In this lesson, we will go through the origins of the Cold War, going right back to the Russian Revolution all the way to the events that followed the end of WWII.
In this lesson, we will go through the origins of the Cold War, going right back to the Russian Revolution all the way to the events that followed the end of WWII.
Mongol conquest of Asia and Eastern Europe by Genghis and Khan Kublai Khan. Also additional information on Mongolia, Russia, the Yuan & Ming Empire, Vietnam, Korea and Japan.
As the Russia Ukraine conflict intensifies and world again gets divided again into groups, let us take a moment to go through the history and have a look at a time when the World teetered on the brink of collapse.
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2. What is a ‘Proxy War’? Conflicts in which one superpower provides support to a group or state that opposes the rival superpower. The support could consist of money, arms or personnel. These were very common during the Cold War between the United States and USSR, as they had conflicting ideologies but neither wanted all out war.
3. Greek Civil War 1946-1949 The Greek Civil War was fought between the DSE (Democratic Army of Greece – Supported by USA) who wanted to take control of the country from the KKE (Communist Party of Greece – Supported by the USSR) and Royalists. With support from Britain and the US, the initial efforts of DSE were highly successful. They also had superior tactics on the battlefield. At the same time the KKE made numerous political errors, and Yugoslavia withdrew, hastening the demise of the Communist Party in Greece. After Yugoslavia gained independence and the troops supported by America won the war, the capitalist/democratic sphere of influence increased, as did tensions between the Soviet Union and USA .
4. Korean War1950-1953 The Korean Civil War was a conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea which was supported by People's Republic of China (PRC), and with air support from the Soviet Union. The War began June 25, 1950. Communist North Korea invaded South Korea on the 38th Parallel. The USA aided South Korea when the North was succeeding, until communist China intervened. With material support from USSR they began to win again, until the threat of nuclear war caused an armistice and the border was reinstated with a non-military buffer zone between Koreas. There was no clear winner of the Korean War, so neither USA or USSR expanded their ideologies. However the threat increased tensions between the countries.
5. Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961 With support from America, Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow the communist dictator supported by the Soviet Union. In the Bay of Pigs, 1300 Cuban exiles armed with American weapons and trained in America invaded Cuba hoping to gain support from citizens, but were quickly killed or taken prisoner. Inadequate support from the USA was mainly to blame for the loss. The victory of Castro’s communist army was an increased influence for communist ideologies, and tension increased as paranoia the USA would invade again took hold. Yet at the same time the proximity to mutually assured destruction led to a period of lessened tensions.
6. Vietnam War 1957-1975 Similar to the Korean War, the Vietnam War was a civil war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Communist USSR supported the North and USA and its Allies assisted the South. America helped in the war to contain the threat of communism, while the North felt it was a colonial war against France and the USA, then the Southern “puppet state” when they were supported by the USA. The US’s involvement peaked in 1968, then Vietnamization began and troops left due to the Paris Peace Accords. They left a significant amount of materials and so war continued until North Vietnam took Saigon and defeated the South. Soviet’s influence expanded and Vietnam is presently still a communist country.
7. Chilean Coup d’état 1973 On September 11 1973, the democratically elected Marxist President of Chile, Salvador Allenden (supported by his communist allies), was overthrown in a Chilean military coup d’état that was supported by the American CIA. Plans to destabilize and overthrow the government had been in effect for a long period of time before Allenden was elected. Covert operatives were placed in Chile to attempt to prevent a communist government in the first place, and an American corporation funded the coup. Soviets had a relationship with the Chilean leader but did not directly influence the outcome of the coup, however arms were smuggled in from Cuba. The struggle between communist and democratic ideologies apparent was an obvious component of the Cold War, but the lack of aid from USSR in the scenario did not increase tensions between the two superpowers.
8. Afghanistan 1979-1989 The war in Afghanistan, involving the Soviet Union supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, was fought against the Mujahideen Resistance who had support from USA, Britain, and a variety of other countries. On December 27, 1979, 700 Soviet troops dressed in Afghan uniforms, including KGB and other special forces, occupied major governmental, military and media buildings in Kabul, including their primary target—the Tajbeg Presidential Palace. Many rebellions were sparked, and the USSR had to control not only opposition from others but in Afghan as well. When the Soviet’s began to suffer they developed an exit strategy, but desertions from the Afghan army made this difficult, so they simply withdrew. It has been called the Soviet's Vietnam War. The fear of Soviet’s near such oil-rich nations increased fear and tension between them and the USA, and America even boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics and created a trade embargo. Yet they were successful and their sphere of influence grew as the world condemned the Soviet action.
9. Angolan Civil War 1974-2002 When Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975, a war broke out between the communist MPLA (which had Soviet backing) and the anti-communist UNITA (supported by USA). Heavy fighting between these two parties continued with funding from their respective supporters until 1991 when a temporary agreement known as the Bicesse Accords was reached. A year later, MPLA won the presidential election against UNITA candidate Dr. Jonas Savimbi. When Savimbi disputed the outcome, UNITA resumed guerilla war against the MPLA. UNITA continued military operations until Savimbi was killed in February 2002. UNITA has since been a formidable political party in Angolan politics, and therefore assisted the USA’s expansionist goals. Tensions at this time were beginning to decrease, and unfortunately Angola is still suffering from the 27 years of war.
