Why did the Grand Alliance Breakdown?
Formation of the Grand Alliance
Wartime Disagreements
The Tehran Conference - November 1943
How did the Tehran Conference effect Superpower Relations?
- 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the USSR with Japan and declared war on USA
- Despite long-term differences, USSR, UK and USA formed a military alliance (Grand Alliance)
- Suspicions remained throughout the war
- Met at 3 conferences during war:
- Tehran, 1943
- Yalta, 1945
- Potsdam, 1945 - Disagreements emerged over Germany, Poland and Eastern Europe about economic reconstruction and nuclear weapons
- After the war they were still unsolved - 1946, Grand Alliance broken down completely
Formation of the Grand Alliance
- June 1941, Nazi Germany launched "Operation Barbarossa"
- Invasion of USSR
- Britain and USA immediately began supplying the USSR - USA was not involved in war at this time
- Churchill met with President Franklin Roosevelt to persuade USA to join war - Agreed on a policy statement, "Atlantic Charter".
- 8 principles of Atlantic Charter defined the allied goals for the post-war world, presenting the unity of Britain and USA
- September 1941, USSR and other countries fighting against Germany agreed to the principles set out in the Charter
- This was however not a formal alliance - Changed in December 1941
- Japan and Germany declared war on USA
- Brought USA into conflict - January 1942, Allies issued a joint "Declaration by United Nations"
- Military union between the USA, UK and USSR became known as the "Grand Alliance"
- A "marriage of convenience," because all three had a common enemy
- Shaky foundations
- United the world's greatest capitalist state, the greatest communist state and the greatest colonial power
Wartime Disagreements
- The Second Front: Stalin demanded the the Allies open a "second front" in Western Europe to relieve pressure of the USSR
- USSR faced over 80% of all Nazi military resources
- 1942 and 1943, UK and USA decided to invade North Africa and Italy
- Delays made Stalin suspicious, made him believe that the Allies wanted USSR to weaken
- Second Front opened with the D-Day Landings in France June 1944
- 228 Axis divisions on the eastern front compared to 61 divisions in Western Europe - Ideological Suspicious: Despite agreeing to the principles of the Atlantic Charter with the West, Stalin had concerns over Roosevelt's foreign policy
- Roosevelt's "Open Door" policy was based on "free" world trade and "equal" access to raw materials
- Stalin feared this would only benefit capitalist countries like USA
- Allies attempted to resolve their differences at the 3 wartime conferences
- Failure of conferences would ultimately lead to the Cold War
The Tehran Conference - November 1943
- Attended by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt
- Fair success
- Roosevelt and Stalin seemed to work reasonably well
- As the war progressed, a gap emerged between Stalin's post-war aims and those of the Western powers
- Debates
- States of War, 1943, Allies winning
- Germans in retreat on the Eastern Front
- UK and USA had invaded North Africa and Italy and the Pacific
- Stalin still demanded the creation of a Second Front in Western Europe
- Germany, Debates over what to do with Germany
- Differences stemmed from wartime experiences
- "Lessons" from the failure of the Treaty of Versailles and differing ideologies
- Only agreed that "unconditional surrender" was the objective
- Date set of the Second Front, June 1944 - Poland, Stalin's concern for "security" led him to demand territory from Poland and a pro-soviet government
- USSR could keep territory seized in 1939
- Poland would be compensated with land from Germany - Eastern Europe, Soviets demanded the right to keep territory they had seized between 1939-40 (Baltic States, Finland, Romania)
- USA and UK agreed - Japan, The USA and UK tried to convince Stalin to open up a Soviet "second front" in Asia
- Stalin refused until the war with Germany was won - The UN, British and Soviets agreed in principle to the US idea of a new international organisation to be established after the war
- It would settle international disputes through collective security - Conclusions, the main positive outcomes included: agreement on the United Nations and on the need for a weak post-war Germany
How did the Tehran Conference effect Superpower Relations?
- The Yalta Conference - Feb 1945:
- Second conference was held in February 1945 at Yalta on the Black Sea in the USSR
- Same leaders attended this conference
- Stalin's position was strengthened by the fact that the Red Army occupied most of Eastern Europe
- Seemed more willing to be assertive
- Time of the conference, clear that Stalin was already going back on his word
- Began supporting communist groups across Eastern Europe - Debates:
- State of the War:
- Germany was on verge of being defeated
- Second Front had begun with the Normandy Landings in 1944
- Allies ready to invade Germany itself
- Japanese preparing for the invasion of their homeland
- Germany:
- Decided that Germany would be disarmed, demilitarised, de-Nazified and divided into four zones
- Division would be temporary
- Germany was to be run as "one country"
- Allied Control Commission (ACC) would govern Germany
- Stalin demanded repartions
- $20 billion, 50% to USSR