The following
outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Cold War:
Cold War – period of political and military tension that occurred after
World War II between powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact). Historians have not fully agreed on the dates, but 1947–1991 is common. It was termed as "cold" because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides. Based on the principle of
mutually assured destruction, both sides developed
nuclear weapons to deter the other side from attacking. So they competed against each other via
espionage,
propaganda, and by supporting major regional wars, known as
proxy wars, in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.
Participants
Cold War participants – the Cold War primarily consisted of competition between the
Eastern Bloc and the
Western Bloc. While countries and organizations explicitly aligned to one or the other are listed below, this does not include those involved in specific Cold War events, such as
North Korea,
South Korea, and
Vietnam. It also does not include countries such as
China which, while not aligned to either blocs, still played an influential part in the Cold War.
Eastern Bloc
Eastern Bloc – the communist side of the Cold War conflict, including the Soviet Union and its satellite states in
Eastern Europe. Organizations that the Soviet Union created in order to solidify its control over Eastern Europe, and which tied the Eastern Bloc together, included:
Comecon – the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was founded in accordance with
Joseph Stalin's desire to enforce Soviet domination of the lesser states of
Central Europe. Initially, the Comecon served as cover for the Soviet taking of materials and equipment from the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Its members were:
Western Bloc – the United States and countries allied with it against the Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. As part of its
containment policy, the
United States backed a series of regional alliances:
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) – In the
North Atlantic and
Europe,
NATO was formed in 1949, and its members during the Cold War were:
METO (Middle East Treaty Organization) – formed in 1955. Although the United States did not formally join, the country did support the alliance, aimed at containing Soviet ambitions in the
Middle East. The organization was disbanded in 1979. Its members were:
Cold War organizations – throughout the Cold War a series of organizations were created to either further the goals of individual and groups of states, or to act as intermediaries in reducing the tension.
Nuclear arms race – competition for supremacy in
nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War.
Space Race – 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for supremacy in
spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations that occurred following World War II, enabled by captured German rocket technology and personnel.
Conflicts related to the Cold War – there were a number of conflicts during the Cold War, and none of them escalated to direct fighting between the superpowers (which would have constituted a hot war). Some of them were:
Proxy wars
Proxy wars of the Cold War – while the superpowers never engaged each other directly, they fought a series proxy wars throughout the period of Cold War, with one, or both sides arming or otherwise supporting one side against another.
South African Border War (1966–1989) – fought between
South Africa and its allies on one side, with the
Angolan government and its allies, including
Cuba, on the other. During the conflict, the
United States supplied South Africa and their allies.
Yom Kippur War (1973) – started when an
Arab coalition led by
Egypt and
Syria launched a surprise attack on
Israel. Throughout the conflict the
United States and the
Soviet Union heavily supplied Israel and the Arab coalition, respectively.
US-USSR confrontations during the Cold War – while open conflict did not break out between the two superpowers during the Cold War, there were some very intense confrontations that seemed likely to trigger World War III. As the Cold War stretched on, the main concern became the possibility of a nuclear exchange—the ultimate fear characterizing East-West tensions. Some of these confrontations included:
Berlin Blockade (1948–1949) – while located wholly within the
Soviet zone of
Allied-occupied Germany after World War II,
Berlin was not considered to be part of the Soviet zone. The major city (and former Nazi capital) was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into four sectors. On 24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to Berlin. Not to be outdone, the Western Allies organized a massive air lift and flew up to 8,893 tons of necessities into the city each day.[1][2][3]
Berlin Crisis of 1961 – the USSR demanded the withdrawal of NATO armed forces from
West Berlin. After the West Bloc refused, the East German government put up the
Berlin Wall to block traffic between the Western and Eastern sectors of Berlin.
Cuban Missile Crisis (October 16–28, 1962) – 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missile deployment in
Cuba. Along with being televised worldwide, it was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.[4]
End of the Cold War – While many observers state the 1989
Malta Summit was the end of the Cold War, it was December 1991 before the
Presidents of the United States and the
Soviet Union formally recognized the conflict's end, with the Soviet Union also being dissolved at that time. Some key events leading up to the end include:
Warsaw Pact dissolved (1991) – Between 1989 and 1991, Communist governments were deposed by popular uprisings in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania and Bulgaria; effectively ending the Warsaw Pact.
^ Withheld support starting in 1961 because of the
Sino–Soviet split. On account of the 1948
Soviet-Yugoslav split, which resulted in Yugoslavia becoming the only non-aligned communist state in Europe and Albania geographically cut off from the other Warsaw Pact states. This meant Albania could not be unlike Hungary and Czechoslovakia, enjoyed the liberty to determine her own foreign policy course without. After officially withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact in 1968, Albania joined an informal Maoist oriented alliance led by China, later being joined
by Cambodia. The movement never gained traction as a viable alternative to Soviet dominance with Cambodia dropping out in 1977 and Albania following suit the following year.
^Nash, Gary B. "The Next Steps: The Marshall Plan, NATO, and NSC-68." The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. P 828.