The Arms Race
History: KS3, topic 20.1.13
The Arms Race
The Soviet Union emerged as a nuclear player in 1949. This then became an arms race with the USA.
Timeline - bombs
- 1945 - USA drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- This brought the Second World War to an end.
- 1949 - USSR tests an atomic bomb.
- 1952 - USA develops Hydrogen bomb.
- 1953 - USSR tests Hydrogen bomb.
Timeline - missiles and submarines
- 1957 - USA successfully tests Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
- 1957 - USSR successfully tests ICBM.
- 1959 - USA released Polaris submarines.
- These submarines could fire nuclear missiles very close to the USSR from the sea.
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
- Until 1949, the USA believed the best strategy against the Soviet Union in the event of war was to use its nuclear weapons.
- By the 1950s, nuclear weapons had been developed which contained bigger warheads and would have destroyed both sides (Mutually Assured Destruction).
- This made using nuclear weapons less attractive.
The Warsaw Pact
- The Warsaw Pact (May 1955) created an alliance to directly rival NATO.
- The alliance included:
- The USSR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany (GDR), Albania.
- This alliance bonded the countries even more closely.
Avoiding war
- The arms race became one of the most challenging issues of the Cold War.
- From the 1950s onwards, leaders on both sides wanted to show their military and nuclear strength.
- But because nuclear war would destroy both countries, they had to find ways to solve disputes without them leading to war.
Test yourself on The Arms Race
In which year did the USSR first successfully test an atomic bomb?
Timeline of the Arms Race