The Yalta conference was where the Big Three powers(the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union) met together and decided how they would take down Germany. The men involved were Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill. Key Outcomes:

• An agreement to divide Germany into four parts controlled by the US, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and France

• Prosecute war criminals

• Plan to establish the United Nations to protect others' peace

• Promote good government establishments, yet there was tension due to Soviet communism

Huge events in World War 2, the first and only time that nuclear weapons were used in warfare.

Hiroshima

• August 6, 1945

• U.S. dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima

• Killed around 90,000-160,000 civilians

Nagasaki

• August 9, 1945 (three days after Hiroshima)

• U.S. dropped "Fat Man" on Nagasaki

Killed around 60,000-80,000 civilians

These bombings led to Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945. Their surrender allowed for the end of World War 2.

Churchill mentions the divide in Europe, the Iron Curtain is the literal Berlin Wall, and the spread of communism by the soviets. He believed that unity would be the key to more togetherness and peace, so he wanted the US and the United Kingdom to do everything in their power to stop the spread of communism.

The Truman Doctrine was a statement that the US would help any country that are threatened by communism, promising economic and military aid. This was targeted towards Greece and Turkey. For Greece, the US provided $400 million in aid, which helped the Greeks fight off communism and stabilize their nation.

The Marshall Plan was a recovery plan for European nations where the US would aid them in economic stability, fight famine, and prevent the spread of communism. In total, the US would spend 13 billion dollars for the plan, which greatly boosted the nation's productivity and returned it to its old or even better economic state.

The Soviet Union tries to force out France, the United States, and the United Kingdom out of their Berlin sectors by cutting off their access to the city. In response, the Allies start the Beriln Airlift which supplies West Berlin with resources . The airlift fueled 2.5 million civilians for around a year until the blockade was lifted. Victory for the Allies.

The NATO alliance was established as a military alliance between 12 nations in order to counter the Soviet Influence across the globe. The main factor of the alliance is that if one nation gets attacked, it is considered that all the other nations in alliance with it are also being attacked. Currently, NATO has expanded its numbers to 32 members, and the headquarters of NATO are located in Brussels, Belgium, but it was formed in Washington, D.C..

The soviets tested their first atomic bomb, RDS-1, on the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan. It was also known as "First Lightning," a similar design to America's "Fat Man." This event marked the start of the Cold War's nuclear arms race, with Americans trying to create more and better nuclear weapons.

Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) and, after defeating Chiang Kai-shek and his National Party, established the People's Republic of China in Beijing. The nationalists retreated to Taiwan, claiming to be the Republic of China. In the end, China became a communist state, siding with the Soviet Union.

Senator Joseph McCarthy started accusing government officials and Hollywood officials of having communist ties, leading investigations without solid evidence. These actions started a widespread paranoia across the states, many people fearing being labeled as "un-American." Such claims could leave people blacklisted and unable to find jobs. This movement with McCarthy started to die down after people saw how uncredible the movement was, especially with the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954.

This event was the first major conflict in the Cold War, starting in North Korea. North Korea was aided by the Soviet Union and China while invading South Korea, aided by the United Nations, mostly the United States. There were many casualties, millions of soldiers and civilians lost their lives, and the war ended in a signing of an armistice, which established the demilitarized zone. There was no official peace treaty signed, which means they are still technically at war. It's often seen as forgotten, overshadowed by the other wars.

The United States dropped test hydrogen bombs on Bikini Atoll, near the Marshall Islands. The most significant drop was on March 1, 1954, called Castle Bravo; scientists underestimated the yield of the hydrogen bomb. The expected 4-8 megaton yield ended up being 15 megatons, resulting in a widespread fallout that affected the nearby islands. Many residents got severe health issues from the detonation of the bomb, leaving the Bikini Atoll still contaminated and inhabitable to this day. These tests proved that the new bombs were more powerful than the one dropped on Nagasaki, 1,000 times more powerful.

The KGB stands for Committee for State Security, used to ensure the security of the Soviet Union. It was responsible for spying on other nations and acquiring top-secret information for the Union. It also monitored the possible nuclear attacks of the United States and made sure the Soviet Union didn't have any spies. It was dissolved in 1991, but there are some modern, similar services in Russia to this day.

