Name _______________________ Unit: The Cold War Lesson: Containment & Proxy Wars World War 2 ended in September 1945, and the United States and the United Socialist Soviet Republics emerged as world superpowers. However, peace would not last between the former allies. The US and USSR had joined forces to defeat the Axis Powers during WW2, but before WW2 had ended, tensions were already growing between the two. When WW2 ended, the Cold War began, and it lasted for 45 years. There were many reasons for the Cold War. The USSR was angry the US had refused to recognize it as an independent country after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The US was already weary of the USSR, as shown by the Red Scare that took place in the US during the early 1920s. USSR dictator Joseph Stalin was angry the US waited to enter WW2. He believed if the US had entered sooner, fewer Soviet troops would have died. More Soviet citizens were killed in WW2 than any other country. Perhaps the biggest cause of the Cold War was communism. The Joseph Stalin & Vladimir Lenin. Lenin was US supported democracy, but the USSR was communist. US President the leader of the Bolsheviks. c.1919 Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and USSR dictator Joseph Stalin met at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Stalin agreed to allow free elections in the eastern European countries that were under Soviet control after WW2 ended. However, when the war was over, Stalin refused to allow free elections. Instead he instilled Soviet-controlled communist governments. Stalin wanted communism to spread throughout Europe. However, US President Harry Truman (he took office in April 1945, after Roosevelt died) would not allow this to happen. The US would practice containment: it would try to prevent communism from spreading, but it would not try to end communism where it already existed. This policy is also known as the Truman Doctrine. The US wanted to prevent communism from spreading throughout Europe after WW2. Even British Prime Minister Winston Churchill acknowledged the threat of communism. Churchill said in 1946, “an iron curtain had descended across the continent.” Eventually, the continent would Churchill, Roosevelt, & Stalin at the Yalta Conference c.1945 be divided into a democratic Western Bloc and a communist Eastern Bloc. European countries that had been ravaged by war needed strong leadership, and President Truman was worried they would fall to the USSR. As a result, the Marshall Plan was passed on April 3, 1948. Through this plan the US provided aid to European countries that needed to rebuild. President Truman hoped if these countries were given aid, they would be able to prevent communist leadership from taking over. He also wanted to extend US-influence in Europe. The Marshall Plan was a success. Within four years, western European countries were thriving. Their economies were stable and had democratic governments. US businesses were also experiencing benefits because trade with these countries also increased. While western European countries accepted aid through the Marshall Plan, the USSR refused the aid for itself and the countries it controlled. Stalin knew the West wanted to prevent The Iron Curtain separated the democratic Western Bloc from the communist Eastern Bloc. communism from spreading, but he also feared the West would ©Heather LeBlanc, LLC/Brainy Apples

Name _______________________ Unit: The Cold War Lesson: Containment & Proxy Wars invade the USSR to end his rule. Stalin did not want to lose control of the eastern European countries because he wanted a buffer between the USSR and the democratic West. Eastern European countries and the USSR were under a totalitarian government and faced many hardships that western European countries did not. About two months after the Marshall Plan went into effect, Stalin tried to take control of all of Berlin. In July 1945, Truman, Stalin and newly-elected British Prime Minister Clement Attlee had met at the Potsdam Conference. The East Germany West three agreed that Germany and its capital city of Berlin would be divided into Germany four zones. West Germany and West Berlin would be controlled by France, Great Britain, and the US. East Germany and East Berlin would be under Soviet control. The entire city of Berlin was located in the East Germany. In June 1948, Stalin placed a blockade around West Berlin, which cut off all supply routes. Stalin believed the US, France, and Great Britain were tired of war and would give up control of West Berlin. President Truman, however, refused to give in. He did not want Stalin to believe he could take control of additional lands, and he did not want western European countries to question the US commitment to their rebuilding efforts. The citizens of West Berlin were running low on supplies, so the US and Great Britain began sending supplies to West Berlin by the only available route: air. Stalin did not want to enter another war, so he did not order American and British planes to be shot down. For eleven months, the US and Great Britain flew over 250,000 missions during the Berlin Airlift, dropping supplies into West Berlin. One American pilot, Gail Halvorsen, dropped candy into West Berlin using little parachutes. The German children knew when they saw a plane’s wings wiggle, the “Candy Bomber” was about to drop treats to them. West Germans waiting for supplies c.1948 As the blockade continued, most of the world began to criticize Stalin’s actions. They were not pleased that Stalin was willing to make civilians suffer in order to gain more land. Finally, in May 1949, Stalin ended the blockade. A month before Stalin ended the blockade, the US and its allies formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on April 4, 1949. The US, Great Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, and Portugal formed NATO. These countries agreed to defend each other from a Soviet attack. The USSR formed its own alliance on May 14, 1955, when it signed the Warsaw Pact. The USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania agreed that the USSR would be in command of their armed forces. If any of these countries were attacked by outside forces, the other countries would come to its defense. These countries were called satellite states because they were located closely to the USSR and relied heavily on the USSR.

