Tag: Cold War

How the Sino-Soviet split created strange bedfellows

How the Sino-Soviet split created strange bedfellows

by | Sep 12, 2024 | | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
The Cold War had a lot of strange alliances, with many unlikely partners like Australian intelligence helping overthrow Chile’s elected government or the United States selling weapons to Iran. Weirder still, a natural alliance, one between the communist behemoths of the Soviet Union and China, never really worked out. What was behind the Sino-Soviet split, and how did it lead to China and the United States working together against the Soviet Union?

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Australia is still reckoning with a shameful legacy: the resettlement of suspected war criminals after WWII

Australia is still reckoning with a shameful legacy: the resettlement of suspected war criminals after WWII

by | Mar 13, 2024 | | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
Around one million Central and Eastern European “displaced persons” were resettled by the United Nations after the second world war in countries such as Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. This group included soldiers who had fought in German military units, as well as civilian collaborators. The Nazi-led Holocaust had relied on their firepower and administrative skills.

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Ukraine war: how Gorbachev’s 1987 INF missile treaty has limited the arsenal available to Putin

Ukraine war: how Gorbachev’s 1987 INF missile treaty has limited the arsenal available to Putin

by | Sep 27, 2023 | | 0

Reading time: 4 minutes
Thanks to the final Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who has died aged 91, a disarmament treaty has denied Vladimir Putin thousands more missiles which he could have ordered to be used against Ukraine. Russian forces attacking Ukraine have not been able to use land-based missiles with ranges of between 500km and 5,500km because this entire category of weapons was scrapped under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which the former Soviet leader was instrumental in establishing.

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Ukraine: why supply of US and German tanks echoes cold war

Ukraine: why supply of US and German tanks echoes cold war

by | Mar 21, 2023 | | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
The export of German and US tanks to Ukraine is not without risk, both real and symbolic. In purely military terms, well-trained, well-led and motivated Ukrainian tank crews operating the Leopard 2 or M1 Abrams will be better protected, have better firepower and be more manoeuvrable than their Russian counterparts. Provided the Ukrainians can cope with the fact that they will need different ammunition, spare parts and possibly fuel they can make a difference, significantly enhancing Ukraine’s capability to defend its territory.

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The R1 – South African Bush Rifle

The R1 – South African Bush Rifle

by | Aug 22, 2022 | | 0

Reading time: 9 minutes
In the wake of the rise of the Soviet Union’s AK-47 and the USA’s litany of rifles during the Cold War, South Africa needed a modern automatic service rifle. After trialling several different guns, the South African government settled on the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle. As a result, the “Rifle R1” was born – the bush gun of Southern Africa.

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The Story of the AK-47: The World’s Most Famous and Deadliest Rifle

The Story of the AK-47: The World’s Most Famous and Deadliest Rifle

by | Aug 8, 2022 | | 0

Reading time: 7 minutes
The AK-47 is perhaps one of the most recognizable automatic rifles in the world. This simple gun, produced by Mikhail Kalashnikov, was initially intended to replace the somewhat ineffective weapons carried by Soviet forces. However, it quickly became the weapon of choice during most conflicts following the Second World War. But, how did this weapon become the most famous and deadliest rifle in the world?

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A Cuban Catastrophe: The Bay of Pigs Invasion

A Cuban Catastrophe: The Bay of Pigs Invasion

by | Jul 16, 2022 | , | 0

Reading time: 11 minutes
The 1959 Cuban Revolution resulted in rule by a communist regime under Fidel Castro. This period also saw counter-revolutionaries forming anti-Castro movements, complicating the already tumultuous political landscape. In 1961 the United States would intervene with a force made up of Cuban exiles, the infamous ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion.

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Dag Hammarskjöld: a defiant pioneer of global diplomacy who died in a mystery plane crash

Dag Hammarskjöld: a defiant pioneer of global diplomacy who died in a mystery plane crash

by | Feb 17, 2022 | | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
The idea of a global institution has captivated thinkers since Immanuel Kant in the 18th century. But a body set up to create and maintain world peace and security needs the right people to make it work. When the United Nations was created in 1945, old sentiments — seen in the disbanded League of Nations — threatened to prevail. Would the UN and its leadership simply comply with the great powers of the day?

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