The Cold War Thread

[henryf]

I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.

Eight words from the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. Uttered as the thoughts of a man who was in charge of an experiment that changed the world for ever.

E=mc2 is a formula probably known to a lot of people, but few quite realise its full implications. Yet on August 6, 1945, 0.6 grams of matter converted to energy completely destroyed the city of Hiroshima and killed 100,000 people.

That explosion and its successor brought an end to the Second World War in the Far East, and, I suppose, started the Cold War. Sadly once the genie is released, it is impossible to force it back into the bottle.

These days, nuclear power is used for peaceful purposes, but as the accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima demonstrate, nothing is truly safe. It can't be reversed, but hopefully, lessons will be learned.

Not sure this was the right place to post this, but it started here.

[tygrkhat40]

Originally Posted by henryf

That explosion and its successor brought an end to the Second World War in the Far East, and, I suppose, started the Cold War. Sadly once the genie is released, it is impossible to force it back into the bottle.

I would argue that the Cold War began even before the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When Truman took office, he quickly got up to speed on the relationship between the Allies. He realized that Stalin for the most part was agreeing to things in the conferences, but he was going to do as he pleased.

This is most illustrated in the now famous (infamous?) exchange between Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov and President Truman. Truman berated Molotov about how agreements weren't being kept and Molotov said that he had never been talked to like that in his life. (Remember, this is a man who worked for Joseph Stalin.) Truman's reply was that if you kept your agreements, you wouldn't be.

This was before the Hiroshima bomb was dropped and there were differences in the Truman cabinet as to how the new weapons would be used not only to end the war but to use as a card in the game of International Diplomacy. Some wanted to use the bomb as a threat to the Soviets; keep your agreements or else; some wanted to share the nuclear secrets with the Soviets as a show of trust. However, due to the real soldiers of the Cold War, the spies, Stalin was just as up to date with the research as the top brass in the US were.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

However, due to the real soldiers of the Cold War, the spies, Stalin was just as up to date with the research as the top brass in the US were.

Hehehe!

Actually, Stalin was more up to date than nearly all of them. He knew about the bomb many months before Truman did

[palo5]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

He realized that Stalin for the most part was agreeing to things in the conferences, but he was going to do as he pleased

This is a matter of interpretation. What agreements did he not keep?

[tygrkhat40]

Well, the one about free elections in Poland.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

Well, the one about free elections in Poland.

The Allies recognized the "Lublin" Government in 1945, and there were elections in 1947

I know The West was disappointed with the result, but Poland was lucky not to be in Central/South America, like Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The people of Poland received enough coal, food and security, and did not have to fear daily death on the street like the above countries

[rupertramjet]

The British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to The Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS)

As we seem to be getting involved with the cold War, I thought this might prove of some interest, richarddoe, mentioned the RAF Chipmunks in an earlier post, and I will not go to much into the RAF here, rather stick to what I know, the Army.

As the War ended an agreement was made for the four zones and a form of liaison was seen as necessary. A Military Liaison Team was seen as an ideal solution.

The reciprocal agreement establishing the first of these, between the British and Soviet zones – the Robertson-Malinin Agreement – was reached on 16 September 1946 between the respective chiefs of staff. Subsequent agreements in 1947 led to the exchange of similar missions between the Soviet zone and those controlled by French and US forces, although the British–Soviet arrangement was significantly larger than either of the others, with 31 individuals allowed passes in each case.

The British Mission comprised members of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force who conducted uniformed liaison activities in marked cars and in two Chipmunk light aircraft – the latter ostensibly to allow aircrew to maintain crew currency while posted to the Mission.

BRIXMIS maintained a permanent presence in its nominal home, the Mission House in Potsdam, East Germany, but its actual headquarters and operational centre were in West Berlin. These were located in London Block, a part of the Olympic Stadium complex which housed the military government of the British Sector of Berlin.

The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 simply returned the situation to what it had been before its erection in 1961, and the need for liaison and the gathering of intelligence became no less pressing. The agreements therefore remained in place until 2 October 1990, when all three were suspended on the eve of Reunification.

While BRIXMIS formally disbanded on 31 December 1990, a small number of its staff remained to conduct similar operations covertly and without the quasi-diplomatic immunity of the Robertson-Malinin Agreement during the course of the next three years. The rationale for this 'son-of-BRIXMIS' unit is as curious as the paradox of the liaison-spying roles of the previous 45 years. In 1990, the fact remained that the West could not be certain that the Soviet Union would fully withdraw from the now united Germany.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by rupertramjet

As the War ended an agreement was made for the four zones and a form of liaison was seen as necessary. A Military Liaison Team was seen as an ideal solution.

You realize that was a diplomatic joke, I hope

[richardoe]

I knew a Warrant Officer in the RAF (well I knew him to speak to) hed done a tour with BRIXMIS, and he was in one of their cars that was in an RTA with an East German police car. Of course it was an accident!!! By the way theres a BRIXMIS car on display at the cold war museum at Cosford.

Perhaps we need a cold war thread?

[palo5]

Originally Posted by richardoe

I
Perhaps we need a cold war thread?

Hehehe!

Good idea. Some anecdotes could be amusing