Cold War Timeline by Danika Ritter

Yalta Conference Drafts Post War Plan (Feb 1945)

dritter25 — 2024-04-17 14:37:57 UTC

During WW2 the 3 leaders of Russia, England, and the US (Stalin, FDR, Churchill) went to discuss Post War world. At this meeting Russia promised to help in the Pacific war against Japan in exchange for territory and economic advantages in China. The UN would then be created Germany would pay reparations and the USSR would have friendly governments in Easter Europe. The agreements here did not succeed in preventing the cold War.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Aug 1945)

dritter25 — 2024-04-17 14:49:40 UTC

Days after the post War conference the uranium bomb "little boy" was dropped on Japan, then on August 8th Soviet forces invaded Japan. On August 9, the US dropped “Fat Man,” a plutonium bomb, on Nagasaki. Together the two bombs ended up killing 300,000 people.

Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech (March 5th 1946)

dritter25 — 2024-04-17 14:52:15 UTC

Churchill was sent a letter asking him to give a speech, he talked about how important the relationship between the US and UK was. Much attention was brought to the speech when he said "From Stetten in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an Iron curtain has descended across the continent." Churchill also warned about the Soviet Union. Russian historians refer to this as the start of the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine first applied in Greek Civil War (March 12th 1947)

dritter25 — 2024-04-17 18:51:48 UTC

The US wants to keep communism under control and contain the spread. The Truman Doctrine says that if a country is facing communism find the non-communists and ally with them and give them military aid. The British government informed the US that they could no longer provide financial aid to Turkey or Greece. In a meeting, they decided that if these states fell then communism would most likely spread. Truman asked for $400 million in military and economic assistance for Greece and Turkey. This was the first time the US was financially involved.

Marshall Plan is announced to rebuild Europe (June 1947)

dritter25 — 2024-04-17 18:53:47 UTC

The Marshall Plan is also trying to stop the spread of communism, but is preventative rather than reactive. Conditions in Europe are ideal for the spread of communism, so the US gives Europe millions of dollars to repair itself. More of a prevention than a cure. Named after George Marshall who was a general in WWll. Basically "free money" but Europe has to buy American products.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift Begins (June 1948)

dritter25 — 2024-04-17 19:01:15 UTC

The Soviet Leader Stalin placed a blockade on Berlin from the 24th of June 1948 to the 12th of May 1949, this cut off all land and river transport between West Berlin and West Germany. The Soviets cut off some 2.5 million people from receiving vital supplies. The US and British planes carried out the largest air operation in history with over 270,000 flights.

NATO Alliance formed (April 4th 1949)

dritter25 — 2024-04-18 12:59:52 UTC

NATO was a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty and was to be used to strengthen the Western Allies. This was established due to the further spread of communism. For the first time since 1700, the US was tying its security to other European nations. In response to this, the USSR formed the Warsaw pact in 1955.

Russia tests its first atomic bomb (Aug 20, 1949)

dritter25 — 2024-04-18 13:41:37 UTC

At Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan Russia tested its first atomic bomb known as "First Lighting." To see the how much damage it would do the Soviets built buildings, bridges and put animals in cages nearby. The explosion destroyed the buildings and incinerated the animals. A man named Klaus Fuchs who had helped the US build their first atomic bomb was arrested for giving the Soviets information on the US atomic program and even gave blueprints to the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan. In 1952 the US created and detonated the first hydrogen bomb named "Mike" on an island in the Pacific that left a 3 mile crater. In 1955 the Soviets detonated their first hydrogen bomb.

Mao Zedong wins Chinese Civil War and creates the People’s Republic of China (Oct 1, 1949)

dritter25 — 2024-04-18 13:42:51 UTC

The KMT split and CCP moved away. Japan invaded China. KMT fell to communist. Sun and almost 2 million people moved to Taiwan and called themselves the republic of China.

McCarthyism and the Red Scare takes hold in the US (Feb, 1950)

dritter25 — 2024-04-18 13:44:11 UTC

People become paranoid about communism. McCarthy goes crazy about this and has a "super secret list" that no one can see besides him that is changing all the time. After McCarthy started to investigate the US Army people finally saw how unstable he was. Hoover would screen federal workers to see if they were communists.

Korean War(1950-1953)

dritter25 — 2024-04-18 13:47:35 UTC

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950. The North Korean Army invaded the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This was the first military action of the Cold War. The Americans joined South Korea. In 1953 the war came to an end, what many people refer to as "the forgotten war."

