Cold War Timeline by JILLIAN ASHER

Yalta Conference drafts Post-War Plan (Feb 1945)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-26 17:40:30 UTC

The "Big Three" leaders, including Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin met to discuss Post WWII plans and what would happen with Germany. This was also the establishment of the United Nations.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Aug 1945)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-26 17:42:00 UTC

2 atomic bombs were used against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. This was the world's first use of atomic bombs in warfare, and it played a part in Japan's eventual surrender. This had devastating effects, with over 200,000 casualties.

Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech in Fulton, MO (March 5, 1946)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-26 17:49:07 UTC

President Truman invited Winston Churchill to speak in Truman's hometown in Fulton, MO. Churchill described how the communist Soviet Union had gone under an "iron curtain" and pleaded how the United States and Great Britain needed to act as the peacekeepers of the world.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-03-26 17:58:04 UTC

The Truman Doctrine specified that the United States would support the noncommunists who were fighting against the communists. The Greek Civil War had communists fighting noncommunist factions. The United states supported the noncommunist faction by providing economic and military aid.

Marshall Plan is announced to rebuild Europe (June 1947)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-26 17:59:50 UTC

The Marshall Plan was a plan that the United States would give money and supplies over to Europe, which was devastated by WWII. This effort was to keep communism from spreading across Europe, because a bad economy is fertile for communism. By the United States creating a good economy for Europe, there was no spread of communism.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift Begins (June 1948)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-27 16:34:03 UTC

Germany was wholly divided into West and East Germany, West being non communist and East being communist. Within East Germany, the city of Berlin is also divided. The transportation routes were cut by the Soviet Union from West Germany to West Berlin. So, President Truman sent airlifts full of supplies to the starving people of Western Berlin, and in turn, this made the United States look like the "good guys," and the rest of the world supported them.

NATO Alliance formed (April 4, 1949)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-27 17:17:41 UTC

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This is a formal military defensive alliance with all of the other countries part of NATO. This alliance was against the communist Soviet Union and sought to prevent WWIII.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-03-27 17:28:42 UTC

This significantly marked the Soviet Union to be the second country to develop the technology to create an atomic bomb. This led to further tension and an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-03-27 17:39:04 UTC

Chiang Kai Shek was the leader of the noncommunist movement and Mao Zedong was the leader of the communist leader. They both wanted a Chinese republic but with different economies. There was a Chinese civil war, and Mao Zedong eventually won, making all of China communist, called the People's Republic of China.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-03-27 18:05:19 UTC

There was a small communist party in the United States. McCarthy sought to run for another term, so he accused civilians for being communists. This started the Red Scare in the United States, and most people were scared of the thought of communism spreading in the United States and spies from the Soviet Union. This was McCarthyism, and it ruined lives in the United States. Eventually, McCarthy was discredited.

Korean War (1950-1953)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-27 18:15:39 UTC

Communist North Korea invaded non communist South Korea. North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Korea was supported by the United States and the United Nations. The United States fought back this invasion within South Korea in an effort to stop the spread of communism. This war ended with the division of both countries on the 38th parallel.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-03-31 16:37:35 UTC

H-bombs are thousands of times stronger than the atom bombs used in warfare, specifically on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the act of atomic fusion, rather than atom fission. This was the first time a hydrogen bomb had ever been used

The Transfermium Wars Begin (1955)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-31 17:28:16 UTC

This was a scientific "war" between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both countries battled to discover and name elements after #100 on the periodic table. Ex: Rutherfordium, Dubnium.

KGB established (March 1954)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-31 17:41:14 UTC

The KGB was the national security organization for the Soviet Union. The KGB used spies against the United States and its allies, controlled the border, and fought against anything that seemed to be against the Soviet Union. The KGB constantly competed with the United States' CIA.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-03-31 17:59:08 UTC

There was a fear of the rise of communism in both Guatemala and Iran. Whether it was with Soviet influence or communist ideals, the United States sought to keep it from spreading further. There were operations launched, such as Operation Ajax and Operation PBSUCCESS to control Soviet power and stop further establishment of communist ideals.

