What was the Cold War? What battles were fought, and why were they fought? Contrary to the name, the Cold war was not a war, but a time of tension between the US and Russia. There were not any physical battles, but the entire war was a psychological battle. The United States was scared of communism coming into America, while Russia was concerned with keeping all of their communist nations communist. The goal of this website is that the reader fully understands the cold war.