POST-WWII DEVELOPMENTS Major Rascon

SOURCES Jones, The Art of War in the Western World, pp. 596-612 Preston and Wise, Men In Arms, pp. 331-354 Weigley, American Way of War, pp. 363-381

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Comprehend the origins of the Cold War and the emergence of the United States as the Dominant military power. 2. Know the evolution of the National Security Act of 1947.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Assess the impact of potential nuclear proliferation on the U.S. defense policy. 4. Explain the origins of the Truman Doctrine and NSC-68.

END OF WWII War becomes total and universal War deaths total 22 million New nations formed Weapons developed require moral considerations

SCIENTISTS ENGAGED Many new developments occurred Proximity fuse RADAR RDX (TNT x 2)

ATOMIC REVOLUTION A-bomb marked a new era Exponential jump in weapon’s killing effectiveness Catalyst of the cold war Introduced the idea of deterrence

ATOMIC REVOLUTION (cont) Strategic bombing became dominant form of war U.S. favored manned bomber delivery Target selection became an issue Offense had decisive advantage -first strike wins

RUSSIAN A-BOMB Late 1949 – Citizen Kurchatov Caused U.S. to develop a more appropriate deterrence policy U.S. forced to take the possibility of total war seriously

COLD WAR BEGINS Russian Deterrence- unwilling to live and let live Russians ideology consisted of one goal -world domination American Deterrence Isolation and political liberation Let live as long as security was not threatened

Capitalism and Communism Collide After WWII, world was divided into two camps…. World nations had no choice but to align with one or the other Eisenhower- “Two atomic powers eye each other across a defenseless world.”

TENSION MOUNTS Attitude between countries descriptive of the term Cold War War fought not directly with weapons Indirectly with subversion and espionage Robert Phillip Hansen

RUSSIAN ATTEMPTS Soviet blockade of West Berlin 1948 Russian suppression of the Hungarian revolt 1958 Communist insurgents attempt to overthrow the Govt. in Greece

WESTERN RESPONSES Allied planes fly over the blockade to supply West Berlin by air U.S. alerts world that Russia had not abandoned Marxism America advertises help to any nation that faces communist aggression

TRUMAN DOCTRINE Isolation policy changed to “containment” President Truman promises aid to any country fighting communism Free states want guarantees                                               

NATO FORMED Suggestion of Canadian Prime Minister Laurent Nine like minded countries Mutual guarantees against aggression

MARSHALL PLAN 1946 – Plan to economically aid countries devastated by the war Offered to Russia but was refused Arguably the most effective weapon in the Cold War

JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF Created by Roosevelt Helped him direct the war Everyone soon realized something else needed to be done                                            

NATIONAL SECURITY ACT 1947 War revealed that major revisions of the armed forces were necessary for efficiency Army and Navy functioned as separate entities Emergence of the Air Force as its own service made restructuring vital

REASONS AGAINST UNIFICATION ARMY Combat effectiveness Military Control COMPETITION OF THE MARINE CORPS NAVY Combat effectiveness Organizational effectiveness NAVY/USMC must remain paired

TRUMAN SETTLES DEBATE Three departments headed by civilian secretaries (Air, Navy, War) Secretary of Defense to coordinate and oversee CIA and NSC were also created Marine Corps receives it’s mission!

MORE SERVICE SQUABBLES Conflicts arose among services and government on how to prepare for the next war What weapons should be developed? What is our overall military strategy?

FACTORS TO CONSIDER Chinese communist had defeated Nationalists and controlled the mainland Soviets achieved nuclear status Fusion Bomb pursuit? Navy-Air Force dispute over carriers or bombers Survey of European defenses showed unprepared and weak

NSC-68 Stressed the need for conventional military Reasoned settlement with Russia unlikely Found U.S. could spend nearly 20% of the GNP on rearming Predicted U.S. deterrence would be offset by Russian capabilities Implementation of NSC-68 marked the beginning of the current U.S. military strategy

SUMMARY Atomic revolution Cold War Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan NATO JCS National Security Act NSC-68

QUESTIONS?