History of the Cold War: Difference between revisions

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'''The Russian Civil War'''

From [[Red October|1917]] to 1923, The White Army, with the occasional aid of foreign troops <ref>(Japanese, British, Canadian, French, American, German, Australian- including two who received the Victoria Cross for their actions against the Red Army- , Greek, Czechoslovak)</ref>, battled for control of Russia against the Bolsheviks, aka The [[Reds ~~With~~ Rockets|Communist Red Army]]. It should be noted that the whites were not actually a single force, but several different armies led by different generals. In addition to fighting the Bolsheviks, these factions [[We ARE Struggling Together!|frequently fought each other]] as well. Both sides also had a tendency to be cruel to the local populations (and, for that matter, [[We Have Reserves|their own troops]]).

From [[Red October|1917]] to 1923, The White Army, with the occasional aid of foreign troops <ref>(Japanese, British, Canadian, French, American, German, Australian- including two who received the Victoria Cross for their actions against the Red Army- , Greek, Czechoslovak)</ref>, battled for control of Russia against the Bolsheviks, aka The [[Reds with Rockets|Communist Red Army]]. It should be noted that the whites were not actually a single force, but several different armies led by different generals. In addition to fighting the Bolsheviks, these factions [[We ARE Struggling Together!|frequently fought each other]] as well. Both sides also had a tendency to be cruel to the local populations (and, for that matter, [[We Have Reserves|their own troops]]).

The Bolsheviks won, leading to the [[Soviet Russia Ukraine and So On|Soviet Union]]. From that point on, the West had made clear that they were the enemies of the Bolsheviks and Communism. The level of foreign intervention in the Civil War, the lack of international recognition of the new state, and the repeated espionage attempts led to what's often termed a [[Everything Trying to Kill You|“siege mentality”]] in the Soviet Union -- materially, this meant a massive military budget and repressive domestic policies aimed against spies and saboteurs. <ref>It's worth noting that, in turn, the most memorable repressions in the 20th century U.S. (the 1950's "Red Scare", etc.) were justified/excused by the "Red Menace" -- which was certainly a less dire threat than the "imperialist aggression" used as an excuse by the Soviets.</ref>

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The USSR had another problem. The Americans had deployed Jupiter and Thor medium range ballistic missiles in Europe, especially Turkey. These allowed the US to hit Moscow within 16 minutes of a launch. The Soviets had no equivalent.

Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev was upset about this. He commented to a reporter that the Americans were targeting his "dacha", his summer home. He saw Cuba as a quick way to remedy the nuclear balance. The USSR started to deploy R-12 Dvina/SS-4 "Sandal" and R-14 Chusovaya/SS-5 "Skean" ballistic missiles to the island, sneaking them in on cargo ships. They also deployed some other stuff, like a regiment of MiG-21 fighters. The SS-5 was capable of hitting pretty much all of the continental US, including Hyannisport, JFK's own holiday home. Since most of the US early warning infrastructure was pointed north, (for example, the DEW line referenced in an ''[[~~MST3K~~]]'' movie) this would reduce launch warning time to virtually zero.

Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev was upset about this. He commented to a reporter that the Americans were targeting his "dacha", his summer home. He saw Cuba as a quick way to remedy the nuclear balance. The USSR started to deploy R-12 Dvina/SS-4 "Sandal" and R-14 Chusovaya/SS-5 "Skean" ballistic missiles to the island, sneaking them in on cargo ships. They also deployed some other stuff, like a regiment of MiG-21 fighters. The SS-5 was capable of hitting pretty much all of the continental US, including Hyannisport, JFK's own holiday home. Since most of the US early warning infrastructure was pointed north, (for example, the DEW line referenced in an ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' movie) this would reduce launch warning time to virtually zero.

Tactical nukes had been shipped to the Soviet forces for use on the Il-28 bombers and artillery weapons, but it appears that release authority was never given. Another account says it ''was'' given, but only for extreme circumstances, and that was later rescinded by Khrushchev when the US appeared to be preparing for an attack.

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'''(see also the [[Useful Notes/Arab-Israeli Conflict|Arab Israeli Conflict]] article)'''

After WWII, the Middle East was undergoing considerable changes with many new states being created and given independence from the UK and France. during this time, the UN voted on enforcing a 1922 League of nations resolution and partitioning an area called Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. Unfortunately, the area was already full of Arabs who objected to the establishment of a Jewish state in the area. [[Arab Israeli Conflict|You are probably familiar with the results]].

After WWII, the Middle East was undergoing considerable changes with many new states being created and given independence from the UK and France. during this time, the UN voted on enforcing a 1922 League of nations resolution and partitioning an area called Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. Unfortunately, the area was already full of Arabs who objected to the establishment of a Jewish state in the area. [[Arab-Israeli Conflict|You are probably familiar with the results]].

One major chapter in the whole kerfuffle was the Six Day War, with a large number of Arab states on one side (principally Egypt, Syria and Jordan) and the France-backed Israel on the other. Naturally the Soviet Union wanted in on this, and helped the Arab states as best they could. The war began with pre-emptive Israeli airstrikes which all but destroyed the air forces of the Arabs, and ended six days later with Israel in control of Sinai, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Ironically, it was faulty Soviet intelligence which caused the rapid escalation of existing tension which led to war and Arab defeat in the first place. <ref>Notably, during this war, an Egyptian missile boat became the first to sink another vessel with guided missiles.</ref>

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The war lasted 17 days and was terminated via a cease-fire. While the Israelis eventually had the upper hand, the myth of its military invincibility that was uphold by the Six-Day War was broken. In terms of proportion, though, Israel suffered three times more casualties in three weeks than the US in the whole of Vietnam. The war saw the first missile boat vs. missile boat fight, the Battle of Latakia.

The US had become the main power arming Israel after the French had stopped. OPEC, highly annoyed at US support for Israel, proceeded to stop the sale of oil to many of the Western states, resulting in the 1973 energy crisis (the UK and France had been neutral in the war, and so received supplies mostly uninterrupted). Oil was restored after six months, but the crisis lasted longer. This caused fuel shortages, job losses, price rises, at least one change of government (in the UK), smaller cars for the future and ''[[The Man ~~With the Golden Gun (Film)|The Man With~~ the Golden Gun]]''.

The US had become the main power arming Israel after the French had stopped. OPEC, highly annoyed at US support for Israel, proceeded to stop the sale of oil to many of the Western states, resulting in the 1973 energy crisis (the UK and France had been neutral in the war, and so received supplies mostly uninterrupted). Oil was restored after six months, but the crisis lasted longer. This caused fuel shortages, job losses, price rises, at least one change of government (in the UK), smaller cars for the future and ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun]]''.

Geopolitically, the war ended up being a victory for the US; Secretary of State [[Magnificent Bastard|Kissinger]] got the Egyptians - previously a major Soviet satellite - to switch arms suppliers to the U.S.. This put Israel and a big part of the Arab side into the Western sphere. The end result was a bit strange, though. The U.S. ended up bribing both countries not to shoot at each other by providing vast amounts of weaponry for use against Soviet-backed countries.