The Soviet Impact 1

Colorado Technical University

The Soviet Impact

Group Project Essay

Gordon Neal

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

HIST 1605

Global History Since 1500

By
Sari-Marie Barnes

Colorado Springs, Colorado

April 2012
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Abstract

Write the abstract last. The abstract paragraph is "not" indented; all other paragraphs are

indented. The abstract is 120 words or less. The abstract is a brief summary about the contents of

the paper. Abstracts are similar to the preview of a paperback book on the back of the book or

the preview of a movie on the movie case; they are designed to make someone want to read the

paper.
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The Soviet Impact

The Soviet Union never expected to become part of a massive war known as World War

II. A great country, then under the rule of Stalin, would become one of the major players in the

war and win over the Germans, who led the first attacks. Aided by their allies, these events

would come to bring about another great struggle between Korea and Vietnam, The Cold War.

Germany’s Attack

On September 1st, 1939, Adolf Hitler order 1.5 million German troops to invade Poland

(History.com, 2012). Just before this event, on August 23, 1939, the Germans had signed a

nonaggression pact with the USSR (History.com, 2012). This agreement said that Poland would

be split between the two (History.com, 2012). However, on that September day, Germany led its

first attempts to cause major turmoil. Poland, who was greatly outnumbered, had its allies come

to its aid, which included Britain, France, and Russia. When June of 1941 came about, Germany

led a major attack on Russia (History.com, 2012).

Finally a Turning Point

The war took a great toll on the country of Russia. In 1942, the battle of Stalingrad would

prove their ultimate power and sacrifice to take down the Germans (Prentice Hall, 1990). This

battle was a major achievement for the USSR troops in winning against the German forces. By

May 7th, 1945, Germany admitted defeat and surrendered (Prentice Hall, 1990). The agreement

of unconditional surrender of the Germans was signed by Alfred Jodl under orders of Karl

Donitz (Chen, 2012).

Berlin

The Battle of Berlin would take many lives on both sides of the Germans and Russian

troops. The order was given by Joseph Stalin to bring in “20 armies, 8,500 aircraft, and 6,300
 The Soviet Impact 4

tanks” to Berlin (Chen, 2012). This put Soviet forces in the lead of the war. After World War II,

the Soviet Union blocked off every road and rail road that lead into Berlin (Prentice Hall, 1990).

They would later lift the blockade. Their intent would be to totally demilitarize Germany in case

of future threats, but this didn’t go over so well with other countries, especially the United States

(voyagesphotosmanu.com, 2012). When the Cold War began, the Soviet Union would have

major conflicts with their allies because they started to set up pro-Soviet powers (Prentice Hall,

1990). The conflicts would also arise due to Stalin’s refusal to the call for free elections so that

he could create a barrier between Germany and Russia in case of future attacks (Prentice Hall,

1990). Finally, a wall would be built to divide east and west Berlin in order to stop east Germans

from escaping to the west (Prentice Hall, 1990). Communist movements, aided by the Soviets,

would spread and gain control in places such as China and Southeast Asia by the late 1940s

(Prentice Hall, 1990).

Conclusion

The actions leading up to and during the Cold War, it seems, could not have been easily

avoided. Between the dividing of Berlin and their major push for their view of communism,

Russia made it difficult for conflicts to settle between allies. Their fear of other powers trying to

dominate them would become a major downfall for them and others in the Cold War.
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References

Battle Of Stalingrad. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2012, from

http://www.2worldwar2.com/stalingrad.htm

Chen, C. P. (n.d.). Battle Of Berlin. In World War II Database. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from

http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=43

Chen, C. P. (n.d.). Germany's Surrender. In World War II Database. Retrieved April 25, 2012,

from http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=152

Germans Invade Poland. (n.d.). In History. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland

The Cold War (n.d.). In voyagesphotosmanu.com. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from

http://www.voyagesphotosmanu.com/cold_war.html

WW II and the Cold War. (1990). In fresno.k12.ca.us. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from

http://www.fresno.k12.ca.us/divdept/sscience/history/wwii.cold_war.htm