In Iran, Operation Ajax was established, the CIA working with British intelligence to remove the prime minister in Iran but he name of Mohammad Mossadegh. One of the main reasons for this was due to the prime minister nationalizing their oil, which threatened British and US interests. After removing the prime minister through propaganda, military involvement, and bribery, their old prime minister Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was back in action.

In Guatemala, Operation PBSuccess was established to overthrow Guatemala's president, Jacobo Árbenz. The reason for overthrowing him was the fact that the land reforms he introduced to his country threatened the United Fruit Company, a big US corporation. The CIA had trained forces that led to the resignation of the president.

All of these efforts were in hopes of containing Communism.

The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance formed between the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. This was a counter to Eastern Germany joining NATO. The Soviet Union wanted to prevent Western influence in Europe and other places. The pact unified many military commands and allowed the Soviets to have troops in the member states. The pact started to die down during the Revolutions of 1989 and fell on July 1, 1991.

This event was a scientific dispute on the naming of periodic elements 104-106. This was between American and Soviet scientists who claimed they both found the elements before the other did. These arguments lasted up to the 1990s, each side having its own name for the element. This dispute was stopped by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry(IUPAC) by naming 104 Rutherfordium, 105 as dubnium, and 106 as Seaborgium. This argument was due to both nations wanting to be more scientifically prestigious than the other.

It was a Hungarian revolution against Soviet control in the region and the policies of the Hungarian People's Republic. Starting on October 23, 1956, students and citizens started protesting for more independence and political reforms, led by Imre Nagy. On November 4, 1956, the Soviets sent troops and tanks to stop the rebellion, resulting in fights and thousands of casualties and deaths. On November 11, 1956, János Kádár was tasked with restoring communist rule, and the rebellion lost its fire. Even with the rebellion's failure, it was a symbol of resistance against the unfair Soviet rule and brought others hope to gain independence in Europe.

This event marked the first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tested by the Soviets. It was called the R-7 Semyora and was developed by Sergey Korolyov. The missiles' details include:

• range of 8,000-8,800 km/ 5,000-5,500 mi

• 3-5 megaton thermonuclear warhead

• Foundation of Soviet space launch vehicles

This event is key to the nuclear arms race, since it showed the Soviets' capability to deliver nuclear weapons to other continents.

This marked the beginning of the space age, the Sputnik being the first artificial satellite to be put into space. This satellite was 58cm/23in, had 4 outside radio antennas, and the satellite was able to orbit Earth every 96 minutes. The sputnik could travel 18,000 mph! This really surprised the world, especially the US, since the Soviets showed their technological superiority. In the span of 22 days, the satellite continued sending signals until its batteries died out and it burned its way back down to Earth.

Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution against Fulgencio Batista and his government in a guerrilla warfare from the Sierra Maestra mountains. With more and more involvement in the revolution, Castro would gain power. After his victory, Castro aligned himself with the Soviet Union, created land reforms, and nationalized his industries. His alignment with the Soviets showed his communist views, which would start tensions with the US.

Francis Gary Powers, a US pilot, was flying the U-2 spy plane, new to America. It doesn't carry any missiles, but it does have lots of cameras. These airplanes fly so high in the stratosphere, which is close to space. The planes are for recording the USSR. Russia shoots it down, and Gary somehow survives, gets captured, and is put on public trial. Gary Powers is later swapped out for a russian spy to make it back to the US.

The US didn't like Castro, so they gathered anti-Castro people, and the CIA started training them and dropping them off at the coast of Cuba with guns. The invasion is a disaster, and the people are all either killed or captured by Castro. The whole scheme was put to a stop in the matter of three days. Castro's military was underestimated in its strength and support. Castro runs to the soviets for support, and the Soviets oblige. This event led to the Cuban Missile Crisis later on.

The construction was started by the German Democratic Republic(GDR) on the east side of Germany. Its purpose was to prevent East Germans from leaving for West Berlin, as many civilians escaped before its building. At first, the wall was made up of barbed wire and some temporary obstacles, but it was later replaced by a concrete wall. This wall was accompanied by guard towers, trenches, and a "death strip," which made any attempts at escaping very difficult. The wall became a symbol of the Cold War, dividing families and cutting them off from the West.