Warsaw Pact formed (May 1955)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-31 18:04:11 UTC

Countering NATO, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw pact, which was a pact of friendship and military alliance among the Soviet Union and other communist countries, primarily in Eastern Europe.

Rebellion put down in Hungary (Nov, 1956)

jasher26_ — 2025-03-31 18:16:43 UTC

The Soviet Union was controlling Hungary, and the civilians wanted an end to communism, free speech, and the Soviet military to be removed from Hungary. In response, the Soviet Union demolished this rebellion and established itself as a dominant authority in Europe.

Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba (Jan 1959)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-02 17:45:44 UTC

Fidel overthrew the noncommunist leader of Cuba and made Cuba communist. There was a lot of business in Cuba with America, and it is 90 miles off of the coast of Florida. This was very close to America and showed more spread of communism.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-02 17:52:09 UTC

American spy plane is flying in the stratusphere. The USSR shoots the U2 plane down, and the United States looks bad for having a spy plane. The spy survives and is convicted. The United States and the USSR eventually do a spy swap with a Russian spy and the American spy caught.

USSR launches first ICBM (Aug 1957)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-02 17:55:19 UTC

This showed just how much power the USSR had, because they were able to transport nuclear weapons across continents. This created an urgency for the United States to advance technology with the space race as well as reshape military strategy.

Failed Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-02 18:01:46 UTC

The United States takes civillians from Cuba, trains them, and gives them weapons. They are put of the Bay of Pigs coast and are demolished by the communist faction with Fidel Castro. The United States is blamed and seen as the bad guys for trying to overthrow Cuba.

Construction of the Berlin Wall begins (Aug 17, 1961)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-02 18:09:07 UTC

Anyone in East Germany who wanted to be free or have a good economy would just go to West Berlin. The USSR builds a wall to keep people from leaving, but say its to protect them from the United States. Much like the DMZ in Korea, there were machine guns and barbed wire, and people were actively being shot.

Cuban Missile Crisis (Oct, 1962)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 16:51:12 UTC

After the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba sought assistance from the USSR. Nuclear weapons were sent to Cuba, which the United States was against because Cuba was so close to the United States. The United States prepared for an invasion and created a blockade around Cuba. There was eventually a deal with the USSR and USA, and all nuclear weapons were taken back. This was a very tense time, and at one point, a Cuban submarine almost unleashed a nuclear missile on the United States.

Sputnik launched into orbit (Oct 4, 1957)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 16:56:57 UTC

The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space. This is the start of the "Space Race" that will keep tensions and competition rising between the United States and the Soviet Union. This had both the United States and the Soviet Union scrambling to advance in technology to explore space.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified (July 1963)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 17:02:49 UTC

This treaty was signed by the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This treaty stated that Nuclear tests were now not allowed in the water, on land, or in the air. However, nuclear tests were allowed underground as long as the radiation from the explosion did not leave the boundaries of the country conducting the test.

Gulf of Tonkin incident and resolution (August 1964)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 17:48:48 UTC

Non communist North Vietnam is versing the communist North Vietnam. The USSR and China supplied North Vietnam, while the USA supplied South Vietnam. The USA deploys troops into Vietnam, and with the use of sonar, torpedoes are allegedly heard underwater, which makes the USA deploy even more troops into Vietnam. This led to the US involvement in the Vietnam War.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 18:00:07 UTC

There was seen to be another rise of communism in the Dominican Republic, so Lyndon B. Johnson sends 22,000 troops to stop this before it gets out of control. They eventually brought an end to the violence and helped establish a conservative government.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 18:07:54 UTC

With tensions rising in Vietnam, Lyndon B. Johnson made the decision to send even more troops into Vietnam. There were drafts of young men to join this fight. This showed the world that the United States will be involved in this, and the United States got a lot of backlash from other communist countries.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 18:16:24 UTC

The 1st operation, where the United States continuously bombing North Vietnam in order to get them to negotiate. This went on for 3 years of constant bombing from the United States.

