in response to the creation of NATO, the soviet union created warsaw pack. why did they feel they needed protection for NATO?
137988
NATO stated that an attack on one member state would be treated as an attack on all member states.  Specifically targeted at the USSR because European nations felt threatened.  As a result, USSR created its own alliance.
328051
To answer your questions in order:\n\nYes, the Soviet Union (which included Russia) was an ally of the US and the British.  The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also called the Soviet Union.  Russia was a part of the USSR, but wasn't called Russia then), led by Stalin, signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler (leader of Germany).  This was in force until Hitler broke it and invaded the Soviet Union.  Stalin was taken unawares and unprepared, so Hitler did well at first.  Stalin therefore allied with the British and the US to fight the Germans.  The "cold war" didn't start until after WWII During the jostling for control over the states freed from the Nazis. \n\n*****\n\nThe USSR and the Japanese didn't work together.  The war in Europe against Germany) ended sooner than that in Japan (May 8, 1945 for Germany’s surrender and August 15, 1945 for Japan’s) and the USSR was free to declare war on Japan, which it did.  This was one of the reasons that the US dropped nuclear bombs on Japan.  It wanted to end the war before the Soviet Union forces entered the fighting, who would then stay and have control in that country and region.  \n\nAfter WWII Germany was divided into two halves, appropriately called West and East Germany.  The US, the United Kingdom (the British) and France controlled the West.  The Soviet Union controlled the East.  Germany was two different countries.  The US, UK and France set up a democracy in the West and then left (although the US left troops to guard against an attack from the Soviet Union, and many are still stationed there.  Now the bases are used as staging grounds for operations in the Afghanistan and Iraq).  The country they created was called the Federal Republic of Germany.\n\nThe Soviet Union established a country in the Eastern half, called the German Democratic Republic. This was not democratic though – it was communist.  The Soviet Union had many troops stationed there as well, and had a lot of influence in the Eastern half.  Vladimir Putin, the current President of the Russian Federation, worked in East Germany as a spy when he was part of the KGB (this isn’t a secret – he admits it freely and uses his excellent German in speeches).\n\n*****\nGermany played a very strong role in the War.  They were allied with Japan, but because they had some common enemies in their efforts to expand their territories.  In Europe, the war started when Germany annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, claiming to be uniting the Germans who lived there (Austrians speak German and there were a lot of Germans in Czechoslovakia.  The moved there in the centuries that it belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Austrian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, which were all names used at different times to describe the same Empire ruled from the Austrian city of Vienna). At this point there was a lot of nervousness in Europe, as Hitler was using rhetoric such as “Germans need more land to live, which is their birthright.” But the British made a deal with Hitler that they would let him keep those countries if he didn’t go any further.  Hitler agreed, but he invaded Poland anyway, and kept going from there. He took France, Bombed England and wanted to invade, and moved through Eastern Europe.  He also invaded the USSR, as mentioned above.\n\nThe US at this point wasn’t involved.  Hitler made an alliance with the Japanese, who were engaged in their own war of expansion, because both were fighting the British and French (the British had a lot of Colonial holdings in the Pacific, and the French had some, too).  \n\nThe US became involved when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  The Japanese wanted the US to withdraw from the pacific, but instead the US declared war on the Japanese.  The Japanese and the Germans were allied, so Germany declared war on the US, which then also entered the European war.  It was already helping the UK and the USSR with equipment and logistical support,
509850
WWII Set the stage for the US and the USSR to be the leading world powers.
547477
Its not just EU, Russia is ramping up their military again. They are coming out with a lot of new and improved weapons systems. When you read the propaganda about them you almost always read, "able to evade, penetrate, destroy the current US systems." Not sure if they are trying to start the cold war all over again or are putting that info on their sales brochures for market to countries like Iran and North Korea. Why can't we just all get a long?
