Cold War Conflicts: Yalta to Vietnam (1945-1961)

Posted on Jan 5, 2025 in History

The Yalta Conference (February 1945)

The three major decisions at the Yalta Conference were:

  • Germany was to be split into four zones of occupation, controlled by America, Britain, France, and the USSR.
  • Free elections for new governments would be held in the countries of Eastern Europe that had been occupied by Germany.
  • The United Nations would replace the failed League of Nations.

However, some difficulties had emerged:

  • There was disagreement about the new boundaries of Poland.
  • America refused to give the USSR the loans it had promised to help Russian reconstruction.
  • Stalin wanted Germany to pay the USSR reparations for the war.
  • The USSR began to ruthlessly exploit their zone of occupation.

The Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945)

Before Potsdam, the situation changed because President Roosevelt died and was succeeded by Harry Truman, who was very suspicious of Soviet motives in Europe. Churchill had been replaced as Prime Minister of Britain by Clement Attlee after Labour won the general election. Soviet territory had expanded one hundred miles westward, taking land from Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, and Romania.

The agreements were:

  1. The new boundaries of Poland were agreed upon.
  2. The Allies decided to divide Germany and Berlin between them.
  3. They agreed to legal trials at Nuremberg of Nazi leaders for war crimes.

The Iron Curtain

“Iron Curtain” is an expression used to describe the separation between Eastern (communist) and Western Europe (capitalist), as warned by Churchill.

President Truman’s Response

President Truman responded in two main ways:

  1. The Truman Doctrine: This was a promise that the USA would support any nation threatened by a communist takeover. Truman presented the doctrine as a contest between two sets of ideas; the USA was defending democracy against communist takeover.
  2. The Marshall Plan: American aid was promised to European countries to help rebuild their damaged economies. Money was granted to European states so that they would buy food, raw materials, and machinery from America.

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-1949)

In 1948, the USSR and the West disagreed over Berlin. These disagreements were:

  1. The Western Allies agreed to a single government in their zones and a new currency to help economic recovery.
  2. The Soviet Union opposed these moves, so Stalin decided to blockade Berlin.
  3. Stalin ordered that all land communication between West Berlin and the outside world should be cut off.

West Berlin survived because of the Berlin Airlift. Between June 1948 and May 1949, the only way of obtaining supplies from the outside world was by air. By 1949, many tons of supplies were being flown into West Berlin each day. In 1949, Stalin ended the blockade.

The Berlin Wall (1961)

Between 1947 and 1961, the USSR consolidated its control over Eastern Europe. More than 2 million people left East Germany for the West through East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961. A barrier was built across the city of Berlin, sealing off the eastern sector from the West. This wall was fortified with barbed wire and machine gun posts.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

The blockade hardened the division between East and West. Two new states were formed: West Germany and communist East Germany. In 1949, the powers of the West made NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). This was a military alliance between 12 states directed against the communist threat. America was now committed to defending Western Europe. In response, the USSR and the Eastern Bloc formed the Warsaw Pact, a rival alliance, in 1955.

Soviet Relations with Eastern Europe

The USSR controlled Eastern Europe. Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Albania, and Bulgaria all had pro-Soviet communist governments in control. Yugoslavia also had a communist government but wasn’t pro-Soviet. Stalin opposed Tito’s (governor of Yugoslavia) power. Albania also split with the Soviet Union.

Uprisings in Eastern Europe

Several uprisings followed:

  • In 1953, 110,000 people in East Berlin demonstrated against Soviet rule and went on a general strike to demand better pay, but the demonstration was broken up by Soviet tanks.
  • Polish workers in Poznan went on strike. Russian troops broke it up, but Gomulka was released and became leader again. He was allowed to develop Poland’s communist system in his own way, provided the country remained loyal to Russia.
  • Soviet policy changed under the new leader, Nikita Khrushchev. He attacked Stalin and the purges, blaming him for Kirov’s murder.

The Hungarian Revolution (1956)

The people of Budapest protested against the harsh government. Hungarians were hunted down. The Soviet leader allowed the liberal Imre Nagy to become Hungarian Prime Minister. Nagy announced that Hungary would withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and hold free elections. He demanded that Soviet troops be withdrawn from Hungary. At first, it seemed as though Soviet rule in Hungary had been ended, but the Soviets invaded Hungary in November of 1956.

  1. 200,000 troops and many tanks entered Budapest.
  2. Many Hungarians were killed.
  3. Nagy was arrested and later shot.
  4. A pro-Soviet leader, Janos Kadar, became Prime Minister, ensuring loyalty to Russia.

The Korean and Vietnam Wars

The Korean War (1950-1953)

Communist North Korea went to war with South Korea in order to reunite the country. This was seen as a direct challenge from communism to the West. The USA and Western powers intervened on behalf of the United Nations to stop communism from spreading. The UN ordered an immediate attack against the North Koreans. UN forces landed at Inchon and drove the North Koreans back by September 1950. Truman allowed General MacArthur to invade North Korea in an attempt to push communism out of the Korean peninsula altogether. Truman didn’t think China would get involved, but the American advance into North Korea worried China, who feared a Western invasion. China launched an attack on the UN forces, driving them back and capturing Seoul by February 1951. MacArthur wanted to attack China, but Truman disagreed. After arguing with the President, MacArthur was sacked. Truman looked for peace, and a cease-fire was agreed upon in 1953.

The Vietnam War (Prelude)

Chinese support also helped to establish a communist government in North Vietnam. That area of Southeast Asia had been controlled by France, but French forces were completely defeated at Dien Bien Phu by the North Vietnamese in 1954.

The Geneva Agreement:

  1. France withdrew from Indochina; they had lost their colony.
  2. Vietnam was partitioned into communist North and democratic South.
  3. Laos and Cambodia were set up as independent states.