Cold War

The Cold War was a prolonged global espionage, sabotage, and terrorism conflict, frequently flaring into military actions, spread across almost the entire globe, for over forty years. This conflict dominated most of the history of the post-World War II 20th Century. The main national participants in this ongoing conflict were the United States of America, a capitalist democratic republic, and its mostly-democratic allies, versus the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a communist dictatorship, and its communist allies, especially China.

History

1945, the Iron Curtain

The defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan freed the victorious Allied nations to turn their newly developed military-industrial complexes against one another, while the cataclysmic potential of their weapons inhibited those foes from fully engaging against one another. Their ideologically-opposed philosophical and economic systems competed for global influence, physical territory, and material resources, bringing the world to the brink of an intercontinental nuclear war, over a dozen times.

Real World National Leaders

• Boleslaw Bierut (Poland)
• Boris Yeltsin (USSR)
• Chen Yun (PRC)
• Deng Xiaoping (PRC)
• Dwight D. Eisenhower (US)
• Georgy Malenkov (USSR)
• Gerald Ford (US)
• Harry Truman (US)
• Hua Guofeng (PRC)
• James Carter (US)
• John F. Kennedy (US)
• Joseph Stalin (USSR)
• Kim Il-Sung (DPRK)
• Konrad Adenauer (West Germany)
• Konstantin Chernenko (USSR)
• Leonid Brezhnev (USSR)
• Lyndon Johnson (US)
• Mao Tse Tung (PRC)
• Mikhail Gorbachev (USSR)
• Nikita Khrushchev (USSR)
• Richard Nixon (US)
• Ronald Reagan (US)
• Syngman Rhee (ROK)
• Yuri Andropov (USSR)
• Zhou Enlai (PRC)

Earth-Two Events

In Earth-Two history, the Free World included, or at least defended: Belgium, China (Formosa), Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, South Vietnam, West Germany, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and others.

In Earth-Two history, the Iron Curtain nations included: Albania, Bulgaria, (Red) China, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, North Korea, North Vietnam, Poland, Romania, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Warlandia, and others.

During that time, several nations were able to remain independent and unaligned with either of the two world superpowers. Among these unaligned nations, a few were Fascist or Socialist dictatorships, such as Portugal, Spain, and Yugoslavia. Others were principalities or sultanates or other traditional monarchies, such as Andorra, and Monaco. Parliamentary and other republics included Austria, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, and others.

New Earth Events

Along with its other espionage activities and agencies, the U.S.S.R. maintained a division of superhuman operatives, the infamous Red Shadows, under the direction of Major Zastrow.

Quality Universe Events

In the Quality Universe, as elsewhere, the post-World War II "Cold War" kept Europe divided for decades, between the (mostly) democracies in the west and the (mostly) communist dictatorships in the east.

Starting in 1948, the famous and popular Blackhawk Squadron, operating virtually as a law unto themselves, were invested with complete power and authority to take immediate action in any emergency, and were backed to the hilt with by the International Security Force.^[1] Over the next few years, the I.S.F. changed its name several times, and by 1951, the United World (UW), led by its World Council, sometimes called the United Council,^[2] in London,^[3] acted in the combined roles of the early UN and NATO and SEATO. Seemingly no dictatorships were members of UW, which also had its own armed forces. UW had, or seemed to have, direct authority over the Blackhawks.^[4]

Some time prior to 1952, in the Quality Universe, H-bombs were outlawed.^[5]

In the Quality Universe, the United World included, or at least defended: Badarstan, Balvania, Bargovia, Belgium, Bolania, Borovar, Brez, Brosnia, Bulvania, Carabas, China, Costa Marca, Delanza, Denmark, Drosnia, Drozh, France, Galvia, Gregonia, Grelhara, Italy, Jinnestan (Post-1951), Kahara, Karlovna, Khartoor, Kimrouk, Kondida, Lashore, Liberra, Lorphah, Luonia, Luxembourg, Malkaria, Malvania, Marlanx, Monclova, Netherlands, Nurvania, Ontavia*, Otero, Pangoy, Porvay, Ramastan, Ramonia, Ranagia, Samanthia, South Korea, South Vietnam, Tacna, Ulma, West Germany, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Valnadia, Voldania, Yugovia, and others.

In the Quality Universe, the Communist Bloc included: Albania, Bulgaria, (Red) China, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Jinnestan (Pre-1951), North Korea, North Vietnam, Poland, Romania, Rugaria, Russlo, Transvania, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and others.

During that time, several nations were able to remain independent and unaligned with either of the two world superpowers. Among these unaligned nations, a few were Fascist dictatorships, such as Azaria, Portugal, Spain, Valga, and Viglandt. Others were principalities or sultanates or other traditional monarchies, such as Andorra, and Ghanpat. Parliamentary and other republics included Austria, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, and others. Finally, the sometimes-shifting alignments of several Eastern European nations, such as Bulgania, are cases where the historical records are either unreliable or incomplete.

Several of the major events of the Cold War were unique to the Quality Universe:

• In 1953, in London, the Headquarters city of the United World organization, a Red scientist impersonating an extraterrestrial alien used a tidal-wave-generating weapon to smash a tsunami into the downtown area of the city, destroying many buildings and killing thousands.^[6]
• In 1955, in France, the town of Vichye was destroyed by a renegade Russian scientist's atomic explosive formula.^[7] The town was evacuated shortly beforehand.
• In 1956, in Russia, a missile base in the Ural Mountains was destroyed by five Russian ICBMs.^[8]

Quality Universe Technology

The two main Communist governments built some of the craziest weapons systems of their time. By 1951 the Russians were constructing flying airbases,^[9] and the Chinese were building flying tanks.^[10]

In 1952 it was a Soviet-satellite nation that developed the infamous War Wheel,^[11] and that or another Soviet satellite developed the "Sea Devil," an enormous amphibious bottom-crawling giant tank, capable of transporting several ordinary tanks, trucks, and platoons of infantry. These mechanical monsters were armed with cruise missiles.^[12] Another Soviet Socialist Republic, Russlo, built and deployed a city-leveling armored rocket-powered team-tractor called the "World Destroyer".^[13] Also by 1952, the Russian Space Force had deployed at least six workable space ships.^[14]

Also deployed by the Reds in 1952 were the earth-burrowing "Termite Tanks" that wrought terrible havoc in Hungjon. These however were designed by a kidnapped American scientist-engineer named Darkson.^[15]

In 1953 Soviet engineering developed and deployed a Robot Tank (which was captured by the Blackhawks), and General X's VTOL "Converti-Planes" (w/ jet rotors and swivel wings).^[16] By this time they also had developed gigantic space ships, with super-advanced weapons,^[17] with which they wiped out the headquarters city of the United World, and a space station, called "Stalin's Slave Enforcer," built to hover over and destroy entire nations.^[18] The Chinese Red Navy in that year deployed some Flying Buzz Saws, that were fast and agile enough to destroy a Blackhawk Lockheed F-90, and powerful enough to sever a battleship in half.^[19]

Notes

• It must be noted that the only known instance of the Blackhawk Squadron ignoring a call for help from a beleaguered government was Ontavia in 1951, at a time when the team's leader was preoccupied on a case in Ramastan and the team itself was on the verge of breaking up.^[20]

Links and References

• Cold War article at Wikipedia
  

References