Disputes at Yalta and Potsdam were more important than previous war-time disagreements in the collapse of the Grand Alliance in 1945. How far do you agree with this view?

Yet there are other factors to consider; the discussions over the second front for example were fairly disruptive. Stalin eagerly awaited the opening of a second front to relieve some of the pressure off the Red Army; yet hesitation from the other allies created huge strains in the alliance. Stalin felt that the fighting was been left for Russia and the theory that the West was leaving Communism to destroy itself soon emerged. Stalin first asked Churchill for a Second Front in 1941, 3 years later he was still waiting with growing suspicions; Revisionist historians would sympathise with his wait empathising the abandonment by Churchill and Roosevelt. The Orthadox view would be that timing was crucial for the second front to be successful; either way there is not doubt that the question of the second front was an important disagreement between the Grand Alliance.

It is important not to disregard other conflicts when considering the collapse of the Grand Alliance. An extremely important one is the ever present clash of ideologies; Marxism-Leninism “the origins of the Cold War lay in the hostility between these two competing views” S. Phillips. The vast contrasts of the USSR and the USA are reflected in the ideas and personalities that their leaders had and despite mutual respect they held many felt a clash between the two great powers to be inevitable. Tension rose and contributed to the deterioration of the alliance.

Britain had officially gone to war against Germany in 1939 to uphold the independence of Poland; making this country’s fate one of the utmost significance. The USSR was not prepared to see an unfriendly Government in Poland because of its vital position; it had been the route of three invasions of Russia in the twentieth Century. USSR’s particular interest in Poland worried the other allies creating huge strains in the grand alliance. Events in the Katyn forest only made this tension worse; in April 1943 the traditional hostility between Poles and Soviets came to fore when 10,000 Polish officers were found slaughtered; suspicion fell upon Soviet troops. More importantly perhaps was the events during the Warsaw Rising; with the German army retreating in the east, on the 1st August the Poles saw an opportunity to liberate the city before the arrival of Soviet troops. The Soviet army however halted its advance against the Germans and Poland was crushed and left defenceless; creating the perfect opportunity for Stalin to impose a settlement on Poland more to his liking. The Orthodox view would condemn Stalin for such a heartless act that created a huge disagreement possibly causing the collapse of the Grand Alliance in 1945.

One issue that has not been mentioned is possibly the most important; suspicion seems to be a clear underpinning factor to all these disagreements that ultimately lead to the collapse of the Grand Alliance. Each of the events prior to, during and post-war have all increased suspicions that the USA and USSR were harbouring. Stalin was wary from the beginning after America’s intervention of the Civil War that only just placed the Bolsheviks in power. The show trials illustrated the aggressive nature of Russia’s government this combined with the information leaking from Riga created huge suspicions towards the USSR These foundations of tension were built up with further suspicions on deciding the second front, the clash of Marxism and Leninism, decisions made at Yalta and Potsdam, and the idea that a clash was inevitable. Thus this leads to the conclusion that all the factors played a part and that it was ultimately suspicion that heightened each situation so much that the Grand Alliance collapsed in 1945.