Cold War Alliances

During the Cold War, two main alliances were formed: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact.

NATO

NATO was formed in 1949 and was composed of Western countries, primarily from Europe and North America. The organization was formed to counter the perceived threat of Soviet expansion in Europe and to support capitalism.

The Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact of 1955 was made up of Eastern European countries that were under Soviet influence. The organization was formed as a military alliance to counter NATO and to allow the USSR to exercise military and economic influence over Eastern Europe.

Rising Tensions

Non-Violent Cold War Conflicts

The Space Race

The United States and Russia were locked in a competition to see who could build the coolest spacecraft the fastest during the Cold War space race. It began in the late 1950s with the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, by the Soviet Union and ended with the United States' successful Apollo 11 mission in 1969, which landed the first humans on the moon. The space race had significant political, technological, and cultural impacts on both countries and the world.

Space technology actually showed military power, especially since people discovered missiles could be fired into space to hit anywhere in the world.

The Berlin Wall

A more intense example is the Berlin Wall and the Berlin Blockade/Airlift. In 1948, the Soviets blocked off all trade and communication with the west, meaning the United States and its Western Allies had to airlift supplies, including transport food, fuel, and other essential supplies to the citizens of Allied-controlled West Berlin. The Berlin Airlift demonstrated the effectiveness of air power in logistic operations until the end of the Soviet blockade in 1949.

A more lasting physical barrier, the Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to prevent citizens from fleeing to West Germany. The wall consisted of concrete walls, guard towers, and other fortifications that extended 28 miles around West Berlin. The wall became a symbol of the Cold War and the division between Eastern and Western Europe. It was a major site of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and was eventually dismantled in 1989 following political changes in Eastern Europe.

The Berlin Wall; Image Courtesy of Wikimedia

Proxy Wars 

Proxy wars refer to conflicts in which two opposing powers avoid direct military confrontation by supporting opposing sides in a third country. Instead of engaging in direct combat, these opposing powers provide military and financial aid to their respective allies in the third country.

This strategy was used by the United States and the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War in conflicts around the world, including the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Angolan Civil War, and the Sandinista-Contras conflict.

The Korean War

The first proxy war was the Korean War (1950-1953) with communist-backed North Korea, supported by China and the Soviet Union, and the United Nations (primarily the United States), which supported capitalist South Korea. This conflict saw significant ground battles and aerial warfare, resulting in a large number of casualties on both sides. In 1953, an armistice was signed, which established a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea that remains to this day.

The war was significant as it marked the first armed conflict of the Cold War and set the stage for future military conflicts and tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a military conflict that took place from 1955 to 1975. It was fought between North Vietnam, which was supported by the Soviet Union and China, and South Vietnam, which was supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. The war was a result of a complex web of political and military events, including the division of Vietnam after the end of French colonial rule, the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, and the United States' Cold War policy of containment.

This proxy war was marked by ground battles, aerial bombing, and guerrilla warfare. The United States withdrew its military forces from Vietnam in 1973, and North Vietnam captured Saigon (the capital of South Vietnam) in 1975, leading to the reunification of Vietnam under communist rule. The Vietnam War was significant as it deeply divided American society and had significant political and social impacts on Vietnam and the United States.

The Angolan Civil War

The Angolan Civil War (1975-2002) was a prolonged conflict that took place in Angola, a country in southern Africa. The war began after Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975, and two opposing factions vied for control of the newly independent country: the socialist MPLA and the anti-communist UNITA. Cold War politics fueled the conflict, with the Soviet Union and Cuba supporting the MPLA and the United States and apartheid South Africa supporting UNITA. In 2002, UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi was killed, and the groups agreed to a cease-fire through peace negotiations.

The Sandinista-Contras Conflict

The Sandinista-Contras Conflict was a political and military conflict that took place in Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990. After the overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship, the communist-leaning Sandinista government came to power with support from the Soviet Union. The Contras were a counter-revolutionary group—supported militarily and financially by the United States government—that opposed the Sandinistas. In 1990, the Sandinistas lost power in democratic elections. However, this was after years of death, displacement, and destruction from the conflict.