International and National Reactions to the Cold War

NATO, Warsaw Pact, Norad, Radar Stations (Pinetree, Mid-Canada, Dew

Line), Avro (p.194-197)

International Reactions to the Cold War

In the West:

Western democracies were afraid of the spread of communism, so the USA pushed them towards the founding of a new alliance in 1949:

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

NATO

What was it like?

Any attack on a NATO member was considered an attack on all NATO members.

If conventional weapons were not sufficient for victory, tactical nuclear weapons would be used.

Total nuclear war would be used as a last resort.

The history of NATO - video timeline- 6 minutes

28 NATO MEMBER

COUNTRIES TODAY

(THE ORIGINAL 12)

BELGIUM (1949)CANADA (1949)DENMARK (1949)FRANCE (1949)ICELAND (1949)ITALY (1949)LUXEMBOURG (1949)NETHERLANDS (1949)NORWAY (1949)PORTUGAL (1949)THE UNITED KINGDOM

(1949)THE UNITED STATES

(1949)

GREECE (1952)TURKEY (1952)WEST GERMANY (1955)SPAIN (1982)CZECH REPUBLIC (1999)HUNGARY (1999)POLAND (1999)BULGARIA (2004)ESTONIA (2004)LATVIA (2004)LITHUANIA (2004)ROMANIA (2004)SLOVAKIA (2004)SLOVENIA (2004)ALBANIA (2009)CROATIA (2009)

NATO - Ballistic Missile Defence Overview- 6 min video

COLD WARFROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.

MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - NATO’s founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.

Canada has been a MEMBER of NATO since 1949.

Canada was not only a member, but one of the FOUNDING COUNTRIES of the alliance.

This was different from CANADA’S PRE-WAR ISOLATIONISM and was the FIRST PEACETIME ALLIANCE that Canada ever joined.

NATO

Canada’s Role:

Canada kept an army brigade and several air squadrons in Europe (mainly in West Germany)

Canada built and supplied several military bases overseas.

The Canadian military tracked the movement of Soviet submarines in the Pacific Ocean.

Adapted our DEFENCE POLICY to those of its ALLIES

Warsaw Pact- 19558 Member states of the Warsaw Pact: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Soviet Union, Albania

USSR’s Response:

The USSR felt threatened by NATO and decided to create its own Communist alliance: The Warsaw Pact.

What was its purpose?

To protect the Communist countries from an attack by NATO.

WARSAW PACT

Consequences:

The Northern Hemisphere was divided in two:

The border between the two hostile camps became known as “The Iron Curtain”. (Movements of people and information from one side to the other was tightly restricted.)

Armies on both sides constantly practiced for war and built more powerful weapons.

It was hoped that this new arms race would lead to peace because it would create two situations:

Nuclear parity

MAD (mutually assured destruction)

NORAD-1958

• North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad)– Agreement between US and Canada (under PM

Diefenbaker) to form a joint coordinated continental air defence against the threat of an attack by the SU.

– Canadian and US fighter forces, missile bases, and air-defence radar were controlled from a command station at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, US (NORAD had a force of 1000 bombers ready at any time)

– Canadian command post, under joint control, was at North Bay, Ontario (deep under tunnels)

3 RADAR STATIONS

• TO PROTECT AGAINST SU ATTACK FROM THE AIR, THE US BUILT 3 LINES OF RADAR STATIONS ACROSS CANADA BETWEEN 1950-1957:– PINETREE LINE– MIDCANADA LINE– DISTANT EARLY WARNING LINE (DEW LINE)– These stations could detect a surprise Soviet attack over the

North Pole, giving the US time to launch a counterattack.– These stations compromised CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY as

now the US stationed their military personnel in Canada!

INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES

• Missiles equipped with nuclear warheads that have a range of 5500 km.

• When launched from the USSR they could reach North American cities in 30 minutes!

• This made radar stations in Canada less effective.

Technology Changes

The Cold War in North America

In Quebec:

Premier Duplessis took many steps to fight the spread of Communism:

Police raided homes and businesses in search of revolutionary materials.

The “Padlock Law” was used to shut down suspected organizations and businesses.

Duplessis even blamed the Communists when a poorly constructed bridge collapsed in 1951.