The Pros And Cons Of The Warsaw Pact

980 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Eastern Europe during the Cold War

The establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), forced the communist bloc countries to create their own military alliance to defend against the armies of Western Europe. The Soviet Union created a formal structure to oversee the army of the Eastern Bloc, therefore Warsaw Pact was formed in Warsaw, and signed on May 14th 1955. Albania, Romania, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia signed the pact which was then led by the Soviet Union. The Chief Commanders of the Warsaw Pact were: Iwan Koniew (1955-1960), Andriej Greczko (1960-1967), Iwan Jakubowski (1967-1976), Wiktor Kulikow (1976-1989), and Piotr Łaszew (1989-1991). All were Soviet military commanders and marshalls.
“Even though NATO and the Warsaw Pact were created to counter each other’s dominance, the member countries never engaged each other in armed conflict, though they did engage in “proxy wars” (Warsaw Pact).
It was included as a defense alliance of socialist countries in response to the formation of the Western states, including NATO. The Soviet Union mainly dominated the Warsaw Pact and they aimed to support and spread in those countries included in the pact. The pact, however, was not beneficial for the European countries except the Soviets. It was nothing but a problem. Since it was dominated by the Soviets, the rest of the countries had no say in anything, and they were basically subordinated. The Warsaw Pact, was mainly established in response to NATO because NATO attempted to stop the Soviets from becoming too imperialistic. Therefore the Warsaw Pact’s goal was to conquer all of western Europe, give limited power to the countries taken during the war, and to be able to place Soviet Union’s troops along with their weaponry in the countr...

... middle of paper ...

...it really does not serve the preservation of peace in the highly polarized Europe, but it was an instrument for the implementation of the politics of fear. Therefore the Warsaw Pact’s goal was to conquer all of western Europe, give limited power to the countries taken during the war, and to be able to place Soviet Union’s troops along with their weaponry in the countries included in this treaty. It is true that there has been no armed clashes between the two pacts, but you need to realize the enormous costs that would hold another war. The Warsaw Pact has played an important role in shaping the history of Europe after World War II, and its troops participated in many important events, often suppressing anti-communist uprising. The establishment of the treaty impacted not only military matters, but also played a role in shaping the economies of individual countries.

Show More
Related

  • Absolute vs. New Monarchs

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...was not to preserve peace, but to preserve the sovereignty and independence of the states of Europe against potential aggressors. The basic rule was to ally against any state threatening domination. The weaker countries would seek alliance with the other weaker states. They would thus create a balance or counterweight against the state whose ascendancy they feared.

    Read More

  • Canada and the Cold War

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Canada was influential in the development of NATO; it had been a member of NATO since it was founded in 1949. The purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was to unify the western allies and strengthen the military as a reaction to a possible threat from the Soviet Union and its allies. In 1949 many countries signed a contract to be part of the organization including: Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, United States, Canada, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Portugal.² Canada gained benefits from being part of NATO such as the ability to have a say in alliance policy, and now Canada would be able to “deal with the US on a multilateral context.” ¹ NATO also provided safety for Canada from the potential aggression of the Soviet Union. Canada’s armed forces were the most engaged, and active responsive armed forces within NATO. Canada’s priority in NATO was to ensure that all allies remain modern and are able to face the threats during the time period.

    Read More

  • The Failure Of The Potsdam Conference During The Cold War

    269 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Potsdam Conference occurred from July 17th to August 2nd, 1945. The conference took place between US president Harry Truman, Soviet’s Joseph Stain, and England’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The major goal of the Potsdam meeting was what would happen with Germany postwar. They wanted to be able to ensure the “eventual reconstruction of Germany’s democracy and peace.” At that time, the Soviet Union occupied a lot of the Eastern part of Germany and wanted a “unified, but unarmed Germany.” However, President Truman did not trust Stalin’s motives. In addition, Truman had found out that they had tested their atomic bomb and it was ready to be used in battle. Truman seeing the immense advantage the US had from a military standpoint knew he had leverage.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Cold War had lots of confrontations that involved using principles and practicing them. One example is the Cuban Missile Crisis. Cuba was coming off the failed invasion by the United States at the Bay of Pigs. They allied themselves with the Soviet Union and, in order to protect Cuba, The Soviet Union sent missiles to Cuba. The Americans found out using a spy plane. They warned Russia not to do this because it threatened the USA. However, the Soviet Union wasn’t stopping. This event was quickly called The Cuban Missile Crisis. Principles in the Cuban Missile Crisis were the ideas/thoughts that occurred without going into action like when the United States said they would have peace talks with the Soviet Union but instead waited until the Soviets offered them a plan. Practices in the Cuban Missile Crisis were that ideas that went into action like their plan to quarantine Cuba from the Soviet Union. During this crisis, it was clear that the United States had a lot more principles than practices.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    The U.S. had just elected President Kennedy two years prior to this very threatening occasion, and every nation thought he was a weak leader who just craved attention. During this time, the Soviets and the U.S. were right in the middle of the Cold War (1947-1991): the period of time when both nations were trying to spread their type of government and become superior, making us enemies. Just a year before the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. had made a failed attempt at invading Cuba at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow their communist dictator, Fidel Castro. Once Russia caught wind of this failed invasion, they quickly jumped at their chance at becoming allies with Castro, and started building nuclear bombs in Cuba. Kennedy had recently placed bombs in Turkey, Russia’s neighbor probably leading the soviets to place some of theirs in Cuba, because of how close it was to America; one nuclear bomb could reach Washington D.C. in 30 minutes.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Joseph Stalin

