English
Cold War by Directorate of Media Affairs from Wikimedia Commons
10 Things to know about the Arms Race during the Cold War
In order to attain military and political superiority over one another, two or more countries engage in an arms race by expanding their military budgets and capabilities. Other arms races have taken place, frequently with disastrous results, but the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union may have been the biggest and most expensive.
Here are 10 things you need to know about the arms race during the Cold War.
1. The Industrial Revolution contributed to the arms race
Powerloom by Illustrator T. Allom, Engraver J. Tingle from Wikimedia Commons
New weapons, notably greatly enhanced warships, were made possible by the Industrial Revolution. The spread of British colonialism was halted in the late nineteenth century by the development of strong armies in France and Russia. Britain strengthened the Royal Navy in response to regain control of the seas.
By signing two distinct accords, Britain was able to end its armaments race with France and Russia. But in an effort to rival Britain’s naval hegemony and become a major power, Germany had also significantly increased its military capabilities and spending. Germany built a fleet of dreadnought-class warships of its own in response to Britain’s, and the naval standoff persisted as both countries built bigger and better ships out of fear of the other launching an attack.
However, Britain prevailed in the alleged Anglo-German Arms Race because Germany was unable to keep up. Despite not being the direct cause of World War I, the battle did contribute to the escalation of tensions and mistrust between Germany, Britain, and other European nations.
2. At some point, some countries promised to stop participating in the race
World War I by Heiddy2 from Wikimedia Commons
Following World War I, numerous nations expressed an interest in armaments control. In his historic 1918 Fourteen Points address, in which he outlined his plan for postwar peace, President Woodrow Wilson set the precedent by making it a central theme.
A convention limiting weaponry was agreed upon by the United States, Britain, and Japan at the Washington Naval Conference (1921–1922), but Japan decided not to extend the accord in the mid–the 1930s. The Treaty of Versailles was also broken by Germany, which started to rearm.
As a result, a new weapons race between Japan and the United States and between Germany, France, and Britain began in Europe and spread to the Pacific, sparking the commencement of World War II.
3. Cold War nuclear arms race officially started in 1949
The Royal Air Force by Air Ministry from Wikimedia Commons
Despite their shaky cooperation during World War II, the US and the Soviet Union’s relationship deteriorated after Nazi Germany’s capitulation in May 1945. The Soviet Union disliked the United States’ geopolitical intervention and America’s own military buildup, and the United States kept a careful eye on the Soviet Union’s desire for global supremacy as they increased their strength and influence over Eastern Europe.
Despite informing the Soviet Union that they had developed an atomic bomb, the United States kept them in the dark about their plans to drop one on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, which only served to increase mistrust.
The United States produced additional nuclear weapons to help thwart Soviet communist expansion. The Cold War nuclear arms race began in 1949, however, when the Soviet Union conducted its own atomic bomb test. The Soviet Union imitated this in 1953 after the United States retaliated in 1952 by conducting tests of the extremely deadly hydrogen “super bomb.” Following the first intercontinental ballistic missile tests conducted by both nations four years later, the arms race reached a scary new pitch.
4. The US and Russia had a space race
Sputnik by NASA from Wikimedia Commons
As the Cold War armaments competition quickly turned into the Space Race, the Soviet Union’s launch of the first Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957, shocked and alarmed the United States and the rest of the world.
In an effort to avoid falling behind, President Dwight D. Eisenhower funnelled public monies into the American space programme while also attempting to temper the rhetoric around the launch’s accomplishment. On January 31, 1958, the United States launched its first satellite into space successfully after a string of setbacks and failures. Thereafter, both nations engaged in a race to develop the most advanced weaponry and surveillance systems possible.
5. The United States was highly threatened by the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union had superior missile capabilities that, if launched, could not be defended against, and this belief spread throughout the 1950s in the United States. The Missile Gap theory was ultimately proven false by the CIA, but not before it caused U.S. leaders great alarm.
In the 1960 presidential election, the Missile Gap was a popular talking subject among politicians. Nevertheless, the United States’ missile capability at the time was superior to that of the Soviet Union. The two nations’ arsenals increased to well over 10,000 warheads over the course of the following three decades, though.
6. John F. Kennedy’s attempted coup in Cuba was feared to start a nuclear war
After the failed coup attempt against Fidel Castro by the John F. Kennedy administration in 1962, the Cold War armaments race reached a breaking point, and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev enacted a covert deal to station Soviet warheads in Cuba to thwart future coup attempts.
U.S. intelligence discovered missile bases being built in Cuba, therefore the country was placed under a blockade and the Soviet Union was ordered to destroy the bases and remove any nuclear weapons. As Kennedy and Khrushchev exchanged letters and made demands, the tense Cuban Missile Crisis stalemate continued and intensified.
The crisis was resolved amicably, but both sides, as well as the American people, had been bracing for nuclear war and began to doubt the need for weapons that promised “mutually assured destruction.”
7. Underground shelters were created during the arms race
The Cold War came to an end in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, the US and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987 to limit the scope and reach of all sorts of missiles.
Other deals, including the START 1 pact in 1991 and the New START treaty in 2011, attempted to decrease both countries’ ballistic weapons capabilities even further.
However, the US withdrew from the INF accord in 2019, claiming that Russia was not complying. Despite the fact that the Cold War between the United States and Russia is finished, many claims that the arms race is not.
Other countries, such as India and Pakistan, North Korea and South Korea, and Iran and China, have increased their military capabilities and are either in or about to enter a modern-day arms race.
8. Countries had agreed that they could destroy each other in case of war
Mutual Assured Destruction, or MAD, was a major factor in the Cold War. This meant that in the event of an attack, both countries could destroy the other. No matter how successful the initial strike was, the opposing side could still retaliate and destroy the country that launched the initial attack. As a result, neither side has ever used nuclear weapons. The price was prohibitively expensive.
9. The Soviet Union’s first nuclear weapon test was in Kazakhstan
At a test range in Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear weapon. Most US intelligence assessments at the time estimated that Moscow would not have such technology for at least three years.
10. The Arms Race is not completely over
The Cold War ended in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987 to limit the range and capability of all types of missiles.
Other deals, including the START 1 pact in 1991 and the New START treaty in 2011, attempted to decrease both countries’ ballistic weapons capabilities even further. However, the US withdrew from the INF accord in 2019, claiming that Russia was not complying. Despite the fact that the Cold War between the United States and Russia is finished, many claims that the arms race is not.
Other countries, such as India and Pakistan, North Korea and South Korea, and Iran and China, have increased their military capabilities and are either in or about to enter a modern-day arms race.
