Post World War II

February 1945

Constant global confrontation between the Soviet Union and United States.

Avoidance of direct armed conflict between the two “Superpowers”.

Winston Churchill Speech at Westminster College in Fulton,

Missouri on March 5, 1946.

“An iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”

Describes Soviet sphere of influence and control in eastern Europe.

United Nations established. Security Council - Veto power for permanent members. General Assembly.

MacArthur commands U.S. army of occupation in Japan.

U.S., Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union divide Germany into zones of occupation. Federal Republic of (West) Germany - 1949.

U.S. initially enjoys atomic bomb monopoly. Neglect of conventional military forces begins.

Communist control of Eastern Europe. “Puppet” states dominated by the Soviet Union.

Pacific China - Civil War between Communists and Nationalists.

Leaders: Mao Tse Tung and Chiang Kai Shek. Japanese Constitution adopted - relies on U.S. for defense.

Europe Communist threat to Turkey and Greece. Great Britain unable to supply enough aid.

Truman Doctrine - March 1947 “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to

support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressure.”

Economic and Military aid to Greece and Turkey. Non-communist governments secured.

Marshall Plan - June 1947 U.S. economic aid to rebuild western Europe.

George Kennan's "X Article" in Foreign Affairs, July 1947 Enunciated the theory of “containment” of communism. Official U.S. doctrine and policy by 1950.

Berlin Airlift: June 1948 - May 1949. Communist Coup in Czechoslovakia - February 1948. 1949 - Chinese Nationalists evacuate to Formosa.

Communist People’s Republic established on mainland China under Mao.

Pact signed with Soviet Union. U.S. supports Chiang’s Nationalist government on Formosa (Taiwan)

as legitimate government of China.

Established in 1949. Military Alliance between U.S., Canada, and western

Europe with a formal command structure. Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Brussels, Belgium)

U.S. Commander in Chief, European Command Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (Norfolk, Virginia)

U.S. Commander in Chief, Atlantic Command Warsaw Pact established by the Soviet Union to counter

NATO in 1955 - includes eastern European communist states.

“National Military Establishment” Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Secretary of Defense on President’s Cabinet. Unified Commanders established in geographic areas. Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.

Joint Chiefs of Staff direct military operations. Effects on Navy and Marine Corps:

Preserves naval aviation and the Marine Corps. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal becomes Secretary of

Defense. Defense Reorganization Act - 1949: Department of Defense

Strengthens Secretary of Defense: Louis Johnson replaces Forrestal.