AS and A Level: International History, 1945-1991
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- Marked by Teachers essays 24
- Peer Reviewed essays 4
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How significant was Chinas intervention in deciding the course and outcome of the Korean War?
5 star(s)Although this force was made up of 300,000 poorly equipped fighters, they were experienced fighters as many had already fought in the Chinese Civil War. Initially, it seemed that the Chinese intervention was ?too little, too late?, as they lost their first major battle with the UN forces, and in October 1950, the ROK?s troops crossed the 38th Parallel. In addition to this, the US Eighth Army captured the capital of North Korea on the 20th October 1950, as well as the X command capturing the important port of Wonsan on the East Coast.
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To what extent was the alliance system responsible for the outbreak of World War One in 1914
5 star(s)Another vital alliance was that of Austria-Hungary and Germany. In July, 1914, Germany had given a Carte Blanche to Austria-Hungary, promising unconditional support in case of war. This encouraged Austro-Hungarian aggressive policies, contributing to the problems in the Balkans. France and Russia had numerous agreements, many financially based. These treaties turned anti-German as war became more and more plausible, and tied Russia and France together. The final alliance that needs mention is that of Britain and Belgium. The British public saw it as their duty to protect the Belgian people1 and, following the execution of the Schlieffen Plan in 1914, the British Government saw it as their duty to follow their agreement on protecting the neutrality of the country and joined the war.
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How far was the Boer War, 1899-1902, a turning point in the history of the British Empire
5 star(s)Moreover, the acquisition of land was seen as part of Britain's mission of 'civilising' the lesser nations through being the "world's policeman". In the traditional "Pax Britanica" view the British Empire was seen as spreading peace and prosperity around the world. This increased its domestic popularity and resulted in widespread support of imperialism. Thus, prior to the Boer War the Empire was viewed with pride, being seen as a source of economic prosperity, prestige and moral interest by all political parties as well as by general society.
- Word count: 1905
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"Asses the successes and failures of Mao's domestic policies between 1949 and 1976."
5 star(s)In 1949, Mao launched the Organic law which divided China into 6 subdivisions. Each of these were regulated by offices and bureaus, which also included officials. Force was used to achieve a certain level of stability. His second movement was the Agrarian Reform Law. The communist party workers were dispatched to each village to implement it. The land in the villages was shared between the peasants, and the peasants put the landlords on trial in the "people's courts." Many of those landlords were beaten, imprisoned or even executed after having stood accused of abusing their tenants and charging high rents for their own benefits.
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The collapse of the USSR was caused by internal problems and had nothing to do with the Cold War. Assess this view.
4 star(s)As such, this essay espouses that it was an amalgamation of both factors both within and outside the USSR that served as a foundation, catalysis, turning point and trigger that resulted in the disintegration of the USSR. The decline of the USSR which resulted in its eventual breakdown found its roots all the way back to its inception and foundation. The Soviet economic system, based on a command economy whereby the state determined its course rather than the market based economy which the rest of the world adopted was inherently flawed.
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To what extent do you accept the view that the USA and the USSR were already divided by irreconcilable differences by the end of the fighting in Europe in May 1945?
4 star(s)The two nations were already divided due to their ideological differences as highlighted in source 1 which is from the orthodox perspective. According to the USA, 'The USSR was a revolutionary state' inherently driven by Marxist-Leninist ideologies of world communist revolution. Therefore the USSR was already hostile to the west as its ideologies threatened the existence of democratic nations. The USSR was hoping to establish security along its borders by implementing soviet friendly governments which would be communist in nature. This was because the USSR perceived it to be in a 'hostile and threatening world' as outlined by source 1.
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Russell Baker's Growing Up
4 star(s)His strong aptitude for writing coupled with his early career induced knowledge of historical events provides an autobiography of not only a man, but an era. The era in which these careers emanated from was the Great Depression. Baker tells of his family's struggles and really provides the reader great understanding by recalling exact prices and so forth. He tells of a time when his stern and proud mother gave in to relief. This was what the program of government hand outs of food was known as.
- Word count: 1398
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Was the collapse of the USSR historically inevitable?
4 star(s)In order to understand the Collapse of the Soviet Union, some historical facts need to be reminded2. After the death of Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of SU. In 1956, he betrayed during the twentieth Congress of the Party the brutal and repressive policy of Stalin and began a relatively more opened policy, within and outside the Soviet Union, in spite of the repression in Budapest the same year. Nevertheless, he failed his attempts of agricultural and industrial reforms, and the fiascos of the Berlin Blockade and Cuban missiles crisis damaged the Soviet prestige.
