The Cold War intensifies
After 1948 the Cold War entered a new phase. It moved beyond the borders of Europe into Asia and even into space! At the same time, the USA and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - collection of states, also known as the Soviet Union. greatly increased their caches of nuclear weapons.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
After the crisis of the One of the first Cold War crises when the Soviet Union blocked the Allies access to West Berlin in 1948. It ended in 1949 after daily western airlifts of supplies to their zones made continuing the Blockade pointless. in 1948-49, Europe became divided into two opposing armed camps: the US-backed A military alliance of western powers that was originally created to provide a counterforce to the Soviet armies of Eastern Europe. (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) countries on one side, and the A collection of 12 communist countries that agreed to defend each other if one of them was attacked. countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR on the other.
| NATO | The Warsaw Pact | |
| Formed | April 1949 | May 1955 |
| Aims | To resist an attack by the USSR on the USA or its Allies in Western Europe, based on the principle of collective security and that an armed attack on one of its members was an attack on them all | To resist an attack on the Soviet bloc by the USA or its NATO allies. This group, along with Comecon, would become even more important in keeping the Soviet bloc together after 1956 when Cominform disbanded |
| Members | USA, UK, Canada, West Germany, Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg | USSR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany (GDR), Albania |
| Formed | |
|---|---|
| NATO | April 1949 |
| The Warsaw Pact | May 1955 |
| Aims | |
|---|---|
| NATO | To resist an attack by the USSR on the USA or its Allies in Western Europe, based on the principle of collective security and that an armed attack on one of its members was an attack on them all |
| The Warsaw Pact | To resist an attack on the Soviet bloc by the USA or its NATO allies. This group, along with Comecon, would become even more important in keeping the Soviet bloc together after 1956 when Cominform disbanded |
| Members | |
|---|---|
| NATO | USA, UK, Canada, West Germany, Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg |
| The Warsaw Pact | USSR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany (GDR), Albania |
Clearly, by 1949 a large proportion of the world had been divided along ideological lines – with one side aligned with the USA and the other with the Soviet Union. While these alliances were not specifically in conflict with one another, it was clear that a spat between any two members of opposing alliances could easily escalate into a much larger conflict.
When you reach this part of the Cold War, focus tends to swap from the individual leaders to the events themselves. Some students continue to talk about Truman and Stalin when, in fact, both are gone!
Look at the table below so you are secure in your understanding of when the leaders of each superpower changed.