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The Cold War was a rivalry that began at the end of World War Two between two superpowers, the USA and the USSR. It led to many crises around the world, such as the Berlin Wall and the Vietnam War.

The USA entered World War Two against Germany and Japan in 1941, creating an uneasy alliance of the USA, Britain and the USSR. This alliance would ultimately fail and break down into the Cold War.

After 1948 the Cold War entered a new phase. Moving beyond the borders of Europe, it spread to Asia and even into Space! At the same time the USA and the USSR greatly increased their nuclear arsenals.

In 1965 the USA launched Operation Rolling Thunder: the bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. Vietnam is a long way from America, so why did the US get involved in this conflict?

Just as the 1960s started, a new American President entered the White House. The Cold War was about to enter its most critical phase, when the world would be pushed to the brink of nuclear war.

The world experienced a bumpy ride in the final years of the Cold War, with post-Vietnam détente, the Star Wars rhetoric of the US, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the collapse of communism.

In your History GCSE, it is important that you not only have good subject knowledge, but have the skills to apply this knowledge to exam questions.