After the Bay of Pigs, Cuba turned to the soviet Union, they are happy to help Cuba by supplying it with missiles. The US flies a U-2 plane and sees the missiles, getting ready to send troops to Cuba. Kennedy didn't like this plan and suggested inspecting ships that get to Cuba. The Soviets see this as engagement and don't like it. The soviets shoot down a plane, and the US disturbs a Soviet submarine. The soviets on the submarine almost fired a missile, but thanks to one of the captains, they decided not to fire it. Then, one individual from each party meets up and negotiates. The deal was America withdrawing missiles from Italy and Turkey, also promising to never invade Cuba. The soviets promised to withdraw the missiles in Cuba.

The treaty was created in hopes to ban all nuclear weapons for military and civilian reasons. Ratification is the aggrement to this treaty, and contrys can ratify themselves through their legislative and executive branches. The treaty hasn't been put into action yet due to 9 important nations not ratifying yet.

The USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy were reportedly hit by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The current President at the time, Lyndon Johnson, wanted to do everything in his power to increase his involvement. On August 5, He presented a resolution to take all necessary measures to attack I the future, which gave the president very powerful military powers without declaring war. Many people doubted if the incident was even real, with North Vietnam attacking, and it was later released.

President Lyndon Johnson deployed troops to the Dominican Republic in homes of keeping communism from taking over. He sent around 22,000 US troops and it was known as Operation Power Pack, to stabilize the country after the overthrow that took place. This intervention led to a political compromise, favoring the US. This event made some Latin American countries suspicious of the US.

President Lyndon Johnson decided to send 200,000 more troops to Vietnam due to the conflict and the growing strength of the North. This showed just how involved the US became in the war, making the total number of troops sent to Vietnam 500,000.

Rolling Thunder was an aerial campaign the US was inflicting on North Vietnam. It was sought out to weaken their strength and to lead to negotiations. In the end, the operation didn't accomplish its goals, and the other side still kept up with their resistance.

Soviet forces and forces aligned with the Warsaw Pact started invading Czechoslovakia due to he uprising of a political liberalization led by Alexander Dubček. This Invasion included many troops sent to stop the protests. Those in Prague were absolutely crushed, and the Soviet control in Eastern Europe was back.

This event marked the first time humans walked on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were aboard the ship and were the ones to make history in this event. Armstrong's famous quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," will be remembered since he was the first man on the moon.

The Pentagon Papers were very important, having details on the military involvement in Vietnam. The report was commissioned by the current Secretary of Defence, Robert McNamara. These papers were leaked to the press, saying that the US had provided false information to the public and Congress to keep efforts up in Vietnam. Nixon tried to stop the publication of the papers, resulting in a Supreme Court case against America and the New York Times. Eventually, the papers were publicly released.

This was a huge breakthrough in the history of diplomacy, having Nixon be the first president to visit the People's Republic of China, marking the end of a 25-year period of no diplomatic ties between the two. He met to discuss the Cold War, trade, and diplomacy with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong. This later cut the bond between the Soviet Union and China.

SALT stands for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, and this led to an agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States to limit the number of ballistic missile launchers the countries had. It later led to the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, limiting the missile defence systems too. This was very significant in bringing down the Cold War tensions.

This was led by General Augusto Pinochet to overthrow President Salvador Allende, and the coup was supported by the CIA. Their success was powerful due to economic pressure and covert operations. Pinochet then had a dictatorship for 17 years, killing off his political opponents. The Americas' impact remains a debate on how it affected Chilean society.

Egypt and Syria launch an attack on Israel, starting the Yom Kippur War. This launch was to regain territory lost from the Six-Day War, having each wanted to reclaim their old territory. Earlier, Egypt got rid of soviet advisors, but during the war, they relied on soviet weaponry. Later, it led to the Camp David Accords, which marked the end of the war.

After North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the war in Vietnam was over, and the South fell to the North, becoming communist. The US then evacuated civilians and US fighters out of Vietnam, called Operation Frequent Wind. This operation was the largest helicopter evacuation ever.

The Soviet Union and Cuba aided the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola(MPLA). This issue started when Portugal gave Angola independence, which led to conflicts between other groups. Cuba gave troops, and the Soviets gave weapons to Angola. This event led to Angola becoming a ground for the Cold War, with the United States and South Africa as supporters for some of the other groups in the area. The civil war lasted till 2002.