H-Bomb Tested by USA on Bikini Atoll (Nuke Map) (March 1 1954)

dritter25 — 2024-04-23 13:14:55 UTC

The US dropped the first hydrogen bomb, which happened after fusing atoms to release energy, this was 1000 times or more damaging than the atomic bomb. in an atomic bomb, the atoms split releasing atoms and neutrons which release more neutrons, hydrogen bombs take small atoms and put them together.

KGB established (March 1954)

dritter25 — 2024-04-23 13:22:31 UTC

From 1954 to 1991 the KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti aka “Committee for State Security”) was the Soviet unions security and intelligence agency. It was said that Stalin knew more about the US military than he did his own. in response to this the US created the CIA. Due to the Red Scare the spy's had a harder time finding out information. They were successful however in recruiting U.S. naval officer John Anthony Walker Jr. this helped them tremendously in getting and receiving information.

CIA helps overthrow unfriendly governments in Iran and Guatemala (March 1954)

dritter25 — 2024-04-23 13:29:07 UTC

British intelligence sources working with the CIA came to the conclusion that Mossadeq had communist leanings and would move Iran into the Soviet orbit if allowed to stay in power. Using street protests they overthrew Mossadeq and Shah returned to power.

Warsaw Pact formed (May 1955)

dritter25 — 2024-04-23 13:36:03 UTC

The NATO alliance was formed which stated that if one of the countries who signed was attacked, it was an attack on all of them. In 1955 the Soviets gathered its communist Allies and signed the Warsaw pact, like NATO stating that if one was attacked it was an attack against them all. It also created a central military command which put the Soviets in charge.

The Transfermium Wars Begin (1955)

dritter25 — 2024-04-23 13:45:21 UTC

The University of Dubina is competing with other universities to create different elements after transfermium. Most new elements created were named after the countries or people that discovered them.

Rebellion put down in Hungary (Nov 1956)

dritter25 — 2024-04-23 14:07:07 UTC

in 1956 Hungarians revolted against communists. They conspired a list of 16 demands which included withdrawal of Soviet troops, a new government over Nagy, and a return to multiparty democracy. A group of people went to a radio broadcaster and broadcasted these demands and another group went to protest. Soviets opened fire on the protesters. A mob attacked communist headquarters and killed unarmed secret police troops. By the end some 2500 Hungarians were dead and 200,000 fled the country.

USSR launches first ICBM (Aug 1957)

dritter25 — 2024-04-23 14:22:11 UTC

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, can now go anywhere on the planet with a push of a button. Also called long-range strategic weapons. Also used in the space race.

Sputnik launched into orbit (Oct 4, 1957)

dritter25 — 2024-04-25 12:57:54 UTC

The first man made satellite to enter Earths orbit. This was made by Sergei Korolev the head of the Soviet Unions space program. It was used to test the method of placing an artificial satellite into orbit. It weighed 180 lbs with two radio transmitters and four antennas. It stayed in space for about 3 months and orbited 1400 times.

Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba (Jan 1959)

dritter25 — 2024-04-25 12:59:26 UTC

This revolt begins with a failed assault on Cuban military barracks. Fidel Castro and a group of revolutionaries sailed to Mexico, Batista’s men learned of this and ambushed the revolutionaries but 20 survived and escaped. Their small group began to attract more people this became a guerrilla campaign against Batista’s forces. On January 1, 1959, with rebel forces closing in, Batista fled Cuba to Portugal where he stayed in exile until he died. Soon after Castro went on to serve as prime minister.

U2 spy plane shot down over the USSR (May 1960)

dritter25 — 2024-04-25 13:19:05 UTC

The U2 was a top secret spy plane that flew in the stratosphere and was unfortunately shot down. The man survived and was captured in Russia, put on trial, then eventually sentenced to prison.

Failed Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961)

dritter25 — 2024-04-25 13:20:19 UTC

The US finds over a thousand Cuban exiles, creates a secret base, trains them, and then puts them on the Bay of Pigs to fight Castro's army but this ends up being a major failure and most of them die on the beaches or are captured and help for a year and a half. Castro then ran to the Soviet Union and became allies.

Construction of Berlin Wall begins (Aug 17, 1961)

dritter25 — 2024-04-25 13:21:14 UTC

The wall was built very quickly in 1961 to stop their people from fleeing to freedom in the West, over 2 million East Germans escaped before the wall was built. It was made up of 2 walls, the outer was a 12 foot concrete barrier. East German Guards manned around 300 watch towers.