Red Army crush Czechoslovakian revolt (Aug 1968)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 18:19:33 UTC

Czechoslocakia was a "puppet government" but had freedom movements against communism. The Soviet Union that was running Czechoslovakia ran through the country with tanks and completely destroyed this movement from ever expanding.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-09 18:28:28 UTC

This was a major step for the United States in the space race with the Soviet Union. Apollo 11 launches from Florida and this rocket allows for Neil Armstrong to become the 1st man to step foot on the moon. This gives the US the upper hand in the space race.

President Nixon visits China (Feb 1972)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 16:24:18 UTC

America severed all relations with China after it became a communist country in 1949. When Nixon visits the Great Wall of China, this opens up diplomatic and economic relations with China once again and stimulates trade between America and China.

Publication of the Pentagon papers (1971)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 16:38:32 UTC

There was classified information about what the United States was actually doing in Vietnam and how involved they actually were, such as the expanding military involvement. Daniel Ellsberg leaked portions of these Pentagon papers to the press. The US government tried to keep these from leaking further, but the Supreme Court ruled that the people should know about this.

SALT I signed (July 1972)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 16:42:12 UTC

A treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union that tries to limit the number of nuclear weapons that each country has. This tries to "put a cap" on the arms race that is going on between these countries. There is the lessening of tensions, or "detente" between communist and non communist parties.

US supported coup overthrows Chilean government (Sept. 1973)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 17:34:07 UTC

Salvador Allende was the leader of Chile, and sought for more equality within the economy. Many groups, including the United States, did not want even more of a spread of communism, so the US supported a coup that would eventually overthrow this government and put Augusto Pinochet in charge, who was a cruel dictator.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 17:45:00 UTC

Egypt and Syria both attacked Israel during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. At the beginning of this fight, Israel suffered many losses and destruction. The United States supported Israel by airlifting supplies. The Soviet Union supported Egypt, which worsened tensions between both the USA and the USSR.

South Vietnam falls to Communist North Vietnam (April 17, 1975)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 17:55:46 UTC

This marks the end of the Vietnam War. The capture of the South's capital of Saigon caused a quick evacuation of US personnel, as well as Vietnamese citizens. Vietnam was now completely under a communist rule.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 18:03:20 UTC

Angola was going through a civil war after just gaining independence from Spain. During this war, the Soviet Union and Cuba both supported the communist party in this situation. Through military and weapon support, the communist party eventually took over Angola.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-21 18:20:05 UTC

The US officially accept China and trade and communicate with them. This allows China's economic rise with the United States through trade. China establishes Panda Diplomacy by renting out pandas to spread their influence through the cute, endangered species.

Reagan proposes SDI of "Star Wars" (1983)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 16:29:37 UTC

Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative, with the nickname "Star Wars" because of its sci-fi-like characteristics. Instead of a good offense against the USSR, Reagan proposes a good defense. This would put a defensive umbrella around the USA by being able to locate and shoot down missiles/nuclear weapons headed our way. This cost 30 billion dollars and was never really that effective, and could not shoot down everything.

Sino-Vietnamese War (Feb 1979)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 16:39:10 UTC

This was a very quick war. It started when Vietnam invaded Cambodia, which drove out a Chinese regime. This led to a decline in the China and Soviet Union relationship, because Vietnam was an ally of the Soviet Union, and a growth in the relationship between the USA and China.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 17:24:12 UTC

The USA and the USSR are fighting in an arms race and the USSR is losing while drowning in debt. Gorbackev allows for the Soviet Union to have freedoms, like of speech and rights to try and keep the Soviet Union from collapsing. He also tries to change the economy into a capitalistic economy, and this eventually doesn't work because the USSR was too far gone economically.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 17:32:10 UTC

Iranian extremists stormed the US embassy in Iran and captured 52 Americans. The US already had relationships in the middle east, but this hurt them terribly. The Americans were captured because the US helped the Shah be overthrown, who was a violent ruler. This outraged the extremists in Iran, but in the end they were eventually freed under negociation.