NATO countries

Warsaw Pact countries ©Heather LeBlanc, LLC/Brainy Apples

Name _______________________ Unit: The Cold War Lesson: Containment & Proxy Wars Even though the US and USSR were enemies during the Cold War, the two countries never directly fought one another. Instead, proxy wars were fought between the two. These proxy wars were fought between other countries, with the US and USSR supporting opposing sides. These proxy wars took place on every continent except Antarctica. The most well known proxy wars are the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur Way, and the Soviet Afghanistan War. The Korean War was the first proxy war of the Cold War. It began on June 25, 1950, and ended on July 27, 1953. Before the end of WW2, Japan controlled the Korean Peninsula. Japan lost control after the war, and Korea was divided into two zones at the 38th parallel. The USSR would take control of the northern half, and the US would take control of the southern half. South Korea was officially established on Korean Peninsula August 15, 1948, and North Korea was officially established on September 9, 1948. South Korea formed a democratic government in Seoul under Syngman Rhee. North Korea formed a communist government in Pyongyang under Kim Il Sung. Small battles broke out often along the 38th parallel between North and South Korea. In 1950, South Korea claimed independence, so North Korea invaded. Communist China and the USSR sent troops to support North Korea, and the US and United Nations sent troops to support South Korea. Truman wanted to defend South Korea, but he also wanted to rid North Korea of communism. During the last two years of the war, most fighting took place near the 38th parallel, with neither side gaining much ground. Dwight Eisenhower took office in 1953, and he was more open to negotiations than Truman was. An armistice was finally reached on July 27, 1953, with North Korea and South Korean remaining US Marines in Seoul c.1950 independent countries. Over two million people died during the war. A 2mile wide demilitarized zone (DMZ) was established along the 38th parallel to prevent future wars, but tensions remain between the two countries today. Like Korea, the country of Vietnam was controlled by Japan during WW2. After WW2 ended, control of Vietnam was given back to France because it was a French colony before the Vietnam war began. Vietnamese rebels, led by the communist Ho Chi Minh, fought for independence. The rebel fighters were called the Viet Minh. When they began to fight back the French, the US became concerned about the spread of communism, so they sent aid to the French in 1949. The following year China and the Soviet Union began sending military aid to Minh. After years of fighting and almost 800,000 deaths, the French decided to withdraw from Vietnam. In 1954, the country was divided into communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam along the 17th parallel at the Geneva Conference. This is often referred to as the First Indochina War. Ho Chi Minh c.1967

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Name _______________________ Unit: The Cold War Lesson: Containment & Proxy Wars Minh ruled North Vietnam with an iron fist. Between 1953 and 1956, thousands of North Vietnamese were executed under Minh’s regime. The US, still worried about the spread of communism, helped Ngo Dinh Diem get elected president in South Vietnam in 1956. Minh declared war against South Vietnam in March 1959. He wanted to unite Vietnam into one communist country. Rebels who supported Minh and lived in South Vietnam used guerilla tactics to try and takeover the South Vietnamese government. US President John F. Kennedy sent American troops to South Vietnam to try to prevent a coup d'état. However, the rebels succeeded, and President Diem was executed in November 1963. After Kennedy was assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson became president. He also wanted to keep South Vietnam from falling to communism, so the he continued to send troops and supplies to help South Vietnam. However, the jungles of Vietnam made it very Ngo Dinh Diem c.1957 difficult for American troops to be successful. Many American troops were injured or killed by booby traps and ambushes in the dense jungles. Not only were American troops fighting against the Northern Viet Ming, they were also fighting against rebels in South Vietnam who supported Minh, called the Viet Cong. By the time Richard Nixon became the US president, many Americans wanted the US to withdraw from Vietnam. Little progress was made, and thousands of Americans had died. Nixon began pulling American troops out of Vietnam in July 1969, and a ceasefire between North and South Vietnam was negotiated on January 27, 1973, and all American troops were withdrawn from Vietnam that March. Without foreign support, South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam in April 1975, which united the country. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam was now a communist country. By the end of the Vietnam War, almost 60,000 Americans had been killed, and millions of Vietnamese were Troops wading through a rice paddy in Vietnam c.1966 killed, fighters and civilians. The Vietnam War was not the only proxy war that took place during Nixon’s presidency. The US and USSR also fought indirectly during the Yom Kippur War. This war was fought October 6-25, 1973. The US supplied Israel with weapons, while the USSR sent weapons to the Arab countries of Egypt and Syria. When Israel was established in 1948, constant fighting broke out between Israel and the surrounding Arab countries. Arabs were angry Palestine had been divided to form Israel. Egypt and Syria decided to attack Israel on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday. Neither the US nor USSR sent troops to fight in the war, but tensions between the superpowers still increased. Finally, on October 25, a cease-fire was negotiated by the United Nations. Five years later the Camp David Accords were signed between Israel and Egypt, which led to a peace treaty between the two countries that was signed in March 1979. Just months after the Yom Kippur War ended, the Soviet- Afghan War began (December 24, 1979-February 15, 1989). The USSR bordered Afghanistan in the east. On April 27, 1978, communism spread into Afghanistan when a communist government was put in place, supported by (l-r) Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, US President Jimmy Carter, & Israeli Prime the USSR. Many Afghanis did not like the new communist government Minister Menachen Begin at the signing of the Camp David Accords c.1978 because it went against Islam, which was their religion. These Afghan rebels ©Heather LeBlanc, LLC/Brainy Apples

