When World War Two came to a close, the Soviet Union turned quickly from a wartime friend to a massive threat in the eyes of the United States and its allies. The Americans and the British were concerned due to the Soviets establishing left wing governments in eastern Europe. Their fear was that the Soviets would not stop at any point, leaving Communist parties rising to power against the democratic nations of Western Europe and beyond. The Soviet Union had been successful in taking over many nations in eastern Europe and Asia. Stopping at nothing the regime had plans to spread Communism worldwide and it was this power hungry strategy that initiated what we know today as the “Cold War”. By the year 1948 the Cold War was official, shortly
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On April 4th, 1949, a military alliance was formed between the countries of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This alliance would be named the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), created in hopes of suppressing and counteracting the political and if need be military actions of Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe. Since it’s creation NATO has gained many new allies. NATO’s creation was crucial to stopping the Soviets as well as deterring the possibility of a real war. None of the nations on their own could have come close to combatting the Soviets, but together there was opportunity for restoration in Europe. Shortly after the groups unification, the Soviets explode their first atomic bomb on August 29th, 1949. This was a massive loss for the entire communist opposition movement. America was no longer the only world power with access to the devastating weapon, their largest enemy now also possessed the ability to utilize these means of destruction. The soviets continued their Communist campaign by voicing their support for the regime of North Korea, and its invasion of South Korea in 1950, in turn causing the Korean War that lasted from 1950-1953, ending in stalemate. These events combined were the cause for much of the tension throughout the beginning …show more content…
There were many factors that went into the slowing down of tensions, though the main reason for the standoff was the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin which took place in 1953. This period of “peace” lasted 4 years until 1962 when the United States and the Soviets both succeeded in producing missiles that could be utilized intercontinentally. This absolutely levelled the playing field giving both nations reason to increase tensions to an even higher point than that which was reached early on in the war. The soviets launched a mission in 1962 that entailed discreetly installing the intercontinental missiles in Cuba furthermore initiating the Cuban Missile
On April 4th, 1949, a military alliance was formed between the countries of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This alliance would be named the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), created in hopes of suppressing and counteracting the political and if need be military actions of Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe. Since it’s creation NATO has gained many new allies. NATO’s creation was crucial to stopping the Soviets as well as deterring the possibility of a real war. None of the nations on their own could have come close to combatting the Soviets, but together there was opportunity for restoration in Europe. Shortly after the groups unification, the Soviets explode their first atomic bomb on August 29th, 1949. This was a massive loss for the entire communist opposition movement. America was no longer the only world power with access to the devastating weapon, their largest enemy now also possessed the ability to utilize these means of destruction. The soviets continued their Communist campaign by voicing their support for the regime of North Korea, and its invasion of South Korea in 1950, in turn causing the Korean War that lasted from 1950-1953, ending in stalemate. These events combined were the cause for much of the tension throughout the beginning …show more content…
There were many factors that went into the slowing down of tensions, though the main reason for the standoff was the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin which took place in 1953. This period of “peace” lasted 4 years until 1962 when the United States and the Soviets both succeeded in producing missiles that could be utilized intercontinentally. This absolutely levelled the playing field giving both nations reason to increase tensions to an even higher point than that which was reached early on in the war. The soviets launched a mission in 1962 that entailed discreetly installing the intercontinental missiles in Cuba furthermore initiating the Cuban Missile