Grand Alliance Conferences
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Yalta Conference Feb 1945 -
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Disagreements:
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Effect on Their Relationship
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Potsdam Conference July - Aug 1945 - Agreements:
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Disagreements:
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Formation of the Grand Alliance
- June 1941 Nazis launched ‘Operation Barbarossa’ – Invasion of the Soviet Union
- The UK and USA began supplying the USSR immediately
- The USA wasn’t involved in the war at this time
- August 1941 Churchill secretly met President Roosevelt to persuade the USA to join the war
- Agreed on a policy statement known as the ‘Atlantic Charter'
- Eight-principles to the Atlantic Charter – Defined Allied goals for the post-war world and presented the unity of the UK and the US
- September 1941 the Soviet Union and other countries fighting the Nazis agreed the principles of the charter – This wasn’t a formal alliance
- December 1941 Japan and Germany declared war on the USA and brought America into the war
- January 1942 the Allies issued a joint ‘Declaration by United Nations’ – Military union between the USA, UK and the USSR – Known as the ‘Grand Alliance’
- Essentially and ‘marriage of convenience’ as all three had one common enemy – Group had shaky foundations, the group merged together the greatest Capitalist state, the greatest Communist state and the greatest Colonial power
- Churchill didn’t like Stalin
Wartime Disagreements
- The Second Front – Stalin demanded this ‘second front’ in Western Europe to relieve the USSR as they faced 80% of all Nazi military resources
- In 1942 and 1943 the UK and USA decided to invade North Africa and Italy first – Made Stalin suspicious as he thought they were trying to weaken the USSR – There were 228 Axis divisions on the Eastern Front compared to 61 divisions in Western Europe
- June 1944 Second Front opened with the D-Day Landings in France
- Ideological Suspicions – Despite agreeing to the principles of the Atlantic Charter, Stalin was concerned with Roosevelt’s foreign policy
- Roosevelt’s ‘Open Door’ policy was based on ‘free’ world trade and ‘equal’ access to raw materials – Stalin feared this would only benefit Capitalist countries
- Allies attempted to solve their differences and wartime conferences but weren’t able to in the end
The Polish Question
- London Poles – 1939 Thousands of Polish people escaped from Poland when Poland was invaded by Germany and the USSR
- Over 100,000 Pole refugees fled to France and then moved on to London
- Poles refused to work with the Soviets
- Against the proposal at Yalta and didn’t want the borders of their country to be moved
- If Poles had to sacrifice land there would have to be a free government after the war
- 1944 Warsaw Rising – London Poles played a huge part, when the Red Army reached Warsaw Polish Underground Forces rose up against the Germans
- Stalin ordered the Red Army to stop and the Nazis stopped the rebellion and killed almost 200,000 resistance fighters
- The Soviets next moved in and ‘liberated’ Warsaw and Poland and put their own government in place – The Lublin Poles
- The Lublin Poles were usually a pro-Soviet group
- July 1944 a ‘Committee of National Liberation’ was set-up in Soviet controlled Lublin in Poland
- Became known as the Lublin Committee and stated that they wished to work with the Soviet Union
- They agreed to the Curzon Line and other reforms
- USSR saw the group as the only lawful authority in Poland and refused to work with the London Poles
6 Key Event That Lead to the Breakdown of the Grand Alliance
The Soviet Takeover of Eastern Europe 1945 - 1949
How did this Increase Mutual Fears and Suspicions between the Superpowers? Increased mutual fears as Stalin was taking over more of Eastern Europe and broadening its empire. Conveys how Stalin wasn’t prepared to have an anti-Communist or even a ‘free’ Eastern Europe and therefore, he had to eliminate all threats. Caused suspicion as the USA and US were more focused on a ‘free’ more Capitalist Europe with a Democracy. |
Soviet Pressure on Iran
- USSR tried to increase its control on Iran
- Tehran Conference the USSR and UK agreed they would withdraw after the war
- UK troops left but Stalin left 30,000 troops in the North of Iran claiming that they needed to restore order – Iran complained to the USA and UK
- 1st January 1946 Stalin refused to withdraw again
- March Iran referred a case to the United Nations and under this pressure Russia pulled out under
How did this Increase Mutual Fears and Suspicions between the Superpowers?
Increased mutual fears as Russia was trying to gain even more territory and went back on an agreement with the UK to remove all troops from Iran. This shows serious mistrust between the USSR and UK and the USSR refused to complete a deal and it took a case from Iran to the UN to get Russia out.