- Word count: 1957
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To what extent was America's policy of containment successful? Use Korea, Cuba and Vietnam in your investigation.
3 star(s)North Korea was supported by Communist China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea was supported by the United States and its Western allies. Communist North Korea sought to spread its influence and control to the South. In October 1950, hostility spilled over into open warfare. North Korean troops overwhelmed the South Korean forces and by September 1950 all except a small corner of South Korea was under Communist control. Once the North Koreans invaded, the Americans with the help of their strong allies managed to push the North Koreans back and continued fighting ensured that the North Korean army lost its footing on South Korean soil.
- Word count: 1063
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Does the film 'The Battle of The Somme' provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches?
3 star(s)The government could also have only selected the views that they wanted for the film so they may have left out the gory bits and pictures showing the British Forces suffering. The way that the film portrays Equipment and Supplies can be supported by many of the sources, the sources suggest that the British had plenty of food and drink, they also show the British with high stacks of boxes full of food and drink. Some of the sources also imply that they had plenty of artillery and shells, so that they didn't run out during mid-battle, they also had a lot of guns and men ready to shoot the Germans.
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All of these factors helped to break stalemate: New Technology, The American entry into the war, the blockade of German ports and the German offensive in March 1918.How far do you agree with this statement?
3 star(s)There were only a few tanks in the Battle of the Somme and the element of surprise was wasted but the Germans didn't copy the idea until it was too late. Attacks at Cambria with the 378 Mark IV tanks without a preliminary bombardment but with a creeping barrage was a great success. The outcome of this was a 5-mile advance towards the Hindenburg line and this created a 6-mile gap. Reinforcements were out of reach for the Germans. As the British reserves were in Italy this break though could not be exploited.
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Why Did The USA Become Increasingly Involved In The Vietnam War?
3 star(s)Following the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945 near the close of World War II, the uneasy wartime alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other began to unravel. By 1948 the Soviets had installed left-wing governments in the countries of Eastern Europe that had been liberated by the Red Army. The Americans and the British feared the permanent Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and the threat of Soviet-influenced communist parties coming to power in the democracies of Western Europe.
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1938 job employment Germany
3 star(s)Goerring, the new control over trade instinctively sped up rearmament so that the import value that would have been spent on food for the people, were spent on raw materials for the army. The aim of employing the nation was a definite success, with only 0.2 million unemployed by 1938, and an overall success of 0.8 million more employed in comparison with1928. However wages for the employed steadily decreased as a percentage of national income. The Public Works Schemes brought about a large number of jobs in building of autobahns and hoems.
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Vietnam. A series of crises and events helped shape the characteristics of Ho Chi Minh. Many actions were taken by Ho Chi Minh in order to express his identity.
The partaking in battles during Japanese occupation, the first Indochina war also shows Ho Chi Minh's dedication to nationalism. The formation of yet another group, the Vietcong, was another expression of Ho's beliefs in nationalism. One event was when the Chinese ruled Vietnam for close to a thousand years, they introduced Confucianism to Vietnam. This way of life taught obedience, loyalty, and the respect for authority. It also taught that everyone had a duty their families. Ho Chi Minh was born a peasant and as his father was a nationalist, Ho Chi Minh felt being a nationalist was a duty
- Word count: 1024
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Hungarian uprising and Soviet Imperialism.
It allowed broadbased coalition governments to rule. However, by 1948, the USSR was in control of half of Europe, the Communists had succeeded in outmaneuvering all other parties in these coalition governments, and one-Party states were set up under Communist control. Leaders of opposition parties were silenced, native Communist leaders were replaced by Soviet ones. Coalition governments were replaced by 'Peoples' Democracies' under tight control from Moscow. Already in the summer of 1948, a challenge to Stalin's domination of the East had emerged from Yugoslavia.
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From Cold War to Detente 1962-1981 - Cuban crisis and international relations.
o How did the US respond to events in Cuba? America immediately imposed economic sanctions on Cuba and reduced their imports of Cuban sugar by 95%. This downward spiral in US-Cuban relations continued when Castro seized $1 billion of US assets on Cuba in Oct 1960. Bay of Pigs invasion by the US, planned by Eisenhower and carried out by Kennedy. Plan was to enable 1500 anti-Castro exiles to land on Cuba and carry out military coup to remove him.
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The Korean War represented total defeat for the Truman Doctrine? H. Brogan. How far would you agree with Brogans assessment of the Korean War?