Soviet forces invade Afghanistan (Dec. 1979)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 17:40:27 UTC

The USSR wanted to maintain control over Afghanistan. This war was draining the already low resources that the USSR had, and deepened the tensions by the USA and the USSR. The USA supported Afghanistan through funding. Eventually, the USSR was defeated because the cost became too high.

US Hockey defeats USSR at winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY (Feb 22, 1980)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 17:47:37 UTC

This win was known as the "Miracle on Ice" and showed the resilience of the United States. This rose US national pride greatly because the Soviet Union had won in hockey for many years. This related to the cold war and proved United States dominance.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 17:55:17 UTC

This was the United States' response to the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. This heightened tensions within the cold war and the more than 60 other countries joined in on the boycott against the Soviet Union. Many athletes were not able to compete and 4 years later, the Soviet Union boycotts the Summer Olympics in the United States.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 17:57:05 UTC

Maurice Bishop, the prime minister, was executed in Grenada, creating chaos. There was then an airstrip built which was thought to be for Soviet and Cuban troops. There were many Americans in Grenada, so the United Sates invaded Grenada and overthrew this regime with another government and the Americans in Grenada were saved.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 18:09:59 UTC

This was a response to when the United States and over 60 countries boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow in 1980. This showed that the Olympics could be turned into politics and continued the tensions from both sides of the world.

Tiananmen Square Massacre (June 1989)

jasher26_ — 2025-04-24 18:19:57 UTC

College students in China are protesting in Tiananmen Square for more freedoms and democracy, as seen in the Soviet Union. The students are crushed by the government's tanks. This is swept under the rug and there is still no known casualty number.

Berlin Wall falls (Nov. 1989)

jasher26_ — 2025-05-07 17:40:48 UTC

The USSR began to fall due to bankruptcy and internal weakness. The East German government released a statement in the news about the Berlin Wall no longer being enforced, and thousands of people from the East and West sides tore it down. Eventually, Germany was united again.

Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan (Jan. 1989)

jasher26_ — 2025-05-07 17:46:49 UTC

There were constant battles in Afghanistan of guerrilla warfare, a loss of resources, a falling economy, and almost no morale to keep fighting in the USSR, which led to their withdrawal in Afghanistan. The United States and other allied countries also supported Afghanistan, which allowed them to keep fighting.

Boris Yeltsin elected as President of Russia (May 1990)

jasher26_ — 2025-05-07 17:50:51 UTC

The first democratically elected president of Russia, rather than the Soviet Union. A communist coup tries to take over, but thousands of Russian civilians storm the streets in protest, and some even climb on tanks. Eventually, the army backs down, and Russia becomes democratic.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-05-07 17:58:44 UTC

These countries decided to break off from the republic and become their own. They wanted to leave the communist control of the USSR through revolutions and protests. This showed the end of Soviet Influence across Eastern Europe.

Germany Reunified (Oct. 3 1990)

jasher26_ — 2025-05-07 18:02:12 UTC

After the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany were reunified and eventually became a capitalist, democratic country. This made some people nervous because of WWII, but they became one of the biggest economic powerhouses of Europe.

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

jasher26_ — 2025-05-07 18:09:03 UTC

Due to economic and internal weakness, the USSR eventually fell, and all 15 republics that were a part of the USSR gained independence, and they still have them today. This was not only the end of the Soviet Union, but also the end of the Cold War.

Cold War Podcast

jasher26_ — 2025-05-12 16:26:23 UTC

The United States and the Soviet union competed with each other as global superpowers during the Cold War not through direct conflict, but indirect rivalry, as seen in the space race, the arms race, and competitions in sports.