Question

ah

Answer 1

Not directly. The US and the Soviets were the two biggest, nuke-wielding guys on the block, but they both knew that it if ever came to a direct confrontation, it could lead to nuclear war. So they did what they always did - fight a Cold War through spies, proxies, and other efforts designed to stem each others' influence. When it came to throwing down soldiers, it was usually around the debatable pretense of supporting a government in trouble -- they were just coming in to help their buddy (even if that might also help their interests there).

The real battlefield was mostly fought behind the scenes to influence politicians and foreign policy to favor each others' views and goals, even if that meant rigging elections in other countries or assassinating unfriendly politicians. Spies were the soldiers, the CIA and the KGB the armies they served, as both continued to size each other up to determine what they were really thinking behind the Iron Curtain or the walls of the White House.