Despite small failures such as Hungary, it was still largely successful
through the Truman Doctrine in keeping countries away from
communism, as its NATO alliance provided a vital check against
Soviet expansion, limiting them to Europe.
Thus, this showed that the US containment policy was not entirely
successful, but it limited the soviet sphere of influence to a certain
degree.

Unit 3: Chapter 3: The CMC

1. It was a mistake because:
The CMC brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. By providing
nuclear weapons to Cuba, the US saw this as a direct threat to its
sovereignty and security. In retaliation, US stationed forces in Florida
that could carry out a possible invasion of Cuba. US Navy ships also
took positions around Cuba, ready to stop Soviet ships from carrying
missiles. This served a mistake as the tensions between the USA
and USSR worsened. Nuclear weapons were involved in the crisis,
and this brought the world to war. In anticipation of nuclear war,
millions started preparing for evacuation. Thus, Khrushchevs
decision was a mistake.
It was also a mistake because USSR ended up looking weak in
dealing with the CM, allowing US to also look courageous in the
process although the US had many underhand agreements such as
the removal of military equipment in Turkey, and the promise not to
attack Cuba. USSR relations with China broke down after this crisis,
and soviet leaders were afraid of a possible Sino-Soviet war. Thus,
Khrushchev was removed soon after this crisis after it destroyed his
credibility in handling matters. Thus, Khrushchevs decision was a
mistake as it ruined the USSR reputation and ultimately, his own.
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2. The CMC broke out because firstly due to tensions between USA
and Cuba/American attempts to remove Castro from power, such as
the Bay of Pigs incident. Kennedy had hoped to train Cuban exiles
and staged an attack to topple Castro but the invasion force was

quickly subdued upon landing in Cuba. This made Castro very

confident that USA would stage a full scale invasion of it soon.
Furthermore, the US also conducted Operation Mongoose, with the
aim of overthrowing Fidel Castro. Castro turned to the USSR for
protection from USA and this resulted in USSRs involvement, thus
resulting in the outbreak of the CMC.
Furthermore, the CMC also broke out because of the tensions
between USA and USSR. As the USA and the USSR were ideologically
different, thus the tensions between the USA and the USSR were
extremely strained. USSR wanted to incite world revolutions and
destroy capitalism whereas USA wanted a free society based on
democracy and capitalism. Thus, the tensions between them were
very bad. As USA had missiles in Germany, Turkey and a few more,
the US had a clear advantage over the USSR. As the relations
between the US and the USSR were very bad, the USSR saw a need
to check the US. Cuba served as a perfect need for the USSR as a
bargaining chip. Thus, the USSR installed missiles in Cuba, leading
to the CMC breaking out. Thus, the ideological differences caused
the USSR to place missiles in Cuba, causing the CMC to break out.