Cold War Proxy Battles
Mr. Miller – SS11
| Name of Event: The Berlin Blockade | Dates: June 24, 1948 – May 12, 1949 |
| States Involved: West Germany East Germany NATO Warsaw Pact | Important Figures: US President Harry S. Truman Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin |
| Cause(s): Germany was divided into West Germany (NATO) and East Germany (Warsaw Pact) after the war. USSR blocked all Western goods and services via land into West Berlin to force them to turn Communist. The Western allies (USA, France, Britain) airlifted supplies in to prevent West Berlin from turning communist. | Outcomes: The “Berlin Airlift” transported 4,000 tons a day and lessened the impact of the blockade. |
| Location(s): Berlin, East Germany. | Historical Significance: The West showed both the USSR and the world that it would not allow Soviet Communist expansion |
| Name of Event: The Korean War | Dates: June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953 (present day) |
| States Involved: South Korea North Korea United States China England USSR Canada | Important Figures: US President Harry S. Truman South Korean President Syngman Rhee Canadian PM Louis St. Laurent North Korean Priemer Kim Il sung Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong Soviet General Secretary Josef Stalin |
| Cause(s): Korea was divided into South Korea (NATO) and North Korea (Warsaw Pact) after the war. North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. The UN voted to help South Korea defend itself. | Outcomes: The North Korean invasion was repelled, but Korea remains divided. The war is technically still going on. |
| Location(s): Korea | Historical Significance: The West (NATO) showed that it was willing to use military force to prevent the spread of communism. |
| Name of Event: Suez Crisis | Dates: October 29, 1956 |
| States Involved: Great Britain Egypt France USSR Israel | Important Figures: Canadian President of Egypt Foreign Minister Gamel Nasser Lester B. Pearson |
| Cause(s): The Suez Canal is a major shipping lane that Israel relied on to get goods. Egypt nationalized (took over) the Suez Canal. Britain and France both had historic control on the area and had vested interests in the canal. Israel depended on the Canal for goods. Britain, France and Israel all deployed forces to Egypt | Outcomes: The UN created a new “Peace Keeping” force and sent the soldiers to prevent fighting in the area. The canal was returned to international ownership. |
| Location(s): Egypt | Historical Significance: The idea of peace keeping is created and a major war is avoided. Lester B. Pearson is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Canada earns a reputation as a fair and just “Middle Power.” |
| Name of Event: Vietnam War /American War | Dates: Very fuzzy - 1974 |
| States Involved: The US Vietnam France USSR | Important Figures: American Presidents Vietnam Harry S. Truman Ho Chi Minh Dwight. D Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lynden B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Cause(s): Ho Chi Minh began a war of independence against the French. The United States began helping the French in 1935, but in earnest in 1954. As the French pull their troops out the US puts more in. Soon there are no French Troops, only American Troops | Outcomes: The Vietnamese defeated the Americans. Vietnam was united under one communist government |
| Location(s): Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos | Historical Significance: This was the first real American military defeat. A huge blow to American foreign policy and the start of the Hippie Movement |
| Name of Event: Cuban Missile Crisis | Dates: October 1962 |
| States Involved: USA Cuba USSR | Important Figures: USA USSR John F. Kennedy Nikita Khrushchev |
| Cause(s): The USSR build ICBM in Cuba. The United States threatened nuclear war if they didn’t remove them. | Outcomes: The world came within seconds of a Nuclear war. |
| Location(s): Cuba | Historical Significance: The United States proved to USSR that it was willing to go to Nuclear war to protect it’s security |
| Name of Event: Soviet Afghan War | Dates: December 27, 1979 – February 15, 1989 |
| States Involved: Afghanistan USSR USA Britain | Important Figures: Afghanistan USSR Muhammid Omar Leonid Brezhnev |
| Cause(s): The USSR invaded Afghanistan at the request of the Afghan Communist Party to help them maintain control. The United States would not allow the USSR to expand into Afghanistan so they backed the resistance fighters (The Taliban) | Outcomes: After 10 years the Soviet Union could not successfully control Afghanistan. |
| Location(s): Afghanistan | Historical Significance: The money spent during the Afghan war helped bankrupt the Soviet Union. After failures in Vietnam the United States used covert operations to aid the resistance groups in Afghanistan instead of direct military participation. |
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