NATO and The Warsaw Pact
After the crisis of the One of the first Cold War crises when the Soviet Union blocked the Allies access to West Berlin in 1948. It ended in 1949 after daily western airlifts of supplies to their zones made continuing the Blockade pointless. in 1948-49, Europe became divided into two opposing armed camps: the US-backed A military alliance of western powers that was originally created to provide a counterforce to the Soviet armies of Eastern Europe. (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) countries on one side, and the A collection of 12 communist countries that agreed to defend each other if one of them was attacked. countries of Eastern Europe and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - collection of states, also known as the Soviet Union. on the other.
| NATO | The Warsaw Pact | |
| Formed | April 1949 | 1955 |
| Aims | To resist an attack by the USSR on the USA or its Allies in Western Europe based on the principle that an armed attack on one of its members was an attack on them all. | To resist an attack on the Soviet bloc by the USA or its NATO allies. |
| Members | Original members; USA, UK, Canada, Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway. West Germany joined in 1955, this prompted Russia to create the Warsaw Pact. | USSR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany (GDR), Albania. |
| Formed | |
|---|---|
| NATO | April 1949 |
| The Warsaw Pact | 1955 |
| Aims | |
|---|---|
| NATO | To resist an attack by the USSR on the USA or its Allies in Western Europe based on the principle that an armed attack on one of its members was an attack on them all. |
| The Warsaw Pact | To resist an attack on the Soviet bloc by the USA or its NATO allies. |
| Members | |
|---|---|
| NATO | Original members; USA, UK, Canada, Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway. West Germany joined in 1955, this prompted Russia to create the Warsaw Pact. |
| The Warsaw Pact | USSR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany (GDR), Albania. |
Clearly, by 1959 a large proportion of the world had been divided along A set of beliefs or ideas that someone follows or believes in. lines – with one side aligned with the USA and the other with the Soviet Union. While these alliances were not specifically in conflict with one another, it was clear that a spat between any two members of opposing alliances could easily escalate into a much larger conflict.