Cuban Missile Crisis (Oct, 1962)

dritter25 — 2024-04-25 13:57:12 UTC

The Soviets build nuclear missiles in Cuba and the US sends a U2 to take pictures and spy on them. The US decides to invade but then soons realizes they should do a blockade. This is the closest we've came to nuclear war. The US and Soviets came to conclusions and made agreements.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified (July 1963)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:00:49 UTC

This tready prohibited nuclear weapons tests or other nuclear explosions under water, in the atmosphere, or in outer space

allowed underground nuclear tests as long as no radioactive debris falls outside the boundaries of the nation conducting the test, pledged signatories to work towards complete disarmament, an end to the armaments race, and an end to the contamination of the environment by radioactive substances. It was signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963

Gulf of Tonkin incident and resolution (August 1964)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:03:24 UTC

While the USS Maddox was crushing near the Gulf of Tonkin 4 North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired LGB used this incident to gain support in increasing military in Vietnam.

US Marines sent to Dominican Republic to fight Communism (April 1965)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:04:27 UTC

President LBJ sent over 20,000 troops to the Dominican Republic in hopes of stopping the spread of communism. when long-time dictator Rafael Trujillo was assassinated, Juan Bosch was elected but soon overthrown for his liberal views. forces who wanted Juan back began attacks on the government.

US announcement to dispatch 200,000 US troops to Vietnam (July 1965)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:05:15 UTC

President LJB announced that there would be an increase of US soldiers in Vietnam. Communist leaders attacked Johnson for his decision to send more troops to Vietnam while most members of Congress and U.S. state governors supported this.

B-52s Bomb N. Vietnam in Operation Rolling Thunder (1966)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:35:26 UTC

Operation Rolling Thunder was the codename for an American bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. B-52 bombers attacked targets in North Vietnam for the first time. They striked the Mu Gia Pass, a crucial enemy supply route.

Red Army crush Czechoslovakian revolt (Aug 1968)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:43:18 UTC

The Soviet Union led those involved in the Warsaw Pact in an invasion of Czechoslovakia. However, resisters heavily used radio, leaflets, newspapers, and signs to spread a message of opposition and condemnation of the occupation.

Apollo 11 lands on the moon (July 20, 1969)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:51:11 UTC

The Soviet Union launched the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space on April 12, 1961. A little over a month later, on May 25, 1961, Kennedy stood before a joint session of Congress and called for human exploration to the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to land on the Moon and walk on the lunar surface.

Publication of the Pentagon papers (1971)

dritter25 — 2024-05-03 13:57:46 UTC

Pentagon Papers confirmed many people’s suspicions about the active role the U.S. government had taken in building up the conflict. Daniel Ellsberg, a strategic analyst who also served in the US military, believed that the information contained in the Pentagon Papers about U.S. decision-making regarding Vietnam should be more widely available to the public. After secretly photocopying large sections of the report he tried to bring it to congresses attention but they did nothing.

President Nixon visits China (Feb 1972)

dritter25 — 2024-05-07 13:12:42 UTC

Détente = lessening of tension which is what Nixon and China did

Nixon reopened China to the US including trade relations and other things. Is also known as panda diplomacy.

SALT I signed (July 1972)

dritter25 — 2024-05-07 13:18:40 UTC

(Strategic Arms Limitation Tready)

Limits number, type, size, of nukes includes. This was an attempt at limiting the type, quantity, and testing of nuclear weapons.

US supported coup overthrows Chilean government (Sept. 1973)

dritter25 — 2024-05-07 13:28:53 UTC

The U.S. spent $8 million on covert actions between 1970 and the 1973 coup. The goal of the US after Allende was elected was to make it difficult for him to govern. On Sept. 11, 1973, the military launched a coup and military jets bombed the presidential palace. Allende killed himself after.

Egypt and Syria attack Israel; Egypt requests Soviet aid (Oct. 1973)

dritter25 — 2024-05-07 13:30:33 UTC

During the first few days of the war Israel suffered a high casualty rate. The Us was concerned that with Israel doing so good the Soviet Union would get involved if the Egyptian Army failed. Operation Nickle Grass was launched to Israel with an abundance of supplies and resources

S. Vietnam falls to Communist N. Vietnam (April 17, 1975)

dritter25 — 2024-05-07 13:36:58 UTC

North Vietnam violated the Paris Peace Accords and renewed their assault on South Vietnam. Barry was sent to Vietnam to get the ambassador, the US flees.

Soviet and Cuban forces help to install Communist government in Angola (Feb 1976)

dritter25 — 2024-05-07 13:50:23 UTC

The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal but soon turned into a cold War. The United States and China supplied aid and training for the FNLA, while The Soviet Union provided military training and equipment for the MPLA. The U.S. failure to achieve its desired outcome in Angola raised the stakes of the superpower competition in the Third World.

