During the Cold War US and Soviet leaders had difficult problems to deal with.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] (a) e.g. 'They ended the Vietnam War.'
2. '(a) They were intended to establish peace in Vietnam.'
3. '(a) They were signed by North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the USA.'
4. '(a) They were signed by Henry Kissinger for the USA.'
5. '(a) Nixon was the US president at the time of the signing.'
6. '(a) They said that US troops had to leave Vietnam.'
7. '(a) US advisers had to withdraw within 60 days.'
8. '(a) Prisoners would be returned.'
9. '(a) They established a cease-fire in South Vietnam.'
10. '(a) They laid down that there would be free elections in South Vietnam.'
11. '(a) They said that Vietnam would be unified by peaceful means.'
12. [4-5] (b) He was humiliated because he had got involved and supported the invasion. It was originally planned by Eisenhower but when he became president, Kennedy decided to go ahead with it. He supplied the invaders with arms, equipment and transport and gave them air support. They were also trained by the CIA and so when it failed, it looked like a failure by Kennedy.
13. [2-3] (b) e.g. 'Kennedy was a new and inexperienced president and this did not get him off to a good start.'
14. '(b) He had been defeated by a small off-shore state.'
15. '(b) The invasion was a total failure with all the invaders being captured or killed.'
16. '(b) Kennedy had supported the invasion and so got some of the blame for its failure.'
17. '(b) This was because the failure actually made Castro stronger in Cuba and made Kennedy look weaker.'
18. [4-6] (c) 'I agree with this. Khrushchev's main aim was to try to defend Cuba and make sure that it was not taken over by the USA. It was very important to him to have a communist state just off the coast of the USA and the Bay of Pigs invasion had made it clear that the US wanted to overturn Castro. Although at the end of the crisis the Soviet missiles were removed from Cuba, the crisis did achieve Khrushchev's aims of protecting Cuba. Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba and the USA had to put up with a communist state in its own backyard.'
19. OR
20. '(c) I do not think this is right. One of Khrushchev's aims had been to strengthen his own position in the USSR. He had been under criticism for not standing up to the USA strongly enough and for letting the USA become much stronger in terms of nuclear weapons. However, Khrushchev ended up being humiliated. Under pressure he gave way and removed the missiles from Cuba. This was seen as a defeat in the USSR and soon after, in 1964, Khrushchev was forced from power.'
21. [2-3] (c) e.g. 'Khrushchev's aim was to protect Cuba.'
22. '(c) His aim was to close the missile gap.'
23. '(c) His aim was to remove US missiles from Turkey.'
24. '(c) His aim was to strengthen his own personal position.'
25. '(c) He got missiles in Turkey removed.'
26. '(c) Cuba was now protected as a communist state in the USA's backyard.'
27. '(c) He had to remove the missiles from Cuba.'
28. '(c) He lost his position in the USSR in 1964.'
29. '(c) He failed to show that Kennedy was a weak president.'
30. '(c) The nuclear missile gap between the USA and the USSR was not reduced.'