HOT SPOTS OF THE COLD WAR - Commack Schools



HOT SPOTS OF THE COLD WAR

Directions: As you read each “Hot Spot” of the Cold War, identify which US president and Soviet premier was in power when this event happened and draw a visual that represents the POV of either the US, Soviet, or other nation involved in the hot spot.

EVENT DESCRIPTION VISUAL FROM POV

What US and Soviet leader was in power?

|Korean War |SU and US divide Korea into zones at the 38th parallel in 1945 | |

|(1950-1953) |-North Korea – Communist | |

| |-South Korea – non-Communist | |

| |North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 – Truman saw this as Communist aggression and sent American troops to drive the North Koreans back past the | |

| |38th parallel to the north | |

| |China got involved because US forces came close to Chinese borders – Chinese forces pushed the US forces back again towards the South. | |

| |North and South Korea did not formally end the war until 1996. | |

| |The 38th parallel remains intact with North Korea under Kim Jung Il – being a communist dictatorship – and South Korea becoming democratic. | |

|Hungarian Revolts |Hungarians revolted for change and issued the Sixteen Points : personal freedoms, more food, removal of secret police and Russian troops | |

|(1956) |Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy began to implement reforms such as democratic elections and no more censorship on radio and press – also demanded | |

| |to leave Warsaw Pact | |

| | | |

| |Khrushchev was angered at Nagy’s reforms and ordered the Red Army to take control | |

| |Around 30,000 Hungarians died | |

| |Nagy imprisoned and later executed | |

| |Communist government was restored to Hungary | |

| |US did not get involved although many pleas were made to President Eisenhower | |

|Sues Crisis – 1956 |Did not involve the superpowers – involved France and Britain who controlled the Suez Canal and all its profits | |

|(Cold War reaches the |Nasser, the Egyptian leader nationalized the Suez Canal and took control back from Britain and France – Britain and France wanted to retaliate | |

|Middle East) |US did not side with Britain and France, it was the first time that there was a split in NATO alliance | |

| |Greater significance of the crisis in the Middle East | |

| |Israel – supported by Americans | |

| |Arab nations – Egypt – supported by USSR – USSR gave money to Egypt in exchange for a warm-water Mediterranean port | |

| |Now both nations are influential in the happenings of the Middle Eastern region | |

EVENT DESCRIPTION VISUAL

|Cuban Missile Crisis |In 1959- Fidel Castro overthrew the pro-US government in Cuba headed by Fulgencio Batista. | |

|(1962) |Castro tried to make a trade agreement with the US but the US refused because they saw Cuba as a Communist threat – so Castro turned to SU under | |

| |Khrushchev, who was ready to make a deal | |

| |In return for buying Cuban goods, the SU got permission to build a nuclear missile site in Cuba – a American U2 spy plane spotted the site and | |

| |President Kennedy ordered the US navy to blockade Cuba and destroy any vessel that tried to break the blockade(at this time, the US had a nuclear | |

| |missile site in Turkey, right next to the SU) | |

| |THIS IS THE CLOSEST THE NATIONS CAME TO BEING AT THE BRINK OF A NUCLEAR WAR! | |

| |On October 27th, Khrushchev secretly offered to pull out of Cuba if the US pulled out of Turkey and promised not to invade Cuba – the next day, | |

| |Khrushchev ordered Soviet ships to turn round. | |

| |As a result of this crisis, both sides began seeking ways to improve relations – a “hotline” was set up linking Washington D.C. and Moscow for | |

| |immediate contact | |

| |Khrushchev stepped down as Premier of the Soviet Union due to this incident. | |

|Vietnam War |1954 – Vietnam divided at the 17th parallel | |

|(1965-1973) US |Communists under Ho Chi Minh – controlled North Vietnam | |

|involvement |Non-Communists under Ngo Dinh Diem – controlled South Vietnam | |

| |Although Diem was a cruel dictator, since he was against communism, the US supported South Vietnam due to their “Domino Theory” if one country falls | |

| |to communism, the one next to it would also” –US feared the spread of Communism | |

| |Through the use of guerilla tactics used by the Viet Cong – a ceasefire was agreed in 1973 and the remaining US troops withdrew | |

| |Vietnam reunited and is now a Communist nation | |

|Invasion of |On Christmas, Russian troops landed in Afghanistan which was already in a civil war because Prime Minister Hazifullah Amin wanted to modernize | |

|Afghanistan |Afghanistan and push aside the Muslim tradition angering many Afghans | |

|(1979-1989) |Many Afghan Muslins joined the Mujahdeen – guerilla force of Muslims – to overthrow Amin. | |

| |Russians shot Amin and replaced him with Kamal – his government would have to depend on Russian military for support | |

| |However, the Mujahdeen – like the Viet Cong – knew their surroundings very well and were able to control most of the country by 1982 | |

| |US were giving the Mujahdeen access to missiles – not through direct sales – but condemned Russia’s invasion knowing it was similar to their war in | |

| |Vietnam | |

| |Mikhail Gorbachev took Russia out of Afghanistan when he realized they could not win the war | |

| |After the Russians left, Afghanistan remained in civil war until the Taliban fighters defeated the Mujahdeen | |

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