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North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Facts & Worksheets

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance comprising of twenty-nine member states.

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance comprising of twenty-nine member states. It was established primarily due to security reasons – to support each member state in case of an attack from an external party. In 1967, its headquarters was opened in Brussels, Belgium.

See the fact file below for more information on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or alternatively, you can download our 23-page North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • In March 1946, in a publicized speech in Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill stated that an ‘Iron Curtain’ had descended across the European continent. Joseph Stalin interpreted this as a war cry but Truman countered it through US policies.
  • As the escalation of tension between the US and the USSR continued, many countries across the globe sought stability and security.
  • The US responded with the Truman Doctrine in which the US would give financial aid to countries threatened by Communist expansion. This was also in line with the potential civil war in Greece, which could be used by the Soviets to influence the country. In June 1947, they proclaimed the Marshall Plan. It was the European Economy Programme in which 13 billion USD was made available for the rehabilitation of European countries damaged by the war.
  • By 1948, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg founded the Brussels Treaty of 1948 for military recovery. A collective defense agreement was formed out of it – the Western European Union.
  • On 4 April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established. It was formed as a stable military alliance that would counterweight any attack from the Soviet Union.
  • Its founding members were Canada, the United States, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal.
  • Later on, the following countries joined NATO: Greece (1952), Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955), Spain (1982), Czech Republic (1982), Hungary (1982), Poland (1982), Bulgaria (2004), Estonia (2004), Latvia (2004), Lithuania (2004), Romania (2004), Slovakia (2004), Slovenia (2004), Albania (2009), Croatia (2009), and Montenegro (2017).
  • The North Atlantic Council was established as NATO’s governing body. It comprises of representatives of each member state who organize a meeting at least twice a year. It is chaired by the NATO secretary-general which was always held by a European.
  • General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named by the council as the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in December 1950. Afterward, American generals followed suit in the position.
  • NATO’S military organization comprises a Military Committee whose members are military chiefs from member states. It has two (2) strategic commands: Allied Command Operations (ACO) and Allied Command Transformation (ACT).
  • Allied Command Operations (ACO) is spearheaded by the SACEUR located in Casteau, Belgium under the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). On the other hand, Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is located in Norfolk, Virginia, US.

COLD WAR PERIOD

  • In response to the formation of NATO, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact on 14 May 1955 in Warsaw, Poland as a collective defense treaty. Its founding members were mostly comprised of the Eastern European countries, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the USSR. This event occurred after West Germany joined NATO.
  • In 1966, the president of the Republic of France, Charles de Gaulle announced their intention to withdraw from NATO’s military structure stating that it was dominated by US military officials. Despite this, they still retained their support to the alliance in case of an external attack on the member states. They joined the military structure in 2009.
  • By 1967, the headquarters of NATO was moved from Paris, France to Brussels, Belgium.
  • During the Cold War, NATO’s main purpose was to unify the member states as a response to possible Soviet Union invasion in western Europe as well as the threat of a nuclear war in case the former would occur.
  • Later on, to prevent a massive nuclear war, the alliance adopted the Flexible Deterrent Options Strategy. Through this, a member state will have the option to retaliate under a dual-key system, to attack using nuclear weapons which can be vetoed by the US and the member state itself. Other non-nuclear options could be used, such as diplomacy and other weapons and armaments.
  • Various events further threatened the military alliance such as the construction of the Berlin Wall (1961), détente (1969), and the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan (1979).
  • In 1989, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev changed the course of the events during the Cold War. He announced that the Soviet Union would no longer invade countries to form a Communist state as part of his policies, perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness).
  • In 1991, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved which led to the question of whether NATO should be retained since the reason it was established had already dissipated. Hence, to maintain its stability, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council was formed to handle discussions between NATO member states, and former Soviet states, and East European states. By 1993, the alliance offered a partnership with former Warsaw Pact members through the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.

POST-COLD WAR PERIOD

  • The military alliance ensured that even after the Cold War, they would still retain their objective – guaranteeing peace and safety amongst its members.
  • In 1995, for the first time, NATO used its military force in Bosnia and Herzegovina when it joined the war by employing airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs in Sarajevo to force them to engage in a peace settlement.
  • In 1999, NATO engaged in an eleven-week campaign of airstrikes against Yugoslavia over Kosovo due to the bloody ethnic cleansing of the Albanians occurring in the country.
  • In 2001, during the September 11 attack in the US, the military alliance wanted to invoke Article 5, stating that an attack to a member state is an attack to all. However, the US government then opted not to involve NATO in the subsequent US-led military campaigns against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
  • NATO further assisted in military operations of its member states such as during the Iraq War (2003) in which they supported the US.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which is a military alliance comprising of twenty-nine member states. It was established primarily due to security reasons – to support each member state in case of an attack from an external party. In 1967, its headquarters was opened in Brussels, Belgium.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • NATO Facts
  • NATO: Member States
  • Find the Country
  • Complete the Information
  • NATO: A Timeline
  • North Atlantic Treaty
  • NATO and its Accomplishments
  • NATO and Other Alliances
  • In a Nutshell
  • NATO Today
  • Symbol Making

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Link will appear as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 26, 2024

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