Section 9
The Cold War
During World War II the United
States and Soviet Union were
allied. Following the defeat of
Nazi Germany relations between
the two “super powers”
worsened.
The world was divided in to two
major alliance systems. The
Americans led NATO (which
Canada belonged to) and the
Soviets led the Warsaw Pact.
The Cold War was “cold” because
it was fought using everything
short of actual direct warfare
between the Soviet Union and
America, e.g. spying, arms race,
proxy wars, propaganda, etc.
Berlin Airlift
Germany was divided
in to four zones of
occupation following
its defeat. Each of the
major members of the
Allies was given a
region to administer.
Berlin, although
in the Soviet
zone, was
likewise divided
in to four
separate zones of
occupation.
The Soviets and Americans held
different opinions about what a
post-World War II Germany should
look like. The Americans wanted to
establish a democracy which
practiced capitalism; however, the
Soviets wanted to establish a
communist dictatorship.
By 1948, the USSR closed all rail and
roadways in to West Berlin in an
effort to force Britain, American and
France out of the Soviet zone. The
Allies responded by airlifting 4,000
tonnes of supplies in to Berlin every
day. Canadian pilots flew many of
the sorties in to West Berlin.
The Soviets interfered with
Canadian pilots, e.g. buzzing, close
flying, shooting near airplanes,
releasing balloons in the “Berlin
Corridor”, blinding pilots with
searchlights or shooting anti-aircraft
guns at Allied planes. The airlift
ended on May 12, 1949 with the
Soviets capitulating.
Korean War
Japan’s empire was dismantled
following World War II. Korea was
divided in to north and south. In
the north, the Soviets established
a communist dictatorship. In the
south, the Americans established a
democratic republic.
On June 25, 1950, the army of North
Korea invaded the south in an attempt
to unite the country. The United
Nations gave its approval for a military
intervention in Korea. Canada was one
of the sixteen member nations which
fought during the Korean War. The UN
army pushed North Korea back in to its
own territory. China sent troops in to
North Korea to help push Canada, etc.
back.
In April 1951, North Korean and Chinese
troops threatened to over-run American
troops in the center of South Korea.
Canadian and other Commonwealth
troops entered the battle in the Kapyong
Valley helping the Americans retreat to
safety. The Canadians were awarded a
US Presidential Citation for this gallant
action.
The Armistice of Panmunjom (a
ceasefire) was signed on July 27, 1953.
The war was never brought to an end
with the signing of a peace treaty.
Approximately 26,000 Canadians served
during the Korean War. Exactly 516
Canadians lost their lives as soldiers,
pilots and members of the navy.
The Suez Crisis
The canal was
constructed by
France and Britain
in 1869. On July 26,
1956, Egyptian
President Gamal
Nasser decides to
“nationalize” the
canal.
Egypt’s action creates an international
crisis. Britain and France no longer have
free access to the Suez Canal.
Britain, France and Israel threaten to
invade Egypt. The Soviet Union, Egypt’s
ally, threatens to “rain down” nuclear
weapons on London and Paris if the do
not leave Egypt alone.
On November 5, 1956, a
French/Anglo/Israeli army seizes the Suez
Canal. The Soviets threaten nuclear war.
Canada’s ambassador to the UN, Lester B.
Pearson, suggested a “peace keeping”
force be created keeping Egyptians and
Europeans separate while a diplomatic
solution was found; it was eventually
decided the canal would be overseen by
an international council (including Egypt).
Pearson’s “peace keeping” solution was
accepted. However, Egypt protested the
presence of Canadian troops because
Canada’s flag was “too British”. The
Canadians removed the Red Ensign from
their uniform and began to don a maple
leaf (which eventually became the basis
of a new Canadian flag in 1965).
Pearson was awarded a Nobel Peace
Prize and is regarded as the father of the
idea of a UN Peace Keeping Force.
Cuban Missile Crisis
In April 1961, the United States helped a
group of Cubans attempt to overthrow
the communist government of Fidel
Castro. This was called the “Bay of Pigs”
invasion. The invasion failed and Nikita
Khruschev, premier of the USSR, offered
Castro nuclear weapons to deter any
future American attacks.
