Cold War

The Cuban Missile Crisis, Czechoslovakia, An Easing of Tension

1933-1959

Cuba was ruled by a corrupt and brutal government led by Bartista

American Investment led to

US and Cuban businessmen becoming very wealthy life for ordinary Cubans was very tough

By the 1950s

Cuba was fed up with the regime a young lawyer Fidel Castro called for revolution

Fidel Castro was

arrested and sent to exile

In 1956

Castro returns with 81 supporters and begins a 2-year guerrilla war campaign

1st January 1959

Batista's government collapses and Castro is declared the new leader of Cuba

Castro never

referred to communism he talked of a fight by ordinary Cubans to create a freer and fairer society

Castro was willing

to work with the USA, he visited but Eisenhower refused to meet with him

In Cuba Castro started

to reorganise how the country worked taking many businesses into state ownership including American businesses

Without the USA Castro

turned to the USSR for help in building the economy

In response the USA

planted an embargo on Cuba and now Cuba was totally reliant on the USSR

The Bay of Pigs 1961 Plan

Group of Cuban exiles trained by the CIA would take over the country the USA air force would help them, the invasion would help other Cubans take arms against Castro

The Bay of Pigs 1961 Problem

Most Cubans supported Castro and many USA senior's thought the involvement was illegal under international law

However having spent

$5million it was decided the plan would go ahead

17th April 1961

Cuban exile's landed on the beach on the Bay of Pigs. It was a total disaster

Kennedy at the last minute

withdrew the US air force leaving the exiles totally exposed

What happened to the Cuban exiles

200 were killed and 1197 were arrested and taken prisoner by Castro

Consequences of The Bay of Pigs for the USA

obvious that the USA was involved and had broken international law, they were humiliated and Kennedy months into his presidency looked weak and incompetent

Consequences of the Bay of Pigs for Cuba

pushed Castro further into his alliance with the USSR

For Khrushchev

having an ally near USA was an opportunity not to be missed, especially with the USA arms and nuclear weapons base in Turkey.

Summer 1962

First nuclear weapons arrive in Cuba

14th October 1962

USA realise what is going on

21st October 1962 (1)

Kennedy tells the people what is happening

21st October 1962 (2)

Kennedy orders a blockade on Cuba and says that any ship that attempts to reach the island will be shot at by the US Navy

22nd October 1962

Kennedy places USA on DEFCON 3

Convinced Kennedy would invade Cuba

Khrushchev prepares for a fight

23ird October 1962

Soviet ships arrive in Cuba bringing more missiles now a game of brinkmanship

24th October 1962

UN General Secretary U Thant calls for a compromise ships face each other, USA moved into DEFCON 2

7:15 am 25th October 1962

Soviet ship reached quarantine allowed to pass when they realised it was an oil tanker

Kennedy prepares to invade

assembles 120,000 USA troops in Florida

26th October 1962

Kennedy receives letter from Khrushchev saying he will remove the missiles from Cuba

27th October 1962 (1)

USA detects a Soviet submarine close to Cuba believing they were at war the captain almost launches a nuclear torpedo

27th October 1962 (2)

Cuba shoots down a Soviet Spy Plane

27th October 1962 (3)

US plane drifts into soviet airspace

27th October 1962 (4)

Kennedy receives a second letter from Khrushchev saying he promises to remove the missiles but demands Kennedy removes the missiles from Turkey and Italy

Kennedy agrees but

asks Khrushchev to keep it a secret

Positive Consequences for Khrushchev

Claimed to encourage world peace, supporting smaller countries against the USA, Cuba remained a close ally to the USSR, removal of nuclear weapons in Turkey and Italy

Negative Consequences for Khrushchev

Senior members of the communist party felt he had been reckless, just as they were gaining an advantage and it contributed to his removal on 14th October 1964

Positives for Kennedy

Shown he was not a weak leader, no direct nuclear threat to the USA as missiles could not reach USSR to USA

Negatives for Kennedy

Removal of American weapons in Europe if it had been public would have been seen as a major retreat from Europe

Consequences of CMC

Drew attention to the risk of brinkmanship and lack of control, Crisis only resolved when communication was direct so they installed a 'hotline' between The White House and the Kremlin, Partial Ban Treaty (1963) banned the testing of nuclear weapons except underground, Recognised the arms race could not continue this way

What was lifelike for people living in Czechlovakia?

