Alliances of the Cold War1949-1955

Nuclear Bomb

• 1949-Soviet Union Tests their 1st Atomic Bomb

• The world is now faced with possibility of complete NUCLEAR WARFARE

Berlin Airlift & Development of Nuclear Bomb

raises Cold War tension

U.S. seeks alliances to deal with Soviets

NATO• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949)

– Alliances with other countries

• Promised to protect NATO members with armed forces

• U.S., Canada & 10 western nations: – Great Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,

Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, and Italy.

Warsaw Pact [1955]

• Soviets form Warsaw Pact– Response to threat of NATO

– Pledge to defend each other

• Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania, and Bulgaria

WarsawCountries

NATOCountries

The World In 1955

• Two Super Powers – Nuclear Capability

• Two Ideologies: – Communism vs. Democracy

• Each attempt to limit growth:– Each side trying to stop the spread of communism or democracy

Brinkmanship

• A willingness to go to the edge of War– Example: Cuban Missile Crisis

• Each side began producing stockpiles of Nuclear Arms

• Became known as the ARMS RACE

U.S.A Soviet Union

• Democracy Communism

• NATO Warsaw

• Marshall Plan Molotov Plan

• Containment Iron Curtain

1910

1920

1950

1970

Conflicts of Cold War

• Korean War – (1950 - 1953)

– Ends with a divided Korea (communist in North)

• Cuban Revolution – (1959)

– Ends with a communist Cuba

• Vietnam War – (1960 - 1973)

– Ends with a communist Vietnam

• U-2 Incident – (1960)

– Soviets shot down a U.S. spy plane

• Cuban Missile Crisis – (1962)

– U.S. & Soviets go to edge of Nuclear War

U-2 Incident

The NEW risk of WAR