Who was winston churchill cold war1/11/2024 ![]() Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. ![]() But most historians would agree that a key event in the emerging Cold War was Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron curtain’ speech delivered on 5 March 1946 in Fulton, Missouri:įrom Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Historians are still debating exactly why (and exactly when) the Cold War began. These tensions would eventually develop into the Cold War. Within a short time, the differences and tensions between the former allies became increasingly significant. By September 1945 all of the Axis powers were defeated and the war was over. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)ĭuring the Second World War Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union had fought as a Grand Alliance against the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan). Known as his 'Sinews of Peace' address, the speech is best known for Churchill's use of the term 'Iron Curtain' in the context of Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. The Cold War was now a reality.Churchill and the Cold War: Why did Churchill make his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech in 1946?īritish statesman Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) giving a speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, USA, 5th March 1946. Churchill, alone amongst Western leaders, appreciated the Soviet threat, and it was only a matter of months before the Americans themselves woke up to the threat from Stalin and consulted the British military about a new war plan. In July 1945 a General Election removed him from office and the plan for ‘Operation Unthinkable’ was but away in the bottom drawer. The Americans had just successfully tested an atomic bomb, and there was now the final temptation of obliterating Soviet centres of population.īut Churchill’s political days were numbered. There were numerous flashpoints around Europe, where Allied troops were face-to-face with the Red Army and any of these confrontations could have sparked another world conflict. The ghosts of Hitler and Napoleon were never far away.Įventually in June 1945 Churchill’s military advisors cautioned him against implementing the plan, but it still remained a blueprint for a Third World War. But the plan was fraught with danger and the Allied force risked being dragged deeper into Soviet territory to face the nightmare of fighting in a Russian winter. They aimed to push them back out of Soviet-occupied East Germany and Poland, give Stalin and bloody nose, and force him to re-consider his domination of East Europe. The plan called for a massive Allied assault on 1 July 1945 by British, American, Polish and German – yes German – forces against the Red Army. ![]() Furthermore, demobilisation would start after VE Day and would rapidly reduce the size of the British Army and their capacity for offensive action. ![]() The United States were about to move vast numbers of their troops and ordnance out to the Far East for the assault on mainland Japan, leaving Western Europe at the mercy of Stalin. If Churchill wanted to act, he knew that time was running out. Churchill felt particularly guilty over the fate of the Poles, who had fought valiantly for the Allies during the war but whose future was now dictated by Stalin. ![]() The detailed proposal, which may seem fanciful today, sought to claw back East Germany and Poland, which had fallen under Soviet domination. The top secret plan was so sensitive that only Churchill’s immediate circle of military advisors were privy to the blueprint. So concerned was the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, that in the spring of that year he ordered his Chiefs of Staff to prepare a plan, ‘Operation Unthinkable’ to attack the Soviet Empire. 1945 was the year when Europe was the crucible for a Third World War. If you thought the Cold War between East and West reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, then think again. ![]()
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