In October 1962, an American spy plane
detected missile silos being constructed
in Cuba. America demanded the silos be
removed immediately. The USSR
threatened the United States saying it
would use nuclear weapons if the
Americans invaded Cuba again.
President John F. Kennedy decided to
establish a naval blockade of Cuba to
prevent the completion of the silos.
For 13 days the world watched as the
Americans and USSR appeared to be
getting closer to nuclear war.
In Canada, the army was placed on high
alert. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker
was reluctant to support Kennedy
because most Canadians did not support
the aggressive anti-Cuban American
policy.
As Soviet ships approached the
quarantine zone Canadian forces
mobilized and announced a DefCon 3
alert. Diefenbaker’s lacklustre support
reflected the desire of preserving
Canada’s independence when it came to
foreign policy. Consequently,
Diefenbaker and Kennedy did not like
one another and Canadian-American
relations suffered.
Kennedy offered to remove missiles
from Turkey if Khruschev took the nukes
from Cuba back to the USSR. Khruschev
accepted and the crisis ended.
The Vietnam War
Before World War II Vietnam was
controlled by France. During the war,
Japan removed the French presence
entirely. In 1945, with the defeat of
Japan and the absence of France an
independent country was declared by
the leader of the Communist Party, Ho
Chi Minh with Hanoi as its capital.
France wanted to recapture Vietnam;
but they were defeated by the
Vietnamese at the Battle of Dien Bien
Phu on May 2, 1954. The Americans
were unwilling to allow Vietnam to go
communist because of a policy called the
“Domino Theory”, i.e. if one country
went communist in east Asia then others
would certainly follow. America decided
to intervene militarily in 1968.
From 1954 to 1975 Canada served on
two international truce commissions and
provided medical supplies and technical
assistance. Canadian diplomats were
involved in negotiations between
Washington and Hanoi. Canada was
officially an “impartial and objective
peacekeeper”. In reality, Canada was a
supporter of the Americans.
Canada supported South Vietnam.
Canadian delegates engaged in
espionage for the US Central Intelligence
Agency and aided the covert
introduction of American arms and
personnel into South Vietnam while they
spotted for US bombers over North
Vietnam. Canadians also helped
suppress news coming out of Vietnam
about the Americans dropping Agent
Orange and other defoliants.
Canada sold the Americans 12.5 billion
dollars in food and war materials.
Unemployment dropped significantly in
Canada because of America’s war
spending. Also, the herbicide “Agent
Orange” was tested for in use in Vietnam
in New Brunswick. The Americans
practiced carpet bombing runs over
Suffield, Alberta and North Battleford,
SK. Ten thousand Canadians fought for
America during the war.
In 1973, it became clear America could
not defeat North Vietnam (mainly
because of dropping support at home).
By 1975 the capital city of South
Vietnam (Saigon) fell. The Americans
withdrew in defeat.
End of the Cold War
In the mid-1970s, Alexander Yakovlev
was appointed as ambassador to Canada
for the Soviet Union. He and Canada’s
prime minister, Pierre E. Trudeau,
became close friends over the decade of
the 1970s. Some historians think
Trudeau and Yakovlev’s friendship
influenced Soviet policy in the late
1980s.
In the early 1980s, Yakovlev was an
assistant to the future premier of the
USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. Yakovlev and
Gorbachev eventually introduced two
very important reforms to the Soviet
Union, e.g. glasnost and perestroika.
Glasnost literally meant “openness” and
“accountability” of the Soviet
government to the people it served.
Perestroika literally means
“restructuring” and its use led to full
blown economic reforms where
capitalism was introduced in to the
USSR. Trudeau, well known for his
support of pluralism and the rule of law,
is thought to have helped Yakovlev
develop the notions of glasnost and
perestroika.
Gorbachev’s reforms contributed to the
countries of Eastern Europe becoming
independent of Soviet control, the fall of
the Berlin Wall (1989), and the eventual
dissolution of the Soviet Union itself in
1991 and the end of the Cold War.