The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance between many Eastern European nations, including the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and East Germany. This pact was made due to Western Germany joining NATO, sparking the Soviet Union to counter with their own alliance. This alliance was only used for one military operation, which was against Czechoslovakia. This was done when Czechoslovakia starting lifting some policies on restricting freedom of expression, causing the pact to break the treaty in order to bring the regime back in Czechoslovakia, leading into invading the nation on August 20th 1968. This invasion would be the biggest military operation since the end of World War II in Europe, though the actual numbers of the event are unknown. Eventually towards the end of the 1980's, anti-communist revolutions ended up making multiple nations, including Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia leave. Eastern Germany also left the pact in 1990 to reunify with Western Germany. The pact eventually disbanded with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Warsaw Pact, May 14, 1955
The Warsaw Pact is a military alliance led by the Soviet Union. The pact was also referred to as the "Eastern bloc" and the NATO was represented as the "Western bloc". The Pact's ultimate goal was to keep communist regimes from being exterminated. These two alliances were ideologically opposed that lasted throughout the Cold War.
Map of the world in 1962, depicting countries in NATO or in the Warsaw Pact. Other countries may be aligned, but are not a part of either NATO or the Warsaw.
Did you know?
Did you know the Warsaw Pact wasn't the treaty's initial name? The Warsaw Pact was formally named, the Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance.
Quiz
Which of the following nations are NOT in the Warsaw Pact?
- Soviet Union
- West Germany
- The treaty established an offense organization to attack other nations not associated with the treaty.
- East Germany
- Poland
Forum
The Soviet Union is the leader of the Warsaw Pact. Do you think other nations have much power at all in the alliance?
The Warsaw Pact as a whole was an important alliance for the Soviet Union during the Cold War, though the alliance had little to no purpose outside of it. The pact was made in response to Western Germany joining NATO, and the pact disbanded after the Cold War had ended. The alliance overall didn't do much military wise, but should an actual war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact had actually occurred, the alliance could surely hold its own.