The Cold War



 



What happened in the Vietnam War?



                      The Vietnam War began in 1957 when, as in the Korean War, the United States defended its ally, South Vietnam, against attacks from the Communist North. This time, the Communists were supported by the Soviet Union rather than by China. Western military methods were unable to cope with the guerrilla tactics of a peasant army, despite the amounts of firepower that were used. The Americans eventually gave up their attempts to support the South in 1975. The country fell to the North Vietnamese, together with some of the surrounding countries of South-east Asia.



 





 



What are perestroika and glasnost?



                         In the Soviet Union the Communist Party controlled almost every aspect of people’s lives. However, by the 1980s Soviet people were aware that their standard of living was slipping far behind that of the West. When Mikhail Gorbachev become party leader in 1985, he began a process called perestroika, or restructuring. Some political activities were allowed, and economic reforms enabled people to run their own businesses. Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost, or openness, allowed people to express themselves freely.



                           Gorbachev became Soviet president in 1990, but was thrown out in a coup the following year. He returned to power to ban the activities of the Communist Party. The Soviet Union swiftly fell apart, breaking up into its original 11 republics in 1991.



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The Cold War


 



 



 



What caused the Korean War?



                         The Korean War happened in 1950 when North Korea, supported by the Communist Chinese regime, tried to overrun South Korea, which was allied to the United States. For the first time in its existence, the United Nations took military action —against North Korea. The war raged on, but neither side was able to claim victory. Eventually a ceasefire was declared in 1953, with both sides ending up more or less where they had started. Technically North Korea and South Korea are still at war, although there has been no direct fighting for decades.



 



 



 





What was the Berlin Wall?



                       Although Berlin was in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, the Western Allies occupied part of it. The Soviets resented their presence, wishing to isolate their population from Western ideas. In a single day in 1961, Soviet forces constructed a wall around the whole of Berlin’s western zone, keeping the East Germans out of West Berlin. The wall was made larger and encircled with barbed wire, minefields and armed guards. Next, the Soviets tried to cut off West Berlin’s supply routes, hoping the Western Allies would leave. Instead, the Allies supplied the besieged city by air until the Soviet blockade ended. The Berlin Wall was destroyed in 1989, when the East Germans rejected Communist rule and demolished the wall by hand.



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The Cold War



 



 



 



How was Europe divided after World War II?



                             Immediately after the end of the war, the occupying forces divided Europe along the lines they had previously agreed. The three zones of Germany that were occupied by the United States, Britain and France were treated as a single zone.



                            A Warsaw Pact was founded. This was countered by the Western allies, who set up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Between these two powerful groups was a band of neutral nations —Switzerland, Austria and Yugoslavia.



 



 



 





 



 



 



What was the Cold War?



                              Tension between East and West grew after the war. Soviet forces suppressed attempts by Czechoslovakia and Hungary to obtain independence. However, the conflict between East and West did not happen. Instead, they sponsored wars and political unrest in other countries, destabilizing governments of which they disapproved. The closest the world came to nuclear war was in 1962 when the Soviet Union moved missiles into Cuba, directly threatening the United States. The missiles were removed when the Americans threatened retaliation.



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Aftermath


What was the Cultural Revolution?



                        Despite the success of the Zedong Communist takeover of China, Mao felt that the educated people were posing a threat to the continuation of the revolution. He believed they were resisting the changes that were needed to improve the position of the peasants. Mao and his followers set in motion the Cultural Revolution, which stated that any person suspected of the faintest resistance to Communist rule, would be arrested, deported to outlying regions or executed.



                              Whole families were split up during the Cultural Revolution, and Chinese history was effectively rewritten to suit Mao’s purposes. During this period of turmoil, millions of people died from famine.



 





What happened in Germany in the immediate postwar years?



                            When the Nazis collapsed, the Allies, and particularly the Americans, found themselves in control of millions of people with no income and no work. Bombing and fighting had destroyed most German industry, and the victorious Allies took machinery and skilled workers as part-reparation for the cost of the war. It was widely decided that this situation could not be allowed to continue. The Germans should be able to support themselves again, while avoiding the injustices of the Versailles agreement which caused so much bitterness after World War I. There was a process of ‘denazification’, in which former Nazi sympathizers were removed from positions of power. In addition, new government structures were set up in the areas controlled by the Allies.



