The Cold War was in full swing, as the Soviet Union was rising to power, capturing satellite countries. Using their strong dynamic forces, the Soviet Union captured surrounding countries first to help protect them from any invasion. This tactic was used to imprison civilians and force them to join the Soviet military. As their armed forces greatly increased in numbers, other countries and nations feared that the Soviet Union would expand their control and take over other countries.
In response to this, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed. NATO is a formal alliance between the territories of North American and Europe. From its inception, its main purpose was to defend each other from the possibility of communist Soviet Union taking control of their nation. Many powerful countries joined NATO by the signing of the official document in 1949: Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, United States, Canada, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Portugal. In 1950, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated and appointed as the first supreme allied commander. Since Eisenhower was from the United States, this allowed the U.S. to be a strong force in the organization. West Germany, Turkey and Greece joined by 1955.
