| Berlin Blockade |
Article Index for Berlin |
Website Links For Berlin |
Information AboutBerlin Blockade |
|
POST-WAR DIVISION OF GERMANY When World War II ended in Europe on May 8 , 1945 , Soviet and Western (U.S., British, and French) troops were located in random places, essentially, along a line in the center of Europe. From July 17 to August 2 , 1945 , the victorious Allied Powers reached the Potsdam Agreement on the fate of post-war Europe, calling for the division of a defeated Germany into four occupation zones (thus reaffirming principles laid out earlier by the Yalta Conference ), and the similar division of Berlin into four zones, later called East Berlin and West Berlin . The French, U.S., and British sectors of Berlin were deep within the Soviet occupation zone, and thus a focal point of tensions corresponding to the breakdown of the U.S.-Soviet wartime alliance. (''See'' Origins Of The Cold War ) THE DISPUTE OVER BERLIN Harry S. Truman refused to give the Soviet Union reparations from West Germany's industrial plants; Joseph Stalin responded by splitting off the Soviet sector of Germany as a Communist state. THE BERLIN AIRLIFT -bound plane]] On June 18, 1948, the three Western sectors ended the use of occupation currency and introduced the Potsdam Conference which stated that Germany would be treated as one economic unit. who pioneered the idea of dropping candy bars and bubble gum with little handmade miniature parachutes, which later became known as Operation Little Vittles]] On June 24 , 1948 , the Soviet Union blocked access to the arteries of the three Western-held sectors of Berlin, which lay deep within the Soviet-controlled zone of Germany, by cutting off all rail and road routes going through Soviet-controlled territory in Germany. The Western powers had never negotiated a pact with the Soviets guaranteeing these rights. Amid the fallout of the London Conference, the Soviets now rejected arguments that occupation rights in Berlin and the use of the routes during the previous three years had given the West legal claim to unimpeded use of the highways and railroads. As a further means of applying pressure, the Western sectors of Berlin were isolated from the city power grid, depriving the inhabitants of domestic and industrial electricity supplies. The commander of the American occupation zone in Germany, General was tasked with organizing and commanding the Berlin airlift because of his experience in commanding and organising the airlift over the Hump. On June 25 Clay gave the order to launch a massive airlift (ultimately lasting 324 days) that flew supplies into the Western-held sectors of Berlin over the blockade during 1948–1949. The first airplane flew on the following day, and the first British airplane flew on the 28th. This aerial supplying of West Berlin became known as the Berlin Airlift. Military confrontation loomed while Truman embarked on a highly visible move which would publicly humiliate the Soviets. The U.S. action was given the name Operation Vittles. An existing British supply plan known as ''Knicker'' evolved into 'Carter Paterson', and then became Operation ''Plainfare'' in early July 1948. Hundreds of aircraft, nicknamed ''Rosinenbomber'' ("raisin bombers") by the local population, were used to fly in a wide variety of cargo items, including more than 1.5 million tons of Coal . At the height of the operation, on April 16 1949 , an allied aircraft landed in Berlin every minute, and 12,840 tons of freight were delivered. The actual containers ranged from large containers to small packets of candy with tiny individual parachutes intended for the children of Berlin. The aircraft were supplied and flown by the United States, United Kingdom and France, but pilots and crew also came from Australia , Canada , South Africa and New Zealand in order to assist the supply of Berlin. Ultimately 278,228 flights were made and 2,326,406 tons of food and supplies were delivered to Berlin. {Link without Title} On April 4 , 1949 , the Western powers signed the North Atlantic Treaty founding NATO , declaring that an attack on any one would be considered an attack against them all. The USSR lifted its blockade at 23:59, on May 11 , 1949 . However, the airlift did not end until September 30 , as the Western nations wanted to build up sufficient amounts of supplies in West Berlin in case the Soviets blockaded it again. The major Berlin airfields involved were Tempelhof in the American Sector, Gatow and the Havel river in the British and Tegel (built by army engineers in 49 days with the help of Berlin volunteers) in the French. Operational control of the three allied airlift corridors was given to Berlin Air Route Traffic Control Center (BARTCC), located at Tempelhof. Tensions in the Berlin Air Safety Center (BASC) – a Four-power Organization manned by personnel from France, Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union – reached an understandable high during the Airlift, though the success of the campaign was in large part due to the coordination carried out within the BASC. The Allied commander during the airlift was General Lucius D. Clay. He would return to Berlin during the second Berlin crisis, leading up to the building of the Berlin Wall and the Checkpoint Charlie crisis. British operation Initially the British had about 150 C-47 Dakota s and 40 Avro York s. By July 18, the RAF was flying 995 tons of supplies per day into Berlin. In July, the Dakotas and Yorks were joined by 10 Short Sunderland and 2 Short Hythe flying boats, flying from the Elbe near Hamburg to the Havel river. The flying boats' speciality was transporting bulk salt, which would have been corrosive to the other planes. In November, Handley Page Hastings were added to the fleet and some crews and aircraft were removed to train others. By mid-December, the RAF had landed 100,000 tons of supplies. In April 1949, civilian companies involved in the airlift were formed into a Civil Airlift Division (of British European Airways) to operate under RAF control. By mid-April, the combined airlift of all nations operations managed to make 1,398 flights in 24 hours, carrying 12,940 tons (13,160 t) of goods, coal and machinery, beating their record of 8,246 (8,385 t) set only days earlier. FURTHER READING
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|