This really isn't direct conflict, but it does show that there were elements of fighting Russia. The American's who were fighting in support of the South Korean's were fighting Russian tactics, just against North Korea instead of Russia. This weakens this point of argument, and can be interpreted as the two superpowers fighting each other, but using other countries as 'chess pieces', if you will. However, as the key aim was not to fight the USSR directly, it was successfully achieved, and H. Brogan is clearly wrong in saying that the Korean War was a total defeat for the Truman Doctrine.
- Word count: 1896
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How far do you agree that Israeli victories in successive Arab-Israeli conflicts in the years 1948-73 were primarily due to divisions amongst Arabs?
The Arab forces were disunited; this was because of a lack of coordination between the different Arab nations. The several nations were pursuing their own separate agendas, rather than merely wanting to fight against Israel together. An example of this was Jordan's Abdullah wanted to gain control of the West Bank, whilst the Egyptians who distrusted Abdullah's motives sought land in the Sinai Peninsula. The Arab states were stung by their defeat against Israel in the First Arab-Israeli War in 1949.
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The Space Race was a product of the Cold War. Two countries were involved, the United States and the Soviet Union
The United States however pursued the Soviet and was also advancing as a nation. There was however speculation on the actual start date because of the launch of a rocket the R-7 Semyorka which was launched six weeks prior that of Sputnik, so the Space Races alternate starting date was really six weeks before the launch of Sputnik (Anissimov, M 2010, para 1). The Military of both countries got involved in the Space Race instantly. To the military strategists the launch of Sputnik caused panic and was confirmation that the Communists had definitely surpassed the Capitalists.
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How important was Ideology in explaining Stalins victory in the power struggle between 1924-1928?
Trotsky's defeat was a vital part of Stalins rise to power, once he overcame him he had the power within his grasp. Trotsky was feared by all the senior members, he was in charge of the communists army and people were scaried of the fact that he may use it against them. Trotsky's defeat began when he decided not to compete for leadership, his arrogance here let him down. He assumed that because he was so good that they would simply ask him to become leader, he couldn't have been more wrong.
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To what extent was Collectivisation a success?
Another hope of Collectivisation was that it would socialise peasantry; everyone would live communally and work together in a co-operative way; everyone would live in 'Socialist agro-towns'. Socially, it can be said that, Collectivisation was a failure. It provoked much resistance and violent opposition to, and in an attempt to not hand over their crops and livestock, farmers burnt their crops and killed their livestock. Anyone who resisted became labelled a Kulak and under Stalin's 'Dekulakisation', suspected Kulaks were deported to Siberia or sent to labour camps.
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Was the February Revolution more a collapse from within?
Society was heavily skewed in favour of the peasant population, who had been responsible to the landed gentry until their emancipation in 1861. Some of these illiterate peasants did begin to move out as the country began to industrialise but the number of factory workers in 1914 was still only 2.5 million (under 2% of the population). Nostalgia for a rural past was ever present and this made the government demands of increased industrialisation an even more difficult one to bring in line with the feelings of the population.
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How did Russia change during 1881-1953?
Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. His reign saw great change to Imperial Russia as it went from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to an economic and military disaster. Under his rule, Russia was defeated in the Russian-Japanese war, which changed the economic situation of the country, going from having great economic growth due to Sergei Witte who was Russian Director of Railway Affair, he oversaw an ambitious program of railway construction which was the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway which saw Russia have significant economic growth to a country to a economic disaster.
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'Kennedy chose to increase American commitment to South Vietnam because he wanted to maintain the USA's Status as a Super-power' Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
Both countries had big stockpiles of nuclear arms during Kennedy's administration and anything that would decrease the threat of nuclear war was needed by The United States. But Super-power status comes at a price. A country only remains a super-power so long as it has a substantial military force and it is constantly pumping hundreds of millions of dollars every year into its armed forces and weapons programs. It is alot harder for a country that likes to solve things peacefully or passively to keep hold or super power status, not matter how big or rich that country is.
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To what extent was the development of the post-Stalinist thaw in superpower relations between 1953 and 1962 the result of Khrushchevs policy of peaceful coexistence?
Therefore money was diverted from social reform and more productive sectors of the economy in both the US and the USSR. All this meant that both sides were well aware of the new dangers and anxious to explore ways to contain military expenditure. Stalin's death led to a collective leadership and a struggle for power between Beria, Malenkov and Khrushchev. Peaceful Coexistence was developed out of this leadership contest as the contenders were keen to forge new policies towards the west.
- Word count: 1521
