Superpower relations and the Cold War - The Grand Alliance

The Grand Alliance:

The Grand Alliance was made up of the 'big three' allies from WW2 - Britain, USA, USSR (Soviet Union)

They were united by their desire to defeat Nazi Germany, but as the war ended, tensions emerged.

Britain's Prime Minister - Winston Churchill; USA's Prime Minister - Franklin D. Roosevelt; USSR's leader - Stalin

The 'Big Three' discussed Europe's future at Tehran and Yalta

In 1943, the Grand Alliance held a conference in Tehran. The talks focused mainly on plans to defeat the Nazis. But the allie also started to discuss what would happen to Europe and Germany after the war.

Britain and USA were politically very different to USSR and there was tensions between the three allies. these were put aside during the war as they fought a common enemy (Germany)

The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US Presidetn Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed the USSR could claim a 'sphere of influence' in Eastern Europe after the war was over. Eastern European countries would be subject to Soviet policies and ideas.

The Grand Alliance made more decisions about the future of Europe at the Yalta Conference in February 1945:

- Free elections would be held in previously occupied countries…