Cold War Origins
You'll notice the Cold War didn't start immediately after World War II - it developed gradually as trust broke down between former allies. The Grand Alliance between Britain, USA, and Soviet Union began cracking at conferences like Yalta and Potsdam in 1945, where leaders couldn't agree on Europe's future.
The real tensions exploded in 1946-1947 with competing telegrams and speeches. Truman's Doctrine and the Marshall Plan showed America's commitment to stopping communist expansion, whilst Stalin responded with his own economic bloc, Comecon. Germany became the first major flashpoint - divided into zones, then separate countries by 1949.
The arms race intensified everything, with both sides developing increasingly powerful weapons. From atomic bombs in the 1940s to ICBMs in the 1950s, each breakthrough raised the stakes. Major crises like the Berlin Wall (1961) and Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) brought the world dangerously close to nuclear war.
Remember: The Berlin Wall and Cuban Missile Crisis are often the most heavily tested topics from this period - know the key dates and outcomes!
