Final answer:
The United States and the United Kingdom successfully countered the Soviet blockade of Berlin through the Berlin Airlift, an extensive year-long operation that supplied the city by air. The blockade was lifted by the Soviets in May 1949 after the Western Allies demonstrated their resolve and capability to support West Berlin indefinitely. The event led to the formal division of Germany and Berlin into East and West.
Step-by-step explanation:
In response to the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948, aimed at driving the Western Allies out of the city, the United States and the United Kingdom devised a remarkable logistical operation known as the Berlin Airlift. Instead of confronting the blockade with military force, the West chose to exploit their air superiority, establishing an air bridge to supply the city with all the necessary goods including food and fuel. This operation involved a continuous stream of airplanes landing in Berlin, at times with as short a gap as every three minutes, highlighting American ingenuity and material capability. After nearly a year of airlifting more than two million tons of supplies to West Berlin, the Soviets recognized their inability to break the will of the Western Allies and consequently ended the blockade in May 1949.
The success of the airlift served as a strong example of the determination of the Western powers to support their sectors in Berlin, strengthening their hand in the Cold War confrontation. This show of resolve was shortly followed by the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) as a constitutional democracy, solidifying the division of Germany and Berlin into East and West, with the Soviets establishing the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in October 1949.