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Aftermath


What led to the collapse of Britain’s former economic power?



                         Although the US government committed itself to supplying Britain and the other Allies with weapons and other materials, US law insisted these goods had to be paid for.



                         By 1940 it was clear that Britain was running out of money, so the American President Roosevelt proposed the idea of ‘lend lease’, which allowed the United States to supply strategic materials in exchange for anything that the president decided was of benefit to his country. Britain received huge amounts of armaments and food, building up a colossal debt that caused great hardship in the early postwar years. Repayment meant increased taxation and the loss of many British assets.



 





 



How did Mao Zedong gain power in China?



                     When the Japanese occupied much of China during World War II, the Nationalists allied themselves with the newly emerging Communists and fought back.



                      However, after the defeat of the Japanese, the alliance between these natural enemies broke down. The Communists were able to drive the Nationalists out of most of the country because they were supported by the peasants. By 1949, the Nationalist forces had been forced to leave the mainland and establish themselves on the island of Taiwan, where they still remain. The Communist Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, formed the People’s Republic of China in October 1949. Mao Zedong first became interested in politics while fighting in the revolution in 1911. He became a member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1923.



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Aftermath



 



What was the Yalta conference?



                     When it became clear that Germany was going to lose the war, the Allied leaders met at Yalta to decide on the shape of Europe in the postwar years. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt decided to divide Germany into four zones, to be controlled by Russia, the United States, Britain and France. These zones were intended to keep Germany weak and to prevent any further hostilities. At later conferences, agreements were made to give some captured German territory to Poland and Russia.



 



 



 





 



 



How was the United Nations set up?



                  During World War II the Allied nations sometimes referred to themselves as the ‘United Nations’. In 1942 they agreed that they would not make any separate peace agreements with Germany.



                  Twenty-seven countries signed this first agreement and in 1945, after the war, the United Nations formally came into existence with an initial membership of 50 countries.



                  The United Nations is led by a powerful Security Council, which can intervene in international disputes that might lead to conflict. Today the United Nations is also involved in many economic and aid programmes around the world.




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The Second World War



 



How did the Allies invade Europe?



                          The Americans entered the war in 1941 after being attacked by Germany’s ally Japan. At this time a huge military build-up began in England. The Germans knew that the Allies planned to invade Europe, but they were tricked into thinking the Allies would cross the Channel at the narrowest point. Instead the Allies landed in Normandy, which was not heavily defended.



 



 





 



What was the Holocaust?



                      As part of their policy to ‘purify’ the German race and to make space in the conquered territories, the Nazis had a deliberate plan to exterminate the Jews. They rounded them up and shipped them to concentration camps. Some were put to work in the camps but the young and the very old were killed in mass executions. The process became known as the Holocaust when the dreadful evidence was discovered by the Allies.



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The Second World War



 



How did the Allies invade Europe?



                          The Americans entered the war in 1941 after being attacked by Germany’s ally Japan. At this time a huge military build-up began in England. The Germans knew that the Allies planned to invade Europe, but they were tricked into thinking the Allies would cross the Channel at the narrowest point. Instead the Allies landed in Normandy, which was not heavily defended.



 



 





 



What was the Holocaust?



                      As part of their policy to ‘purify’ the German race and to make space in the conquered territories, the Nazis had a deliberate plan to exterminate the Jews. They rounded them up and shipped them to concentration camps. Some were put to work in the camps but the young and the very old were killed in mass executions. The process became known as the Holocaust when the dreadful evidence was discovered by the Allies.



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The Second World War


What was the Battle of Britain?



                     After his triumph in Europe, Hitler planned to invade Britain. First, he had to destroy the Royal Air Force to prevent it from bombing his invasion ships.



                    The German Luftwaffe, which was considered to be far superior to the RAF, set out to bomb the British airfields and shoot down their aircraft. The Battle of Britain began in July 1940 and continued for nearly four months. The Luftwaffe finally abandoned its attempts to defeat the RAF and the Germans realized that they had not been successful. The German aircraft had been flying too far from home and ran short of fuel, while the RAF fighters destroyed large numbers of the invading bombers. As a result, the invasion of Britain was abandoned and Hitler soon turned his attention to invading Russia.



 





 



 



What was the Blitz?



