The Cold War

 

The Cold War

The Cold War was a conflict between two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union  (USSR), and their respective allies. Historians usually agree that the Cold War  began between 1947 and 1948, with the introduction of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan and ended with the  Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.

The Cold War is, therefore, better defined as a long period of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The purpose of the conflict for either side was to spread their ideologies throughout the world. The goal of the US was to promote open-market capitalism, and the USSR aimed to spread one-party state communism.

Britain wasn't a main player in the Cold War, but as we will see through our timeline, its alliance with the United States made it a participant nonetheless.

We can divide Britain’s role in the Cold War into two periods: its involvement in the earlier years and in the later years of the conflict.

In the early stages, Britain participated in the creation of the Truman Doctrine, it fought against the communists in Greece, Germany, and Korea during the Korean War, and it started to work on creating its own nuclear weapons.

In the later stages of the conflict, Britain continued to support the US’ Cold War efforts in the Vietnam War. Margaret Thatcher also played a significant role in bringing about the end of the Cold War during those years.