The Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact was the Soviets response to the admittance of West Germany into NATO. Formed in 1955 it was an agreement to defend the soviet bloc of Eastern European countries. In the same way as NATO its guiding principles were that an attack on one would prompt a defensive response from the others. It practice, the Pact strengthened the position of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe as it made the countries of the Soviet Pact reliant on Soviet forces.