The Soviet Union gave in and lifted the blockade on however, the airlift itself didn't end until Sept. On top of that, an Allied counter-blockade was causing severe shortages in the Russian sectors, leading to fears of an uprising. The Russians had gained a reputation as bullies because of their blockade. The airlift had been going on for 10 months, and the Allies had proven they could keep it up indefinitely. Things weren't going well for the Soviets. On Easter Sunday, April 17, 1949, the constant procession of planes managed to deliver 13,000 tons of cargo, including the equivalent of 600 railroad cars of coal – all in one day! At one point, Air Force and Navy planes were landing at Tempelhof Airport every 45 seconds. Over time, though, it became more efficient, and the number of airdrops increased. More than 2 million Berliners were relying on the aid, which included much-needed food, fuel and medicine. The airlift was a daunting task at first. The Allies also imposed their own counter-blockade, restricting trade with East Germany and East Berlin. It was the biggest aerial resupply mission ever embarked upon. launched Operation Vittles, which the U.K.
and UK forces took to the skies to get supplies to the Allied sectors. Soviet troop numbers dwarfed those of the Allies, which had drawn down after the war, so there was little the Allies could do about it militarily.īut the Soviets couldn't block Allied airspace, so U.S.
On June 24, 1948, Soviet forces blockaded all road, rail and water routes into Berlin's Allied-controlled areas, stifling the vital flow of food, coal and other supplies. strategy to rebuild Europe.īut the problem was this – Berlin was located far within Russia's East Germany, so the Soviets took advantage, leading to the first Berlin crisis of the Cold War. They kept it from the Soviets because they wanted to regain economic control from Russia and quell the black market that was running rampant, as well as bring in aid under the Marshall Plan, a U.S. introduced a new currency, the Deutschmark, to their zones, which included West Berlin. and France after the war to coordinate occupation policy between the varying zones, but it stopped in early 1948 when it found out the other three nations were secretly planning to create a new German state out of their zones. Russia met regularly with Britain, the U.S.
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