Instability in Greece and Turkey
- After the war in Greece and Turkey there were anti-imperialist, nationalist and pro-Communist rebellions
- The British couldn’t contain these threats and believed that the USSR was supporting the rebellions
- Churchill was mainly frustrated with Stalin’s disregard of their ‘Percentages Agreement’ – Greece and Turkey were supposed to be under the West’s ‘sphere of influence’
How did this Increase Mutual Fears and Suspicions between the Superpowers?
Conveys mistrust and suspicion within the Grand Alliance as the UK and USA were unsure to whether the USSR were trying to cause/aid the rebellions in Greece and Turkey that were pro-Communist.
Communism in France and Italy
- Post-war Europe – Communist parties grew stronger in Italy and France and threatened to take-over Western Democracies
- These countries faced economic hardships
- The US and UK believed that Moscow was encouraging them
- Communists were also trying to take over Western Europe as well
How did this Increase Mutual Fears and Suspicions between the Superpowers?
Suspicion grew as the USA and the UK were unsure to whether or not the Russians were helping to encourage the increase of Communist parties within Italy and France.
Kennan's Long Telegram
How did this Increase Mutual Fears and Suspicions between the Superpowers? Increases mutual fear, as the USA and UK were now aware of how the Russians’ were treating people in the West. The US are now also trying to find ways to contain Communism, realising that it had spread too far. |
Stalin's Reaction to the 'Iron Curtain' Speech
How did this Increase Mutual Fears and Suspicions between the Superpowers? Increased mutual fear and a lot of distrust as now the UK was talking out about the division across Europe and the difference between the Communists and the Capitalists/Democracy advocators. This caused distrust in Russia for the UK and the USA as they were now openly showing their distrust towards the USSR and how different the two really were instead of just allowing Stalin in a way to walk all over the USA and the UK. |
1. Who or what was most responsible for the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?
Stalin, was the most responsible person when it comes to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance. His, constant manipulation of the Grand Alliance to get what he wanted was already suspicious enough e.g. the wanting of 25% of the reparation loans and to keep the land of Poland that they had already seized during the war. Stalin, was hard to work with and was extremely stubborn.
During the years 1946 – 1947 Stalin seemed to become even worse as he continued to take over Eastern Europe, stopped all free elections in Poland by killing, arresting or deporting opposition and treated people of the West horribly. Since the Grand Alliance started he was always causing the chaos in the group.
2. Was the breakdown of the Grand Alliance inevitable?
The breakdown of the alliance was most definitely unavoidable. There was no way in which Stalin would ever compromise or try to think about the United Nations as a whole and not just Russia and spreading Communism all over the world. There was no way as their ideologies were too different for them to ever properly get along and work together.
3. What issues caused the most tension between the Allies?
The Iron Curtain Speech Churchill gave caused the most tension between the Allies. The tension conveys how Communism spread through Europe because of Stalin despite his promises for ‘free elections.’ The speech conveys how finally someone was stepping up and finally opening up about the troublesome Russians and how chaotic they were making everything. The speech also helped Stalin realise that the United Nations were onto him and unsatisfied with their behaviour to the point where they were speaking so publically about it. This caused Stalin to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund, increased the USSR’s anti-Western propaganda and form a five-year plan to strengthen Russia and make it even more powerful to make sure they were powerful enough to fight off the anti-Communists.
Stalin, was the most responsible person when it comes to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance. His, constant manipulation of the Grand Alliance to get what he wanted was already suspicious enough e.g. the wanting of 25% of the reparation loans and to keep the land of Poland that they had already seized during the war. Stalin, was hard to work with and was extremely stubborn.
During the years 1946 – 1947 Stalin seemed to become even worse as he continued to take over Eastern Europe, stopped all free elections in Poland by killing, arresting or deporting opposition and treated people of the West horribly. Since the Grand Alliance started he was always causing the chaos in the group.
2. Was the breakdown of the Grand Alliance inevitable?
The breakdown of the alliance was most definitely unavoidable. There was no way in which Stalin would ever compromise or try to think about the United Nations as a whole and not just Russia and spreading Communism all over the world. There was no way as their ideologies were too different for them to ever properly get along and work together.
3. What issues caused the most tension between the Allies?
The Iron Curtain Speech Churchill gave caused the most tension between the Allies. The tension conveys how Communism spread through Europe because of Stalin despite his promises for ‘free elections.’ The speech conveys how finally someone was stepping up and finally opening up about the troublesome Russians and how chaotic they were making everything. The speech also helped Stalin realise that the United Nations were onto him and unsatisfied with their behaviour to the point where they were speaking so publically about it. This caused Stalin to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund, increased the USSR’s anti-Western propaganda and form a five-year plan to strengthen Russia and make it even more powerful to make sure they were powerful enough to fight off the anti-Communists.