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Around 100 000 students in the UK study the Cold War period at GCSE history. From my experience as the Head of GCSE History, the Cold War is one of the most popular, yet one of the most challenging periods of history for students. This guide will give you an overview of the Cold War and how to revise this topic to achieve GCSE exam success.
Overview of the Cold War
The Cold War was a period of tension from 1945 to 1991 between the USA and the USSR (or the Soviet Union). Armed conflict is often called a “hot war”. The name “Cold War” comes from the fact that the USA and the USSR never directly fought each other. Instead, the USA and USSR attacked each other through propaganda and threats of violence.
Key Events, Dates and People in the Cold War
Memorising key events, dates and people is important in your history GCSE Cold War revision. You could use the table below to create flashcards or a timeline of the key moments of the Cold War.
Key Event | Date | Leader of the USA | Leader of the USSR |
The Potsdam Conference | July – August 1945 | Harry Truman | Joseph Stalin |
The dropping of the atomic bomb | August 1945 | Harry Truman | Joseph Stalin |
Marshall Plan | 1948 | Harry Truman | Joseph Stalin |
The Berlin Blockade and Airlift | 1948–1949 | Harry Truman | Joseph Stalin |
The creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) | 1949 | Harry Truman | Joseph Stalin |
The end of the Korean War | 1953 | Dwight Eisenhower | Nikita Khrushchev |
The Hungarian Uprising | 1956 | Dwight Eisenhower | Nikita Khrushchev |
The start of the building of the Berlin Wall | 12th August 1961 | John F. Kennedy | Nikita Khrushchev |
The Cuban Missile Crisis | October 1962 | John F. Kennedy | Nikita Khrushchev |
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia | August 1968 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Leonid Brezhnev |
The signing of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) I | 1972 | Richard Nixon | Leonid Brezhnev |
The end of the Vietnam War | 1973–1975 | Richard Nixon/Gerald Ford | Leonid Brezhnev |
The signing of SALT II | 1979 | Jimmy Carter | Leonid Brezhnev |
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan | December 1979 | Jimmy Carter | Leonid Brezhnev |
The Strategic Defense Initiative | 1983 | Ronald Reagan | Leonid Brezhnev |
Glasnost and Perestroika | 1985 | Ronald Reagan | Mikhail Gorbachev |
The collapse of the Eastern Bloc | 1989-1990 | Ronald Reagan | Mikhail Gorbachev |
The fall of the Berlin Wall | 9th November 1989 | Ronald Reagan | Mikhail Gorbachev |
The reunification of Germany | October 1990 | George H.W. Bush | Mikhail Gorbachev |
The collapse of the USSR | 25th December 1991 | George H.W. Bush | Mikhail Gorbachev/ Boris Yeltsin |
Causes of the Cold War
The main issue between the USA and the USSR was their different approaches to how to run a country:
The USSR believed in an idea called Communism. Communism is an ideology based on the idea that all property is owned by the state to ensure that everyone has a fair share
The USA believed in capitalism. Capitalism is an ideology based on the idea that everyone is free to own property and businesses to make money
The Cold War saw the USA and USSR fight for decades about which ideology was the best.
At the Yalta Peace Conference, Britain, the USA and the USSR decided to divide Germany into four separate zones. At the Potsdam Conference, the USA wanted Berlin to also be divided into four zones. Arguments began as Stalin felt that the USSR deserved to govern the whole of Berlin as it fell within his zone of Germany. By this stage, the USSR had soldiers across Eastern Europe. The USA believed, in response to Stalin’s actions, the Long Telegram and the Iron Curtain Speech, that the USSR wanted the whole of Europe to be communist. The USA felt that it was its responsibility to “contain” the spread of communism and stand up against the USSR.
Stalin had reasons to distrust the USA. In August 1945, the USA and the USSR were allies. However, without consulting the USSR, Truman authorised the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Truman wanted to end the USA’s conflict with Japan and show the USSR how strong the USA was. Stalin saw the use of atomic bombs by the USA as a threat to the safety of the East and the USSR. This began an arms race and the Cold War.
Cold War Alliances
In your GCSE history Cold War revision, remember that the conflict divided the world into two different sides:
Capitalist countries that supported the USA
Communist countries (or communist-controlled countries) that supported the USSR
NATO
The USA created NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in April 1949. This was in response to the growing tension between East and West following the end of the Second World War. NATO was a military alliance based on collective security. If one member was attacked, all members would defend it. NATO further increased tensions between the USA and the USSR:
In August 1949, the USSR successfully tested their first atomic bomb
In 1955, the Soviet Union created its own military alliance, known as the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact created an equivalent military alliance to NATO for communist countries. The Warsaw Pact was under the command of the USSR. Its members included the Eastern Bloc countries and built upon the work of Comecon. The Warsaw Pact confirmed the separation of Europe into two groups. The presence of two military alliances in Europe increased the likelihood of war. Both the USA and the USSR increased their military power and were ready to fight.
Conflicts, Tensions and Proxy Wars
The Cold War saw periods of significant tension between the USA and the USSR. At some points, both countries directly threatened each other. The stockpiling of nuclear weapons meant that war between the USA and the USSR could destroy the world. Some students studying the Cold War assume that there were no armed conflicts in the Cold War. The USA and the USSR sponsored groups or sometimes countries to fight a war on their behalf. This is called a proxy war.
