Mapping Cold War by Vivaan Sinha (MV)

(49.021192037803345, 12.989863991896348)

2024-04-09 18:29:07 UTC

The Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan was made to assist in economic recovery in Western Europe. George Marshall created this to restore political stability. This event occurred from 1947-1952. Throughout these years European economies grew tremendously.

Poland

2024-04-09 18:30:07 UTC

Formation of Eastern Bloc

The Soviet Union used its influence obtained from authority, establishing and enforcing communism, along with creating alliances of countries on Eastern borders, hence the Formation of Eastern Bloc

Non-Aligned Movement

221638_6 — 2024-04-09 18:30:16 UTC

Founded in 1961, the Non-Aligned Movement was an organization of countries majority in Africa and Asia, consisting of those who wanted to stay out of the Cold War. However, individual states/nations in the movement tended to lean more towards one global superpower than the other. For example, a war between Somalia and Ethiopia had the US and USSR sending aid respectively to each country. Leaders included Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Sukarno, the president of Indonesia.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

2024-04-09 18:32:44 UTC

This event was a cause of the US government's desire to overthrow the communist dictator of Cuba, Fidel Castro. The personnel that were used for this invasion were motivated by their desire to reclaim Cuba after being exiled by the government.

This event was a surprise attack by US-assisted Cuban exiles against the Cuban military. It was meant to be a night attack with 1500 exiles following an air strike campaign. This relied on the Cuban citizens joining the revolutionaries.

On April 15, 1961, the campaign started with a failure of a bombing run that revealed the US involvement. April 17 was when the botched invasion started, with 1200 invaders surrendering and 100 killed. Ruined the Kennedy administration's reputation and ruined Cuban relations.

Cuba

2024-04-09 18:40:31 UTC

The Cuban Revolution

The Cuban Revolution happened during 1953-1959. The cause of the Cuban Revolution was the discontent with the social inequality and the lack of justice with Batista's regime. During this event, Batista's regime was overthrown and resulted in a new government led by Fidel Castro.

Soviet War in Afghanistan

2024-04-09 18:43:42 UTC

This was caused by the Islamist Mujahedeen Resistance against the communist government of Afghanistan. The USSR invaded Afghanistan to maintain the government against these resistance fighters while the guerrillas were supported by the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and PRC. The invasion started on December 25, 1979, with the arrival of Russian airborne forces landing in Kabul. Russia remained defensive to Mujahedeen forces, rarely counterattacking. Ended war with Operation Magistral in which they won and negotiated ceasefires to leave the country with a victory. Russian withdrew from Afghanistan on February 15, 1989.

The Korean War

2024-04-11 17:24:28 UTC

The Korean War was from 1950-1953. It was caused by the division of Korea after the division of Allied forces. North Korea's people invaded South Korea along the 38th parallel led by General Matthew Ridgeway. At the end of the war, both sides agreed to a demilitarized zone along the front. South Korea went on to develop a strong economy, whereas North Korea became an isolated state.

9. Vietnam War

221638_6 — 2024-04-11 17:25:11 UTC

Lasting from 1959-1975, the Vietnam war is notoriously known as what NOT to do in future American conflicts. It was fought by the US and South Vietnam as an attempt to prevent communism from unifying the country, against North Vietnam nationalists and the government advocating for it. Fighting was prevalent long before the war began, and was only worsened by the cold war. Ho Chi Minh, the leader in fighting for Vietnam's independence, played a crucial role in the war. In the end, South Vietnam surrendered, and the North won.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

221638_6 — 2024-04-11 17:33:08 UTC

The Cuban Missile Crisis spanned across a 13 day period in October of 1962, and marked the only "nuclear confrontation" between the US and Soviet Union. The US had secretly detected the USSR building nuclear missile sites in Cuba, per Cuba's request to deter further Cuban internal issues. This was largely caused by the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and Bay of Pigs in 1961. After direct communication between the superpowers, USSR leader Khrushchev announced they would remove all nuclear weapons from the area, under the promise that the US would also remove their weapons from Turkey.

Germany

2024-04-11 17:37:46 UTC

Postwar Occupation and Division of Germany

On May 8, 1945, Germany armed forces surrendered ending WW2 for Germany. Germany had divided into 4 different zones, all of which being governed by the US, UK, France, Berlin, and German capital. The establishment of the zones provided harmony amongst the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union.

Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

221638_6 — 2024-04-11 17:39:33 UTC

The Berlin Wall was a concrete wall separating West (US controlled) and East (USSR controlled) Berlin, erected in 1961 and remaining until 1989. While the US wanted to promote a free market economy in Germany, the Soviet Union wanted communism. However, a majority of citizens preferred the capitalist way of life as a result of better quality of living, leading to the creation of the wall to prevent citizens from crossing to either side. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of protestors desperate to see their families and tired of the USSR's control, overrode the wall and ended the divide forever.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

2024-04-11 17:41:37 UTC

Hu Yaobang, the Secretary of the CCP, is forced to resign in 1987 after several protests to his reforming policies. When he died in 1989 thousands of citizens attended his funeral, demanding for him to be treated better and his legacy reinstalled. April 26, 1989, mourners started to clash with the police and escalated the violence. This clash became an incident between the PLA and the student mourners, in which thousands of students were killed. After this, the US placed economic sanctions on CHina, and many protests followed.

Berlin, Germany

2024-04-11 17:43:35 UTC

Berlin Blockade/Berlin Airlift

Soviet Union leader, Joseph Stalin imposed the Berlin Blockade during 1948. Stalin cut off all land and river between West Berlin. The Western allies fought back with airlifts come to Berlin´s aid.

China

2024-04-11 17:47:59 UTC

Chinese Revolution

The Chinese Revolution were one of the first hot and cold war conflicts. The Soviet Union and China were originally allies, but eventually split and fought brutal wars. The effective victory of the communists and expulsion of Nationalists, eventually forced upon the occurrence of Taiwan. The communists dealt with defeat and many setbacks.

Fall of the Soviet Union

2024-04-11 17:49:13 UTC

Deep economic and political problems tore the country apart, in which the new leader, Gorbachev, allowed lenient policies on freedom of speech to go into effect. His economic plan did not immediately solve the economy, and many criticized him for this. Eastern bloc countries began to demand autonomy, in which a domino effect followed of independence. In January 1992, the USSR ceased to exist. Following this, 15 new independent countries occupied Russian territory, participating in many territorial disputes.