The US and China established their diplomatic relations, which shifted the global politics due to the Cold War and the split of Soviet-China relations. President Jimmy Carter recognised the People's Republic of China as a legitimate government, and cast Taiwan to the side. The panda diplomacy was used in China to show strong international relations with other countries. Getting a panda is a symbol of goodwill.

China launched an attack on Vietnam due to Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia. China sent out 200,000 troops, while Vietnam had 100,000 soldiers. After a month, China withdrew its forces and said that they accomplished what it needed. There were many casualties on both sides, and the conflict left each side to have bad relations with the other.

The Iranian revolution ended in the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, which ended the US-supported ruling in Iran. This led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. On November 4, 1979, Iranian military stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 66 hostages. They let a few people go, but had around 55 people remaining, which lasted 444 days. This damaged the Iran-US relationship, especially after the US's failed attempt at having a rescue mission.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan to support the communist government, called the Mujahideen. This led to internal conflicts in Afghanistan, seeing widespread resistance. The Mujahideen are supported by the US while the soviets install a communist leader. After nine long years, the Soviets ended up withdrawing due to their losses in the war.

The US team which was consisted of mostly college players managed to pull off a victory against the USSR in a 4-3 victory. The Soviets were believed to win, due to their 4 back to back wins, but the United States managed to snag a win.

This was a way of protest against the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The boycott was made official by President Jimmy Carter on March 21, 1980. 65 other countries decided to also participate in the boycott, making it the largest Olympic boycott ever.

President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as SDI, which entailed a missile system that would protect the US from nuclear attacks. He would incorporate space and ground-based technology for this development to intercept soviet missiles before impact. The program got the nickname of Star Wars since it had a very spacey and futuristic feel to the program.

Operation Urgent Fury was the cause of the invasion of Grenada in hopes of overthrowing the Marxist government. The invasion was seen as controversial since it violated international law, but some argue it helped keep communism out of the Caribbean.

• The US sent 7,300 troops

• Lasted 8 days

• After the government fell, pro pro-US administration was installed

• The Cuban and Soviet forces were removed

On May 8, 1984, the Soviet Union announced its withdrawal from the Summer Olympics that are held in Los Angeles, US. This is a counter to America's previous boycott of the winter Olympics that were held in Moscow. Joining in on the boycott, 14 other European nations also decided not to partake in the Olympics.

After Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Soviet Union, he implemented two political reforms, "glasnost" and "perestroika" to the soviet economy and political system. Glasnost allowed more free speech and press, while perestroika focused on not having such a strong central control on businesses and industry, and allowing some private enterprise. This action strengthened socialism but it was the main cause of the fall of the USSR.

From May 15, 1988, to February 15, 1989, the Soviet Union withdrew its forces from Afghanistan. After around a decade of conflict, the Geneva Accords were signed to end Soviet involvement in Afghanistan.

Many revolutions sparked across Europe, collapsing many communist governments in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. These revolutions were fueled by the growing demand for democracy, economic struggles, and political repression. These revolts played a role in the end of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The protest was led by students and individuals who wanted to have freedom of speech, political reforms, and to stop government corruption. The government responded violently, with orders to clear out the square. At the height of the protest, there were 1 million people residing in the square. The government deployed troops and tanks, killing hundreds and thousands of civilians.

The Berlin Wall was a divider of Eastern and Western Germany, separating families and the symbolic Iron Curtain that separated communism in Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War, allowing people on the border to be reunited with those on the other side. This was fueled by perestroika, people crowding the borders, and their protests of being reunited.

Boris Yeltsin became the first president of Russia on June 12, 1991, due to popular vote. Before his Russian presidency, he was the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic before it was dissolved. He created many economic reforms for the country while facing many economic and financial challenges. He remained president until he resigned on December 31, 1999, handing over power to Vladimir Putin.

After the reunification of the country, Berlin became the capital of Germany. The eastern German states merged with the federal republic. Tensions between Germany and Poland were eased after discussing the borders. This was a symbol of the end of the Cold War.

This date marked the end of the Cold War and the creation of 15 independent republics. This was due to the economic struggles, political unrest, and national movements within the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin's election was the leading action, pushing for Russian independence. After the Union fell, several republics branched away to form their independent governments. Gorbachev's resignation was the final push toward the dissolution of the USSR. Many challenges arose, such as economic challenges and political instability, but this also led to new alliances.