US and China officially establish diplomatic relations and trade & Panda Diplomacy (Jan 1979)

dritter25 — 2024-05-07 14:11:35 UTC

China loaned Pandas to zoos for 1 million dollars annually. Russians take care of pandas the US does not

Sino-Vietnamese War (Feb 1979)

dritter25 — 2024-05-08 14:25:54 UTC

China and Vietnam disagreed on their borders, a neighboring country of Vietnam called Cambodia switched to communism under the rule of Pol Pot who had a hate for the West. Vietnam invaded Cambodia and killed Pol Pot so China invaded Vietnam.

Shah of Iran overthrown; Iran Hostage Crisis begins (Nov. 1979)

dritter25 — 2024-05-08 14:40:54 UTC

Iran is a country in the Middle East that isn't Arab but Muslim and they have oil, we are allies. King tortures people but he wants rights for women and stuff. Is overthrown a 2nd time and comes to the US. Monarchy US allies then switch to the Shea who are not US allies. 60 American hostages are held for 444 days under Jimmy Carter's Presidency. Ronald Regan is sworn into Congress and after 3 hours they get the hostages back.

Soviet forces invade Afghanistan (Dec. 1979)

dritter25 — 2024-05-08 14:44:40 UTC

Soviet Union invaded and they are there for a decade it saps the resources of the Soviet union in blood and treasure. This is the Soviet Unions Vietnam.

US Hockey defeats USSR at winter olympics (Feb 22, 1980)

dritter25 — 2024-05-08 14:53:23 UTC

During the peak of the Cold War the USA won

US Boycotts Summer Olympics in Moscow (June-Aug 1980)

dritter25 — 2024-05-08 14:55:01 UTC

The US says they aren't coming and boycotts because the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan

Reagan proposes SDI or “Star Wars” (1983)

dritter25 — 2024-05-08 14:56:50 UTC

Regan proposes a nuclear field around the US using satellites and lasers. Very expensive but was mildly successful. is nicknamed "Star Wars"

US troops invade and overthrow regime in Grenada (Oct 1983)

dritter25 — 2024-05-14 14:04:27 UTC

The US captured many Cubans in Grenada and also found Cuban ammunition and communication devices that made it seem like a military base that Cuba had created.

Eastern Bloc boycotts LA Summer Olympics (July-Aug, 1984)

dritter25 — 2024-05-14 14:10:51 UTC

The USSR refused to go to any games because they said it was "capitalist" but changed their attitude. One year the games were held in Moscow and the West refused to go. 14 states including Cuba boycotted dla games.

Gorbachev begins “glasnost” and “perestroika” in efforts to reform the USSR (1985)

dritter25 — 2024-05-14 14:29:35 UTC

The US is in debt but the Soviet Union is in a Great Depression-type debt. leader of Russia tries to modernize. glasnost is more freedom and openness, perestroika is restructuring.

Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan (Jan 1989)

dritter25 — 2024-05-17 13:08:25 UTC

Soviets invaded Afghanistan to set up a Communist government and it turned into "Vietnam" squandered millions of dollars and left.

Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania oust Communist governments (1989)

dritter25 — 2024-05-17 13:16:47 UTC

become non-communist "cut their strings"

Tiananmen Square Massacre (June 1989)

dritter25 — 2024-05-17 13:29:39 UTC

The United states and China have been normalizing their relationship for awhile, China feel like now is there time to reform. Chinese college students gather in large crowns to protest the communism government. The Chinese government sees this as a threat so they roll tanks, arrest, and kill protesters.

Berlin Wall falls (Nov. 1989)

dritter25 — 2024-05-17 13:34:55 UTC

As tensions during the Cold war began to settle, an East German Communist Party spokesman announced new rules on border crossings. After this East Berliners ran to border checkpoints yelling "open the gate." People used hammers and picks to knock away chunks of the wall and cranes and bulldozers pulled down each section.

Boris Yeltsin elected as President of Russia (May 1990)

dritter25 — 2024-05-17 13:38:26 UTC

Yeltsin served as the president of Russia from 1991 until 1999. He had communist views for most of his life but then came to believe in both democratic and free market reforms. He played a big role in the fall of the soviet union.

Germany Reunited (Oct. 3, 1990)

dritter25 — 2024-05-17 13:41:18 UTC

German chancellor Helmut Kohl, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to unify Germany with the NATO Alliance. Berlin was reinstated as the capital city of united Germany

USSR dissolved - 15 Republics gain independence, including Russia (Aug, 1991)

dritter25 — 2024-05-17 14:17:47 UTC

Despite economic reconstruction and all progress the Soviet Union still goes bankrupt, collapses, and 15 republics break away.

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dritter25 — 2024-05-17 14:20:07 UTC