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    This meant that neither Germany, nor the Soviet Union, would invade the other country. This pact was made because the USSR wanted to remain at peace with Germany and secure time to build up their military, however, the pact did not last long (“Nonaggression Pact”). On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union without provocation. This lead the Soviet Union to join the Allied side of the fight. They were accompanied by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and many others. Although Stalin had led his country into joining the Allies, there were always underlying tensions between the countries.

    Read More

  • How Did The Versailles Treaty Help The World War II?

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Cold War

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cold War presented the United States with a unique decision. The Soviet Union had created a space program and the United States needed to decide if a space program would be beneficial for them. The Soviets sent probes out to space, and soon American probes followed. There are many reasons that the U.S. could have made this decision, but two reasons are more prominent that the others. Firstly the United States found it necessary to compete with the Soviets, and they could not accept the fact that the U.S.S.R had something that they didn’t. Secondly, JFK and his administration thought that space was the final frontier, and it would provide valuable scientific research. Ultimately, John F Kennedy and the United States decided to create a space

    Read More

  • The Fall of Communism in Poland

    2919 Words  | 6 Pages

    of the beginning of the fall of Communism in Poland. The Communist government saw that the

    Read More

  • The United States at Fault for the Cold War

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the end of WWII, the Soviet Union had sustained tremendous casualties and the country was almost destroyed. In order for Russia to be able to protect itself in the future, it would need to be surrounded by countries that would be loyal to Soviet Russia. The countries would serve as a buffer zone to stop possible future invading armies. The Soviet takeover of Poland was a defensive tactic to protect Russia, not to try and convert Europe to communism like America assumed.

    Read More

  • The Cold War and the Ideological Battle

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both outside states played a role in the conflict. The Cold War and the ideological battle between the US and USSR played a large role in facilitated the Congo Crisis, which hindered other African states’ move to decolonization. African leaders knew that isolating Africa from international politics would harm security and economic stability, but opening their states to aid from the US and the USSR allowed for foreign ideological influence. The West planned to stop the spread of foreign communism with “containment” policies, using the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as military force, while the USSR responded with the Warsaw Treaty Organization in 1955. These military organizations were examples of the actions the West and East took to make themselves appear intimidating to other states, but neither resulted in major military action.

    Read More

  • Creation of NATO

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Finally, another thing that the creation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact accomplished was to install a desire for territory and advantage on both sides. Both wanted, in short, more people to follow and accept their thinking of either capitalism or communism. This policy manifested itself, especially in the Korean War.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Treaty Of Versailles

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty created at the end of World War I, in hopes of establishing peace among nations. Although it sought after harmony, the United States’ Senate refused to ratify the treaty due to the distasteful idea of the United States’ involvement in the League of Nations, and Woodrow Wilson’s unwillingness to compromise with Henry Cabot Lodge’s revisions of The Treaty of Versailles.

    Read More

  • George Orwell's 1984

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 26 countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4 1949. The fundamental goal of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means. NATO links North America and Europe by providing a forum in which the United States, Canada and European countries can consult together on security issues of common concern and take joint action in addressing them.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Cold War Essay

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    The NATO and Warsaw Pact were formed. This war inevitably led to destructive conflicts like the Vietnam War and Korean War. The Soviet Union collapsed due to its economic weakness. Berlin was destroyed and the two German nations were unified. The Baltic States and some former Soviet Republics gained independence.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of The Warsaw Pact

Open Document