Cold War

Cold War is a term used for the decades of undeclared conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The reason they call it a “Cold” war is because there was never any open engagement of armies from either nation. That’s not to say that forces from either side never collided. Instead, either super power would support opposing war efforts in various peripheral nations in order to further their own influence or oppose the spread of the other’s influence.

Numerous “peripheral” conflicts occurred all over the globe. The Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict are both examples where the U.S. military had to face armies that weren’t from the Soviet Union, but were using Soviet weaponry and at times heeding Soviet advice – both were fought by the U.S. in hopes of preventing the spread of communism. Another such war was fought in Afghanistan. This war, however, was fought by Soviet forces against the U.S. supported Taliban. These “puppet” conflicts also happened to be opportunities for either super power to test out new equipment and tactics without necessarily having to lose their own soldiers.

Although Europe never saw the same kind of conflict, the Cold War was every bit as much of a threat. Constant espionage, spying, political maneuvering, and propaganda (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) operations from either side always threatened to ignite another major conflict in Europe. This also encompassed either faction taking measures to solidify their influence within a European culture that didn’t, in general, feel as polarized as either opposing super power. This can be observed in how the capitalists cracked down on communist movements within their borders, as well as how eastern European nations underwent “Sovietization” (the process of promoting Soviet communist culture through laws, and customs). At times this was voluntary for individual nations, but often nations were given little alternatives by either super power.

Political/military aligning between nations supporting either faction was another characteristic of the Cold War. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was the west’s attempt at offering the Soviet Union a coordinated opposition. Naturally, the Soviet Union responded in kind with the Warsaw Pact between Russia and most communist nations.