                       When the Germans realized that the British defences were too strong for their aircraft, they tried to destroy British industry. They hoped to damage the morale of the British population by night bombing of the cities. This period of bombing followed the Battle of Britain, and large areas in Britain’s industrial cities were devastated.



                       However, the bombing did not have the expected effect, because many factories had already moved to safer areas. The morale of the British people did not crack. Once the RAF had built up a stock of suitable heavy bombers they bombed cities up and down Germany at night, while the Americans bombed them during the day.




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The Second World War


Who were the Nazis?



                         Germany suffered great economic hardship and political unrest during the 1920s, partly as a result of the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty. The Nazis (National Socialist Party), led by Hitler, were able to take advantage of the political turmoil and gained control of the government in 1933.



                         The Nazis destroyed all their political rivals during the ‘Night of the Long Knives’, and Hitler was appointed Fuhrer, which meant he had complete control of the country. The Nazis blamed the Jews for Germany’s economic difficulties, and began to persecute them and confiscate their property. A secret police force was set up to give the Nazi party absolute control over the population, and anyone opposing the Nazis was imprisoned and often executed.



 





Why did Germany go to war in 1939?



                       Hitler bitterly resented the humiliating terms of the Versailles Treaty. He felt Germany was unfairly treated. He wanted Germany to build a powerful empire that would make it Europe’s leading nation. He began to re-arm Germany, building new and powerful weapons. Some of these were tested during the Spanish Civil War, when the Germans supported the right-wing regime of Franco.



                          Hitler’s first move was to overpower Austria, which he believed was a natural part of Germany. He then began planning to seize back territories that had been lost at the end of World War I. He managed to seize part of Czechoslovakia, and when there were few protests, he took control of the rest of the country too. As there was little international response to this action, Hitler next planned to take over Poland. Germany was now a force to be reckoned with.



 





 



How did Britain get drawn into the Second World War?



                       Following the invasion of Poland, as with World War I some international alliances were activated. As a result Britain and France declared war on Germany.



                       When the Germans attacked Poland, the Russians also attacked the country and it was divided. The Germans went on to invade Denmark, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands and France in quick succession. They crushed any resistance with overwhelming armoured forces.



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The Great War



 



 



Why did Russia pull out of World War I?



                     In 1905 there had been an unsuccessful uprising in Russia against the rule of the tsar. Riots broke out again in 1917, when people protested about the lack of food and fuel that were being diverted to the troops.



                    The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, eventually took over and the tsar and his family were murdered. The new Communist government began peace negotiations with Germany.



 



 





 



 



What was the Versailles Treaty?



                        The Versailles Treaty was drawn up after World War I. It was designed to punish the Germans for their role in the war. Germany was forced to pay the Allies compensation, and to give up part of its territory in Europe. The treaty led to the collapse of the German economy, and set the pattern for later political problems. Other countries suffered as frontiers were redrawn following the end of the old European empires and alliances.



 



 





 



 



 



 



What are the Balkans?



                     The Balkans are the region in the southeast corner of Europe, bordered by Russia and Turkey. Throughout the 1800s and in the early 20th century, the Balkans rebelled against their former rulers and gradually obtained their freedom.



 



 




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The Great War


What led to the Great War?



                         Continual trouble in the Balkans led to the formation of several complicated military alliances throughout Europe. The continent was eventually split into two groups. Britain, France and later Russia joined to form the Entente Cordiale; Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. In 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Serbia, activating the alliance agreements. First Austria declared war on Serbia, Russia sided with Serbia, and then Germany declared war on Russia. Germany invaded Belgium, bringing the British and French into the conflict. The British, French and Russians became known as the Allies, while their opponents were the Central Powers.



 





 



What was different about World War I?



                         World War I, or the Great War, was the first mechanized war in history. In the beginning the fighting was similar to wars fought during the previous century. Mounted cavalry charged enemy lines but were cut down by fire from the recently developed machine-guns. No modern tactics had been developed to handle battles between armies spread across whole countries.



                          The battlefields became deadlocked, with few advances. The troops dug deep trenches. About 10 million men died in battles, which usually gained an advance of about one kilometre. Another 20 million men were wounded.



 



 



 





 



Which new weapons were introduced in the Great War?