591382
By the time the German Army got that far, they were faced with a severe Russian winter & unprepared, they had almost no food supplies & boots that were almost falling off thier feet & causing frostbite...The Germans were in sad shape & easy to stop...The other reason is that Hitler made the single biggest error by splitting his Army & only sending half to fight Russia & the other half to take on the USA...Too small of an Army to split & take on the two biggest & most powerful countries...
76167
This is a port in Cuba where the were receiving merchandise from Russia. Russia had given them 50 ICBM missiles to point at the U.S. during the Cold War. John F. Kennedy made them remove them and the American Navy surrounded Cuba and starved them out. Thus the Bay of Pigs.
619607
"Duck and Cover" really did work, you know.  It's a little known fact that the Cold War between the US and Russia ended because of the scientific discoveries made because of it.\n\nDuring the mid 80's, Reagan built a missile defense shield along the entirety of the US border constructed out of grade school desks and hardcover textbooks.  This shield was utterly impenetrable, and when the Russians found out about it, they realized they'd lost and gave up.  A few months later, the Soviet Union collapsed.\n\nTrue fact.
390239
The Domino Theory. The Soviets would export communism to countries one by one making them fall in their sphere. Eventually the US would be surrounded by a globe of hostile nations.
480791
Icy relations between NATO and the Warsaw Pact? Never directly confronatational, mostly passive aggressive and alot of proxy fighting in the third world. Heh. We and the Communists used the Third World for a chess board. The Third World is having a hard time getting over it, too.
273204
At the time of WWII the allies were very anxious to have the United States enter and aide in the conflict due to the fact that at the time it was one of the only countries with the resources to possibly wage a successful war against Germany.  Of course there is always politics in any conflict but the basic reason for the war was Germany's desire to conquer and rule countries and people that wished to maintain their own sovereignty.
299014
It was already decided to fight the war......how long can americans simply sit back supplying weapons to the allies and watch the war....so they decided tat it was time to show their power....also soviet union was rising in power and they had to control the spread of communism....
254101
"why was Canada involved in the commonwealth?"\nCanada was and is still involved in the commonwealth because it was invaded largely by the British Empire (back when there was one). Our continued involvement in this antiquated system mystifies myself and many of my fellow Canadians.\n\n"When was the United Nations formed and why was it created?"\nThe United Nations was formed in 1945 to ensure a way to peacefully resolve disputes so we don't get powder keg situations like what started WWI and WWII. It hasn't exactly worked out but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
290465
The Cold War (Russian: Холодная война , Kholodna-ya voina) was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their alliance partners. It lasted from about 1947 to the period leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.\nThe global contest was popularly termed The Cold War because direct hostilities never occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union. Instead, the "war" took the form of an arms race involving nuclear and conventional weapons, networks of military alliances, economic warfare and trade embargos, propaganda, espionage and proxy wars, especially those involving superpower support for opposing sides within civil wars. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was the most important direct confrontation, together with a series of confrontations over the Berlin Blockade and the Berlin Wall. The major civil wars polarized along cold war lines were the Greek Civil War, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Soviet-Afghan War, along with more peripheral conflicts in Angola, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.\n\nFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
198643
you are way to young to know what it was like during the cold war. living in fear of the nuke from russia. Duck and cover and all that bull.
345953
Protected access to the North Atlantic, via the (if I remember right) the Baltic sea.  \n\nAt one time Poland had been part of the German empire!\n\nAt one time Poland had been part of the Russian empire!\n\nBoth Russia and Germany were still claiming Poland as belonging to them because of that.\n\nThat should give you a starting point!  \n\nAnd almost forgot the Polish ship yards and steel mills. You might also want to instigate the possibility of Poland having oil!
147916
What do you mean by why did it happen? It was part of Germany's invasion of Russia during WWII. They had to take Stalingrad to be able to have a firm grasp on the country, and the Russians didn't want that to happen, so they held out in Stalingrad.
53147
Brinksmanship diplomacy. They hope that even just the threat of their having nukes will cause other countries to bow to their demands.\n\nIt's no different than was the Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.