Essay: Cold War Weaponry: United States vs Soviet Union

Shortly after the end of World War 2, the Cold War started against the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States mainly focused on capitalism and to rebuild the world after World War 2. The Soviet Union was a communist county, that only wanted to spread communism and to develop their military. The Cold War was based on ideology between these two superpowers. The Cold War got its name because both countries were afraid of fighting one another. Also both superpower had nuclear weapons that might destroy everything. This paper is about how the United States Weaponry and Tactics are superior than the Soviet Union.
The arms race was a key factor of the Cold War, but mainly focused on the development of the atomic bomb. The United States had developed the first atomic bomb in The Manhattan Project and used it against Japan to end World War 2, in 1945. But the Soviets quickly got their atomic bomb in 1949, because of Soviet spies in The Manhattan Project, that gave information of the development of the atomic bomb to the Soviets. That is when the nuclear arms race had begun. Quickly both United States and the Soviet Union increased their supply of nuclear weapons and upgrading them into hydrogen bombs that can produce more destruction. Later in the Cold War both superpowers were developing their own intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) usually having multiple nuclear warheads.
The United States had a formidable military at the end of World War 2 and the start of Cold War. They still have the most powerful navy and created one of the most powerful bombs the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb later in the Cold War. As it was explained by Igor Markov (2016):
“The US had the strongest Navy and dominated both the Pacific and the “Atlantic uncontested; this didn’t change throughout the Cold War, even though naval technologies changed a lot (nuclear subs, etc), and the USSR invested heavily in surface and submarine navies.”
The US military also came up with more technological advancements, like the Phantom F-4 came out in 1958 it was a revolutionary design. The twin engines design gave the aircraft excellent speed, and moving the plane over twice the speed of sound at a speed of 1,473 mph. The US also upgraded their submarines like the USS George Washington which was made extra long to contain 16 nuclear missiles. The USS George Washington was the first ballistic nuclear missile submarine that was launched in 1959. Before the USS George Washington the only way to deliver a nuclear missile was by the B-29 heavy bomber.
The United States was the most powerful nation at this time. The most important tactic of the United States was to condense the communist threat. There are four important strategic policies that the United States produced to defend itself and its Allies after World War 2. These strategies are the Containment Policy, Flexible Response, Marshall Plan, and Strategic Defense Initiative. The Containment Policy was to limit the communist expansion during the Cold War. The Flexible Response was a defense policy developed in the early 1960s was to balance nuclear and conventional forces in order to give U.S. war planners more options in the event of a limited war. The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, this was to help the European countries to recover after the destruction and death of World War 2. The Strategic Defense Initiative is a program for research and development of a space based system to defend the US from being attacked by ballistic missiles. Also there are six major strategies that the US proposed and they were: Brinkmanship (a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, typically in politics), Espionage, Foreign aid, Alliances, Propaganda, and Proxy wars.
But the Soviet Union quickly caught up by creating their own atomic bomb and developing new Soviet technology like the T-55 Tank and the AK-47.
Mizokami (2016) study found the following:
“The most exported tank of the Cold War, the Soviet T-55 is also one of the most recognizable. Introduced shortly after the end of World War II, the T-55 replaced the venerable T-34 (or T-85) tank as the mainstay of the Soviet armor corps. The T-55 has served in numerous high-intensity conflicts, particularly the Arab-Israeli wars from 1967 to 1982.”
Also keeping control of Eastern Europe and putting in a puppet government to increase their control and pro-communist values. Stalin called these countries a buffer zone for defense against the US and its allies. The Soviets had in advantage in Europe according to Markov (2016), as it is explained here,
“As of 1945, the USSR had the strongest conventional land-based military and, after the US withdrew most of its troops, essentially dominated in Europe (the US returned some of the troops, but the USSR still held vast numerical advantage, especially in tanks).”
After repeated nuclear test by the Soviet in the 1950s, is the development of these nuclear bombs are growing everyday by trying to outdo the Americans. According to Kaiser’s (1977), study found the following:
“In the past five years, the enemy has added more than 3,000 nuclear warheads to its intercontinental missile force. It has added alarming new technology to its major weapons systems, so they are now vastly more accurate, more lethal and easier to defend than they were just a few years ago.”
The Soviet Union also had political policies in Eastern Europe like, Satellite States, the Iron Curtain, and how they used communism to takeover countries like Czechoslovakia in 1948. Also having alliances, the Soviet’s made up the Warsaw Pact after the US created NATO. A Satellite State is a country that was independent but now under heavy political, and military influence by a different country like the Soviet Union. The Soviet’s used this type of policy like countries like Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Romania this would consisted of the Warsaw Pact. This was also called, the iron curtain, this was a barrier, separating the Soviet Union and the US and its European allies. The iron curtain was used to create a buffer between NATO and the Soviet Union. If there was a war their was so much land to cover to get to Moscow and the distance of ballistic missiles the closes the US can put them was in Italy. The Soviet Union also used Propaganda to shift the views of people. Ether be misleading a cause or a group of people. They also used propaganda to scare their people and used it against the people in the United States.
In Conclusion, the United States tactics and weaponry are superior than the Soviet Union. The United States has a strong economy and political strength and can last for a long time. The Soviet Union socialistic economy can’t maintain the growth with the United States. The Soviet leadership was worsening after Stalin died and getting weaker grasp on the Soviet people. The United States had a short term and long term tragedy to face against the communist. The Soviet Union only had short term plan, if they keep Stalin’s plan and not easing up and not having looser control of its people, it might of been a longer Cold War. Mikhail Gorbachev was the last president of the Soviet Union, and had socialist ideals and believed in significant reform also to end the Cold War with the United States.