                      Some new and terrifying weapons were introduced during World War I, changing the whole style of warfare. Aircraft were used for the first time to observe the enemy and to locate suitable targets for the long-range artillery. Later, fighter planes began to shoot down the spotters, introducing aerial warfare. Aircraft and Zeppelin airships were used as bombers.



                      The most terrifying new weapon was poison gas, which was used by both sides. It caused millions of deaths and terrible suffering. Tanks made their first appearance, having been invented to break through enemy lines and barbed wire. If the generals had used tanks earlier, followed by a massive attack, the whole course of the war would have been shortened and many lives would have been saved.



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The Great Traders


 



 



Why was the Suez Canal built?



                      As the British Empire gained in power, large numbers of ships had to make the long and hazardous journey around the southern tip of Africa to reach India and the Far East. The Suez Canal reduced this sea voyage by 6,500 km.



                     The canal was designed and built by a French company, and opened in 1869. The British bought the company from the Egyptian government. The Suez Canal was so important to British trade that Britain took over the island of Cyprus to protect the canal’s northern end.



 



 





 



How did railways open up the Great Plains of the USA?



                        After the Civil War, the American government encouraged people to settle in the largely empty land of the Great Plains. The American Indians had already been driven out. The distances involved were enormous, and the railways were able to help the spread of people into the undeveloped areas.



                      By 1869 the Union Pacific Railroad linking the east and west coasts of the United States was finally joined up. A network of other lines spread out across the plains. The railway provided an essential link between remote farming communities and cities, making it easier for people to buy goods and trade their produce.



 



 





 



What was the Boxer Rebellion?



                    Towards the end of the 1800s, the Chinese Empire was weak and dominated by foreign powers. Powerful trading groups from Britain, Germany, Russia, Japan and Italy controlled large parts of the country, while the Chinese struggled to modernize and still retain their independence.



                     A revolt against all foreigners began in northern China in 1900. It was led by a secret society popularly called the Boxers. The members of the society attacked many foreign embassies and massacred the Christian Chinese population. However, an international force managed to prevent the Boxers from carrying out further attacks, and forced the Chinese government to give more concessions to the foreign traders.



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The Great Traders



 



What was the Industrial Revolution?



                   Back in the early 1700s, Britain was still a largely agricultural nation. The few manufactured goods were made in small workshops or at home. As a result of Britain’s world trading, the cotton industry developed and everything changed.



                   At first water power was used to drive spinning and weaving machines, and factories and mills were set up. New towns were built to provide homes for these workers. Steam engines were adapted to provide power to factories.



                  The railways and canal system were developed. The other key development was the smelting of iron using coke rather than wood. Britain was able to exploit the raw materials from her overseas empire to become one of the world’s most prosperous industrial nations.



 





Which inventions changed the world?



                        The invention of practical steam engines was the most significant advance in the 1700s, providing power for the Industrial Revolution. The first steam engines were massive stationary devices that pumped water from flooded mines, but they were soon adapted to power ships. At first, wooden ships were converted and driven by massive paddlewheels, but gradually steel-hulled vessels with propellers were introduced.



                          The first steam locomotives appeared in the early 1800s. They carried goods and allowed people to travel to the factories where they worked. Trains were an important means for social change because, for the first time, people could travel quickly and visit areas that were previously too far away.



 




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The European Wars



 



How did European events affect Latin America?



                     Spain and Portugal had enormous colonies in South and Central America. For many years these colonies had wanted independence, but all signs of revolt were ruthlessly suppressed. Napoleon’s battles in Europe, however, gave the colonies their opportunity for independence. Portugal and Spain were re-occupied by Napoleon, and the Latin American countries seized their opportunity. Between 1810 and 1830, the colonies declared themselves independent, defeating Spanish forces in Colombia and Peru in great battles. Freedom did not affect ordinary people because the former colonies were still ruled by landowners.



 



 





 



 



Why did Britannia rule the waves?



                     As an island nation, Britain depended entirely on developing a huge fleet to protect its trading links with the rest of the world. The trading ships which arrived first in port were always able to sell their cargoes of seasonal crops and other goods for the highest prices. This led to the development of more modern sailing ships that could travel faster than ever before. In addition to this, the heavily armed military vessels that protected them also became very efficient. Britain went to great lengths to protect her enormous empire and the wealth it brought. The empire’s survival was entirely dependent on British ships having the freedom of the seas.



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