Is it true that the Cold War began after the Berlin blockade crisis of 1948?
The Cold War was described by George Orwell as “a peace that is no peace”. The lack of actual armed conflict combined with the undulating political and military tensions make identifying the start of the cold war problematic. The Berlin blockade crisis of 1948 played a large role in the onset of the Cold War, and yet several earlier episodes suggest that the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union had escalated to the point of war before the Berlin Blockade was in effect. I will analyse three major episodes which prove that the Cold War had already started by the time Berlin Blockade crisis had reached its denouement. I start with the Soviet creation …show more content…
The Greek Civil War was a two-stage affair, the first involving the liberation of Greece from the Axis occupation, and the second involving the defeat of the Soviet assisted Democratic Army of Greece (DA) by the British and American backed, nationalist Greek government army. Initially the DA was receiving help from Yugoslavia, supported by Stalin, which led the British to seek help from the United States. In 1947 President Truman instigated the Truman Doctrine, which committed the United States to helping the Greek nationalists fight the Communists. When Stalin ended his relationship with Yugoslavia, the DA sided with Stalin, yet lacked the troops needed on their side of the split. As a result of this, and the increased American aid, the Communist forces were defeated, marking one of the first of many proxy battles fought between Soviet and American supported forces. Noam Chomsky describes the United States involvement in Greece as “the first major postwar counterinsurgency campaign”, motivated by the “rotten apple” effect which could aid the spread of communism if the Communist backed forces were to win. Chomsky cites this battle as one of the first conflicts of the Cold War, with the Soviets opposing the British and the Americans involvement in in the politics of a foreign country. Just like in our previous paragraphs, the Greek Civil War is …show more content…
In the second paragraph we analysed the motives behind the transition from the Morgenthou Plan to the Marshall Plan from 1946-1947 to show that the incongruous desires for the future of Germany were stimulated by fear on behalf of the United States; a fear which also defined the Cold War. Finally we looked at the Greek Civil War of 1946 as one of the many proxy military conflicts which came to represent of the Cold War. While many pre-Berlin Blockade events can be seen as representative of the Cold War, the three discussed here are the most powerful examples which, combined, represent the essence of the Cold War, between one and four years earlier than the end of the Berlin Blockade. This proves that the Cold War as we understand it had begun before the end of the Blockade in May
The Cold War was described by George Orwell as “a peace that is no peace”. The lack of actual armed conflict combined with the undulating political and military tensions make identifying the start of the cold war problematic. The Berlin blockade crisis of 1948 played a large role in the onset of the Cold War, and yet several earlier episodes suggest that the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union had escalated to the point of war before the Berlin Blockade was in effect. I will analyse three major episodes which prove that the Cold War had already started by the time Berlin Blockade crisis had reached its denouement. I start with the Soviet creation …show more content…
The Greek Civil War was a two-stage affair, the first involving the liberation of Greece from the Axis occupation, and the second involving the defeat of the Soviet assisted Democratic Army of Greece (DA) by the British and American backed, nationalist Greek government army. Initially the DA was receiving help from Yugoslavia, supported by Stalin, which led the British to seek help from the United States. In 1947 President Truman instigated the Truman Doctrine, which committed the United States to helping the Greek nationalists fight the Communists. When Stalin ended his relationship with Yugoslavia, the DA sided with Stalin, yet lacked the troops needed on their side of the split. As a result of this, and the increased American aid, the Communist forces were defeated, marking one of the first of many proxy battles fought between Soviet and American supported forces. Noam Chomsky describes the United States involvement in Greece as “the first major postwar counterinsurgency campaign”, motivated by the “rotten apple” effect which could aid the spread of communism if the Communist backed forces were to win. Chomsky cites this battle as one of the first conflicts of the Cold War, with the Soviets opposing the British and the Americans involvement in in the politics of a foreign country. Just like in our previous paragraphs, the Greek Civil War is …show more content…
In the second paragraph we analysed the motives behind the transition from the Morgenthou Plan to the Marshall Plan from 1946-1947 to show that the incongruous desires for the future of Germany were stimulated by fear on behalf of the United States; a fear which also defined the Cold War. Finally we looked at the Greek Civil War of 1946 as one of the many proxy military conflicts which came to represent of the Cold War. While many pre-Berlin Blockade events can be seen as representative of the Cold War, the three discussed here are the most powerful examples which, combined, represent the essence of the Cold War, between one and four years earlier than the end of the Berlin Blockade. This proves that the Cold War as we understand it had begun before the end of the Blockade in May