And the U.S. and Germany could not agree upon what to do with Germany, so it ended up being divided: West Germany to U.S. and Great Britain and West Germany to the Soviets. I believe this was a major event that made the cold war inevitable. Both sides could not come to an agreement and this led to the Berlin Blockade. Russia was trying to starve the West Berliners and the U.S. responded by flying in supplies. The blockade was a devastating crisis that solved nothing.
* Lost terriorty in Poland & Western Russia – PG were blamed for losses just like the Tsar was when took charge. * War made finical problems – Inflation still a problem and food shortages were high. * Russia expected these things to be stored out – PG short-lived because they were full of empty promises. Promised land reform to the peasants ( made up a large amount of the population , Bolshevik priority was to keep them on their side) no action was taken * Couldn’t guarantee food supplies as because soviet controlled the railways. * Political reform also promised political reform in an attempt to stop the revolutionaries but no action was taken.
However, although these factors were important in contributing to the decline of the Provisional Government, it was ultimately their internal decisions, one deciding to continue fighting in the war, that lead to the failure of it. Actions made by the Provisional Government towards the continuation in the war can be the seen as the main reason for their failure in 1917. Many within the Provisional Government believed that it was Russia’s duty to stay in the war, in particular, the foreign minister, Paul Milyukov, strongly believed that Russia’s future lay with victory over Germany. This sparked conflict between the Soviet and the Provisional Government, as the Soviet only accepted the continuation of war to stop Germany taking over, where as the the Provisional Government had other aims to claim territory. This clash of aims created trouble for the government, as in April 1917 demonstrations in Petrograd began to stop the war.
The Germans started having second thoughts about the war and urged their ally to negotiate with Russia. Russia realized that an agreement would hurt their position in the Balkans. This basically created a stand still and the countries involved could no longer back out, The Germans started their plan to gain European dominance on July 31st. The Germans sent ultimatums to St. Petersburg and Paris telling them that the Russians need to stop mobilizing their troops and demanded a pledge of neutrality from France. They did not receive a satisfactory reply and they declared war on Russia and France.
Because of the fatigue of troops and lack of supplies the bottleneck in Liege caused, the Germans had to divert East towards the River of Marne. The decision to violate Belgian neutrality ensured British intervention to protect Belgium. This presented more problems as British troops were aiding France in their conquest to expel the German belligerents. The diversion and Allied support prevented Germany from capturing France and started the Battle of Marne which ultimately caused the stalemate on the Western Front. Another cause of the stalemate on the Western Front was Germany underestimation of Russia’s mobilisation speed.
Clemenceau resented Wilson’s generous attitude towards Germany and Lloyd George’s desire to not treat Germany too harshly. He said “if they British are so anxious to appease Germany they should look overseas and make colonial, naval or commercial concessions”. These disagreements left the big three unsatisfied and ultimately left them with a weak mere shadow of a perhaps great treaty due to their own arrogance and. It contained many faults and weaknesses. The treaty of Versailles greatly humiliated Germany forcing it to accept soul responsibility for the war.
Stalin was worried by the idea of a successful anti-communist government in the west of Germany. Stalin who now wanted to think of a plan to stop the success of the US decided to block off the area of West Berlin. However this threat to Stalin was even harsher due to the Truman Doctrine and containment. Due to the high pressure that the US held over the Soviet Union the idea of success for the US penetrated throughout the whole of the Soviet Union and Russia. Outraged by Western plans to create an independent West Germany, Soviet forces imposed a blockade cutting off rail, highway, and water traffic between West Germany and West Berlin.
Americans had hated and feared Communism ever since it had appeared in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and had refused to recognize the new Soviet government, especially after Bolshevik leaders promoted the destruction of capitalism. During World War II, Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill delayed their decision to open a second front, which would have distracted the Nazis and taken pressure off the Red Army entrenched at Stalingrad. Stalin resented this delay, just as he resented the fact that the United States and Great Britain refused to share their nuclear weapons research with the Soviet Union. After the war, Truman’s decision to give Great Britain relief loans while denying similar requests from the USSR only added to the resentment. Another major factor contributing to the Cold War was the fact that the United States and USSR were the only two powers to escape World War II relatively unharmed.
The war between the two countries could not be contained to just them alone due to an alliance system that linked certain countries together by pledge to back each other in time of war. This caused a chain reaction forcing Russia, France, and Great Britain to go to war with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. During this time the United States remained neutral because they believed it was a European matter and we wanted to continue trading with those nations at war. The United States became less neutral in the war and more supportive of the allies side following several events with Germany. German U-boats sank British passenger liners killing Americans.
Peacemaking and the League of Nations 1) The French leader, Clemenceau, saw the oppportunity at the Treaty of Versailles to cripple Germany so it could not attack France again. Describe how the Treaty of Versailles weakened Germany. (4marks) It weakened Germany through the loss of territory, restricted armed forces and economics such as the loss of the Saar and the reparations Germany had to pay. 2) 'I do not suppose that in the history of the Assembly there was ever a more difficult moment for a speech and a discussion. The world is worried about the Abyssinian Crisis and there are strong feelings on both sides.