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The Cold War (1947-1991) The Cold War was a geopolitical, ideological and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the Superpowers, the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), supported by their partners. It took place from about 1947 to about 1991. The struggle is called Cold War because there was no direct conflict between the superpowers. They fought with instruments like selective aid, intimidation, propaganda low intensity military operations and full scale proxy wars. The Cold War was also a witness of the largest arms race in the history. Both sides made numerous charges against the other.
The USA was charged to be an example of capitalist imperialism and supporting racism. The USSR was charged of hurt human rights and crushing independence movements in Eastern Europe. The Cold War goes from 1947 until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of East Europe and the downfall of the USSR in 1991. Important Friends of the USA were The UK, France, West Germany and other members of the NATO ("Western Alliance). Important friends of the USSR were Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and other Members of the Warsaw Pact. Countries like Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Austria, India, Sweden, Finland and Sudan were neutral.
General character of the conflict The Cold War is regarded as the time from 1947 until the downfall of the USSR in 1991. The Korean War, the Hungarian Revolution, the Bay of Pigs Invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis, the Prague Spring, The Vietnam War, the Soviet-Afghan War, and the US-backed military coups against governments in Iran and Guatemala and civil wars in Countries like Angola, El Salvador and Nicaragua are Chances when the tension related to the Cold War took the form of an armed conflict. In those the powers armed their allies and brought the Cold war to millions of people. In the 1970s the Cold War gave a way to relaxation and a more complicated model of international relations. The world was no longer split into clearly opposed blocs. Less powerful countries get independent and the superpowers were in parts able to recognize their similarities in trying to check the further spread and propagation of nuclear weapons.
US-USSR relations degrade once again in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With the collapse of the USSR Russia lost the superpower status. In the Conflict a major arena was the strategy of technology. It also involved secret conflict through acts of espionage. It was questioned as to if nuclear weapons being mass produced and whether wars could really be deterred by their existence. One highlight in the conflict was Germany.
A symbol of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall. The wall isolated West Berlin from East Berlin and the territory of East Germany. The armies of East and West faced each other directly across the line of division between the Germanys. The Soviet Forces in Germany, with great strength in troops and armored vehicles would have been the spearhead of a potential attack into Western Europe and NATO military planning called for defensive battles to contain it as close to the borders as possible. The German plain and the Fulda Gap both provide main land attack routes for the Warsaw Pact. The outbreak of a military conflict in Central Europe would have been extremely dangerous.
The Korean Peninsula was a hotspot during the Cold War, and it remains one to this day. The states of North Korea and South Korea also technically remain at war because although a truce is in effect, no formal peace agreement was ever signed. As a result, tension still remains high on the Korean peninsula, especially since North Korea announced its purchase of nuclear weapons.
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