Name _______________________ Unit: The Cold War Lesson: Containment & Proxy Wars were called the Mujahideen. In September 1979, Mujahideen leader Hafizullah Amin had the Afghan president killed so he could take control of the communist government. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was worried that President Amin was talking with the US and planning to end the communist government. On December 24, the USSR invaded Afghanistan and killed President Amin. The USSR made Babrak Karmal the new president. The US supported the Mujahideen and sent them Stinger missiles. The Mujahideen used the missiles to shoot down Soviet helicopters. The Soviets were unable to defeat the Mujahideen. The US boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games that were held in Moscow, and in 1982, the United Nations called for the Soviets to withdraw from Afghanistan. Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet leader in 1985, and he Hafizullah Amin c.1979 wanted the war to end. He sent more troops to Afghanistan to defeat the Mujahideen, but they were unsuccessful. Gorbachev realized the Soviet economy was suffering and Soviet civilians were tired of the war, so he signed the Geneva Accords on April 14, 1988. The last Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan on February 15, 1989. However, the conflict in Afghanistan between the Mujahideen and the Afghan government continued. The US and USSR indirectly fought each other during the Korean War, Vietnam War, Yom Kippur War, Soviet Afghanistan War, and many other proxy wars. One event, though, brought the US and USSR close to a nuclear war with one another. In 1962, the Mikhail Gorbachev c.1986 USSR placed nuclear missiles on the Caribbean island of Cuba. Cuba is about 90 miles from the southern tip of Florida, and it is a communist country. In 1961, the US trained Cuban exiles (those who had fled Cuba) and sent them back to Cuba to overthrow dictator Fidel Castro. US President Kennedy did not like having a communist country so close, and Cuba was allies with the USSR. On April 17, 1961, the invasion began at the Bay of Pigs. American planes led air strikes against the Cuban air force, while the Cuban exiles invaded the island by water. However, Castro knew of the planned invasion, and Cuban forces were ready. The Cuban exiles were easily defeated, and the US was embarrassed. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and Castro agreed for the USSR to place nuclear missiles on the island. Khrushchev felt that the USSR needed nuclear missiles within striking distance of the US because the US had its own nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy. Castro was worried the US would plan another invasion and wanted protection from the US. On October 14, 1962, an American spy plane took photos that revealed long-range Soviet missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy decided against an invasion of Cuba and set up a naval blockade instead. However, Kennedy called it a quarantine because a blockade is considered an act of war. He wanted to avoid World War 3. He warned Castro that any attack from them would be considered an act of war from the USSR. For several days neither the US nor USSR would back Cuban missile range ©Heather LeBlanc, LLC/Brainy Apples

Name _______________________ Unit: The Cold War Lesson: Containment & Proxy Wars down. On October 26, Castro asked Khrushchev to launch a nuclear strike against the US, but Khrushchev did not want a war. Instead, he wrote a letter to Kennedy asking him to negotiate to end the standoff. Khrushchev did not want to look weak to other countries, so he negotiated secretly with Kennedy. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba if the US removed its missiles from Turkey and Italy and promised to not invade Cuba again. The dangerous 13-day standoff finally ended on October 28.

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