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Write a narrative account analysing the main developments in US-Soviet relations in the years 1941-45. You may use the following in your answer -Grand Alliance -Yalta Conference The first development in US Soviet relations was the grand alliance formation in 1942. It was a defensive alliance created with the aim to defeat Nazi Germany. The Grand Alliance kept a good relationship between the superpowers because it meant that they had to put aside their ideological differences and work together. After meeting in Tehran to discuss how to defeat Germany, it seemed likely the allies would win world war two. Consequently, decisions had to be made about how post war Europe would be run, therefore, the Grand Alliance met again in 1945 to have these discussions. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt came together in Yalta in 1945. The aim of the conference was to decide what would happen to Germany and Europe after the war. Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan once Germany had been defeated, this would help to ease pressure on Americans who were suffering heavy losses. The allies agreed that Germany and Berlin would be split into four zones, each controlled by one of the allies or France. It was also agreed that free, elections would be held in all countries to allow them to choose their own governments. The allies set up the United Nations, which was an organisation of 50 countries dedicated to preventing war. However, there were disagreements on the meaning of ‘free elections’. Stalin believed it meant voting for communism, as he thought that only communism truly represented people. Relations between the superpowers were still relatively good, although there were small disagreements which had to be discussed and this led to another meeting being held in Potsdam. The superpowers met again in 1945 in Potsdam. Relationships at this time were significantly worse than before because the new US president Harry Truman, had dropped an atomic bomb on July 16th in New Mexico. Stalin was frustrated by the fact that Truman had kept the bomb a secret because he saw it as an attempt to intimidate him with America's nuclear power. Additionally, Truman was much more suspicious of communism and less willing to compromise, this increased tension between the leaders as their trust in each other was lost. Additionally, Stalin seemed to be going against the agreement made at Potsdam to hold free elections, the Red Army was in control of Poland and in the process of setting up a communist government there. Another disagreement which arose was concerning reparations, Stalin wanted Germany to pay very high reparations, the other allies disagreed because they didn't want a similar situation to the treaty of Versailles. Potsdam was overall an unsuccessful conference as few agreements were made and more problems arose. As a result, relations significantly deteriorated and many consider this time as marking the start of the Cold War.