World War II, Cold War Conflicts, and the French Revolution
ITEM 9
World War II
Causes
- The German nationalist revenge.
- The economic crisis.
- The continued failure of the League of Nations (SDN).
- The arms race.
- The military expansionism of fascist-authoritarian countries.
- The weakness of the democratic powers.
The Declaration of War
France and Britain had failed or refused to stop this expansion. At the Munich Conference (September 1938), where they met with Hitler and Mussolini, they ended up conceding the occupation of the Sudetenland in the conviction that peace was preserved.
When Hitler demanded that they repay the city-port of Danzig and the Polish Corridor, which separated Germany from East Prussia, France and Britain pledged to Poland to go to war if necessary. Then Hitler, to prevent the Soviet Union from allying itself with France and Britain and helping Poland, signed a spectacular Nazi-Soviet Pact (August 1939) and attacked Poland.
France and Britain declared war. Although it had been years since they fought in the Far East, this time the German attack on Poland (September 1, 1939) is considered the start of World War II.
ITEM 10
The Cold War: Tension Between Powers
The Communist Coup in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia had fallen within the Soviet sphere of influence, but the charisma of its president (Eduard Beneš) and the government in exile during the German occupation made it a rogue state in Central Europe. The elections for prime minister in 1946 constituted a first approach to the USSR and the breakdown of the balance that the president had wanted to keep. Moscow also pressed for the rejection of the Marshall Plan aid, which had been accepted in principle. The crisis resulted in the formation of a new government in 1948 and Beneš’s resignation in June of that year, paving the way for accelerated Sovietization.
The failure of the Yalta agreements was not responded to strongly enough from the West, so the Soviets took a further step in this policy, triggering the Cold War: the German question.
Two Tragic Conflicts in the Middle East
a) Korean War
After the Japanese surrender, the Korean peninsula was occupied by U.S. forces (south) and Soviet forces (north), bounded by latitude 38°. After fruitless discussions on territorial unity, the two powers evacuated (1949), and two independent states were formed: North Korea (communist) and South Korea (pro-western).
Soon there were incidents along the 38th parallel that separated the two states. In June 1950, Northern troops invaded South Korea and started a bloody war. The United Nations declared North Korea the aggressor, and the Security Council (without the Soviet delegate present) entrusted U.S. General MacArthur with the direction of the forces acting under the UN flag. These forces quickly pushed back the communists. Then, the People’s Republic of China intervened in the form of “volunteer corps” and restarted a bitter fight that forced UN troops to back up further south of latitude 38°.
The possibility of using nuclear weapons was raised, which could have led to the outbreak of World War III. President Truman relieved General MacArthur (1951) and replaced him with General Ridgeway.
Thereafter, operations stabilized, leading to negotiations at Panmunjom that resulted in an armistice (1953). By the agreement, the delimitation of latitude 38° remained for both nations.
b) Vietnam War
French Indochina consisted of the territories of Tonkin (north), Annam (central), and Cochin (south), which together constitute the regions of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
During the war, the Vietnamese resistance against the Japanese occupation was led by the Viet Minh movement, headed by communist Ho Chi Minh. Following the Japanese surrender, the group occupied Hanoi and proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945).
In order to control Japan’s surrender, the Allies established two zones: one north of parallel 16° (where the mission would be conducted by the Chinese) and the other to the south (where the English would perform the same task).
The French, meanwhile, failed to recognize the independence and tried to regain control of the situation, which sharpened military incidents.
Finally, the Vietnamese won a resounding victory at Dien Bien Phu (1954) over the French forces, and negotiations began in Geneva (with the intervention of major powers, including mainland China). The treaty led to the acceptance of the division of the former French Indochina into three independent states: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, two governments remained: North Vietnam (communist) with its capital in Hanoi, and South Vietnam (under U.S. influence) with its capital in Saigon.
Missile Crisis
Cuba had been a country closely tied to U.S. interests since its independence from Spain in 1898. Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959, which initially was not communist but had a clear nationalist orientation, began to take measures that damaged U.S. interests. Washington’s reaction was immediate: a break in relations in 1961, imposing an economic blockade, excluding Cuba from the OAS (Organization of American States), and organizing a failed CIA-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs (Bay of Cochinos) in April 1961.
In this context, Fidel Castro’s regime turned to alignment with the Soviet bloc and the establishment of a communist dictatorship in Cuba.
In October 1962, American U2 spy planes detected missile building ramps and the presence of Soviet troops.
On October 22, with clear support from its allies, Kennedy took a strong stance: he established a “quarantine defense,” i.e., a blockade of the island, deploying naval units and fighter jets to Cuba in large numbers. If Soviet ships tried to force the blockade, armed conflict between the two superpowers would ensue.
It was the moment of the Cold War that came closest to a direct confrontation between the USSR and the U.S. and a nuclear holocaust. Finally, after secret negotiations, Khrushchev launched a proposal accepted by Kennedy: the USSR would withdraw its missiles from Cuba in exchange for a U.S. commitment not to invade the island and the withdrawal of U.S. Jupiter missiles deployed in Turkey.
The following month, the Soviet Union dismantled and repatriated its war materiel, and the U.S. lifted the offensive blockade.
The rapid settlement of the crisis demonstrated the effectiveness of the strategy of deterrence (the threat of nuclear holocaust to prevent war) and the importance of dialogue between the two superpowers. At that time, a direct communication line was installed between the White House and the Kremlin to better defuse any crisis or misunderstanding: the “red telephone”.
Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, peaceful coexistence became a reality. Coexistence between the blocs could be reconciled with internal cohesion within them. On the one hand, Macmillan and de Gaulle did not hesitate to give unconditional support to Kennedy. On the other hand, Castro’s Cuba became a staunch ally of Moscow, serving its expansionist interests in the seventies by sending military corps to Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia.
French Revolution (1789-1799)
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