Communist one-party state, answered to Moscow (WP), media and press tightly controlled and freedom of speech was banned, no opportunities to see what life was like outside moscow

However, by the 1960s

economic problems, the leader Antonin Novotny was corrupt and unpopular, Ota Sik called for change and argued that ordinary people should have more power and the ban on private businesses should be banned, Moscow rejected these calls for change

January 1968

Novotny forced to resign and was replaced by Alexander Dubcek

What reforms did D put in place?

removed state control of businesses, freedom of speech, ended press censorship, allowed trade unions and gave Czechs the right to visit other countries

What did D do after Moscow accepted his initial reforms

Prague Springs announced plans to open borders to other Western Countries and remove all censorship of the press

Why was D a problem for Brezhnev?

Needed to maintain control of Czechoslovakia without causing more problems, made worse by Polish students calling for reforms

What was decided in June 1968?

WP Carry out military exercises along Czech border which sent a clear message to Dubcek

July 1968

WP met without Dubcek and issued the Warsaw Letter final warning he did not listen and WP used force to solve the problem

20th August 1968

Soviet forces entered Czechoslovakia seized control of Prague, Dubcek ordered the army not to resist, 100 people were killed, 500 were wounded and new hard-line government installed in Moscow

Global Response to C (1)

Communists were outraged and saw it as an act of imperialism, protests in China and Yugoslavia which was outside the Soviet Sphere of Influence, small protest in Red Square in Moscow

Global Response to C (2)

Biggest threat came from the Red Army: they had been told that the invasion was at the request of the Czech people damaged the Soviet leader's reputations, destroyed their trust in communism

Western Response (1)

USA condemned the invasion and cancelled the meeting between Brezhnev and Johnson however they were more concerned with the Vietnam War and wanted to avoid increasing tensions

Western Response (2)

UN was going to pass a Resolution or statement, but the USSR Veto made this impossible, established in Hungary 1956 the West would not interfere with Soviet Action behind the iron curtain

The Brezhnev Doctrine

November 1968 B made a speech that if any country in the WP that had behaved the same way C had done, they would face the same consequences

USA response to the Brezhnev Doctrine

At first ended talks that were intended to improve relations, took a different view to save the progress that had been made

China response to Brezhnev Doctrine

Suspicious worried the USA might interfere with China which was undergoing a cultural revolution

What were the two main sources of tension in the late

Vietnam: USA's involvement had grown over the 60s USSR saw the USAs actions as an attempt to force their ideology on a country embracing communism
Human Rights: Lack of freedom of speech and censorship in the USSR, many saw CW as a struggle of freedom vs oppression, although it did not disappear USA leaders did not want it to stop peace talks

Reasons for Detente (1)

China-Soviet Split: USA saw it as an opportunity to build a relationship with the world's second biggest communist country. February 1972 Nixon became first president to visit China

Reason for Detente (2)

Conflict: Vietnam war showed that nuclear weapons did not help win conventional wars. Neither side wanted a war

Reason for Detente (3)

The Nuclear Issue: CCMC. Concerns less stable countries would build nuclear weapons, co-operation would stop the spread of nuclear bombs

Reason for Detent (4)

Both countries were spending thousands on the arms race continuing as they were it would bankrupt the USSR

SALT 1 1969/May1972

Banned new ballistic missiles
Reduced the number of anti-ballistic missile defence systems that could be built

Effects of SALT 1 and 2

improved relations did not last cold war continued for another 20 years moments of tension: Africa, Middle East and Central America