Conflict | How were the USA and the USSR involved? | Outcome of the conflict | Impact on US–Soviet relations |
The USA, Britain and France decided to combine their zones of Germany into Trizonia. In June 1948, the three Western countries created a new currency called the Deutschmark. This broke the agreement made at Potsdam. Stalin reacted by blocking Trizonia’s access to West Berlin. | In June 1948, the USSR shut off the land routes in Soviet-controlled Germany. To overcome this, the West flew supplies directly into West Berlin. This is called the Berlin Airlift. On 9th May 1949, the USSR lifted the Berlin Blockade. | The Berlin Airlift was a massive victory for the West over the East. It created even greater tension between the two “superpowers”. It led to the creation of the Warsaw Pact. Germany became officially separated into the FRG and the GDR. | |
After Japan’s defeat in the Second World War, Korea was split. The USSR oversaw North Korea; the USA monitored South Korea. Many Koreans wanted to reunite their country under the communist Kim Il Sung. In June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. The USA, under the United Nations, sent troops to support South Korea. | The UN forces were unable to achieve a victory in Korea. When Dwight Eisenhower became president, he promised to end the Korean War. Stalin died in 1953. This weakened North Korea. North Korea to sign an armistice with South Korea. | North and South Korea continued to be divided. Tensions increased between the USA and the USSR. Both began a nuclear arms race, creating hydrogen bombs and ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles). This threatened world peace. | |
In 1954, the Viet Minh defeated the French. The Geneva Accords agreed to split Vietnam. The USSR sponsored communist Ho Chi Minh in the North and the USA supported the capitalist Diem in the South. Diem was a very unpopular leader. In 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident caused the USA to declare war on the Viet Minh. | The Vietnam War was a disaster for the USA. The Viet Minh used guerilla warfare tactics which the US army could not fight against. The Vietnam War was unpopular in the USA. In January 1973, the USA signed the Paris Peace Accords. By 1975, all US soldiers had left Vietnam. | By 1975, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became communist. The USSR, which had given money and technology to North Vietnam, had gained new communist allies. The use of chemical warfare and disregard for Vietnamese civilians ruined the USA’s international reputation. | |
In 1959, Fidel Castro caused a communist revolution in Cuba. Before this, the USA had a lot of influence over Cuba. After the revolution and the Bay of Pigs Incident, Castro became more friendly with the USSR. In 1962, the USA received reports that there were Soviet missile launch pads in Cuba. | During the Thirteen Days, the world was on the brink of nuclear warfare. The USA blockaded Cuba. Luckily, Soviet ships turned away from Cuba. The USSR agreed to remove the launch pads from Cuba if the USA removed missiles from Turkey. | The USA and the USSR had more motivation to avoid a situation like the Cuban Missile Crisis occurring again. They signed a series of agreements to limit nuclear testing. Overall, US–Soviet relations improved. | |
Hafizullah Amin took control of Afghanistan. He originally had the support of the USSR. He was an unpopular leader. A Muslim group called the Mujahideen attempted to overthrow him. Rumours spread that Amin had contacted the USA for help rather than the USSR. | The USSR invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. They stated that Amin had asked the USSR to help. However, Amin was murdered and replaced with a pro-Soviet called Babrak Kamal. The Soviet Union stayed in Afghanistan until 1989. | The US government believed that the USSR was spreading communism against the people's wishes. In January 1980, President Carter created the Carter Doctrine. This ended the period of détente between the USSR and the USA. |
End of the Cold War
By 1985, the Cold War began to de-escalate. This is because:
The USSR was close to economic collapse
Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR and introduced two reforms:
Glasnost (Openness) which accepted that the USSR had committed atrocities such as the Hungarian Uprising
Perestroika (Restructuring) which aimed to bring some capitalism into the Soviet economy
The USA saw the Soviet Union as less of a world threat
President Reagan saw this period as an opportunity to end the Cold War through negotiations and diplomacy
The USA was economically more powerful than the USSR
Reagan knew that the US government could out-spend the USSR
The Strategic Defence Initiative (1983) was a tactic to force the USSR to either:
Collapse in an attempt to match the $30 billion defence programme
Accept defeat in the Cold War
The end of the Cold War happened in the following order:
1989–1990 – The Eastern Bloc collapsed. This included the fall of the Berlin Wall
1990 – Germany was reunified
1991 – Gorbachev resigned and Yeltsin was elected. This ended the USSR
Summary of the Cold War’s Key Moments
The Cold War was a political conflict between the USA and the USSR about whether capitalism or communism was the best way to run a country
There were two key alliances in the Cold War. The USA created NATO. The USSR formed the Warsaw Pact
There were armed conflicts in the Cold War. This was when the USA and the USSR either threatened violence or backed other countries to fight on their behalf in proxy wars
By 1985, the USSR was too weak economically to continue the Cold War. Gorbachev’s reforms showed that the USSR needed to move away from communism. The Eastern Bloc became independent countries again and Germany was reunified. The Cold War finally ended with the collapse of the USSR
How to Approach GCSE Cold War Revision
Make sure you know which events of the Cold War your exam covers:
In Superpower Relations for Edexcel GCSE History, you do not cover the Vietnam War or the Korean War
In Conflict and Tension between East and West, 1945–1972 for AQA GCSE History, you cover both the Vietnam and the Korean wars
Understand what skills your exam is testing:
In Superpower Relations for Edexcel GCSE History, the exam is testing your knowledge of consequences, narratives and the importance of events in the Cold War
In Conflict and Tension between East and West, 1945–1972 for AQA GCSE History, the exam requires you to use sources, write narratives and say how far you agree with a statement
Prepare yourself with the right skills for your exam
In Edexcel GCSE History Cold War revision, you could:
Use timelines to learn the dates of key events
Make flashcards that test you on how each event impacted Cold War tensions between the USSR and the USA
In AQA GCSE History Cold War revision, you could:
Use practice exam questions to improve your source-analysis skills
Create a flow diagram of how each event in the Cold War connects
Give yourself five minutes to plan a response to a 16-mark, “how far do you agree” question
For general advice on how to revise, have a look at my top tips on How to revise for History GCSE.
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