Transcript Attempts at World Order and Arms Control

Post World War II
February 1945
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Constant global confrontation between the
Soviet Union and United States.
Avoidance of direct armed conflict between the
two “Superpowers”.
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Winston Churchill
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Speech at Westminster College in Fulton,
Missouri on March 5, 1946.
“An iron curtain has descended across the
Continent.”
Describes Soviet sphere of influence and
control in eastern Europe.
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United Nations established.
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Security Council - Veto power for permanent members.
General Assembly.
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Federal Republic of (West) Germany - 1949.
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Neglect of conventional military forces begins.
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“Puppet” states dominated by the Soviet Union.
MacArthur commands U.S. army of occupation in
Japan.
U.S., Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union divide
Germany into zones of occupation.
U.S. initially enjoys atomic bomb monopoly.
Communist control of Eastern Europe.
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Pacific
 China - Civil War between Communists and Nationalists.
 Leaders: Mao Tse Tung and Chiang Kai Shek.
 Japanese Constitution adopted - relies on U.S. for defense.
Europe
 Communist threat to Turkey and Greece.
 Great Britain unable to supply enough aid.
Truman Doctrine - March 1947
 “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to
support free peoples who are resisting attempted
subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressure.”
 Economic and Military aid to Greece and Turkey.
 Non-communist governments secured.
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Marshall Plan - June 1947
 U.S. economic aid to rebuild western Europe.
George Kennan's "X Article" in Foreign Affairs, July 1947
 Enunciated the theory of “containment” of communism.
 Official U.S. doctrine and policy by 1950.
Berlin Airlift: June 1948 - May 1949.
Communist Coup in Czechoslovakia - February 1948.
1949 - Chinese Nationalists evacuate to Formosa.
 Communist People’s Republic established on mainland
China under Mao.
 Pact signed with Soviet Union.
 U.S. supports Chiang’s Nationalist government on
Formosa (Taiwan) as legitimate government of China.
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Established in 1949.
Military Alliance between U.S., Canada, and western Europe
with a formal command structure.
 Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Brussels, Belgium)
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 U.S. Commander in Chief, European Command
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Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (Norfolk, Virginia)
 U.S. Commander in Chief, Atlantic Command
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Warsaw Pact established by the Soviet Union to counter NATO
in 1955 - includes eastern European communist states.
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“National Military Establishment”
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Joint Chiefs of Staff direct military operations.
Effects on Navy and Marine Corps:
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Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Secretary of Defense on President’s Cabinet.
Unified Commanders established in geographic areas.
Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.
Preserves naval aviation and the Marine Corps.
Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal becomes Secretary of Defense.
Defense Reorganization Act - 1949: Department of Defense
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Strengthens Secretary of Defense: Louis Johnson replaces Forrestal.