The Cold War by Alessandra Duda28

The Cold War Begins (1945)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-02 18:19:33 UTC

The Cold War began in 1945 soon after WW2 ended. The Cold War was more a political war, mainly between the U.S and Soviet Union who were the main powers after WW2, but included Eastern Europe, Western Europe, part of Latin American and Asia fought. The main fighting points during the War were:

Struggle over communism
Proxy Wars (usually over communism)
The Arms Race
The Space Race

Space Race Begins (August 2, 1955)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-02 18:21:06 UTC

The Space Race started when the US announced that they were going to launch the first artificial satellite into space.

US explodes Trinity bomb (July 16, 1945)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-02 18:24:39 UTC

The trinity bomb, also known as the Gadget was the US's first atomic bomb in New Mexico at a nuclear test site as part of the Manhattan project. The bomb was created by Robert Oppenheimer.

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1 (October 4, 1957)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-02 18:33:03 UTC

Sputnik 1 became the first satellite to orbit Earth.

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with a dog into space (November 3, 1957)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-02 18:35:41 UTC

Sputnik 2 carries a dog named Laika into space. The Soviet Union became the first nation to send a living thing into space.

The US launches Explorer 1 (January 31, 1958)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-02 18:37:19 UTC

Explorer 1 was the first US satellite to orbit Earth. Explorer 1 also had equipment that discovered the Van Allen radiation belt.

The Soviet Union launches the first cosmic rocket called Luna 1 (January 2, 1959)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-02 18:43:28 UTC

Because of too much speed, the rocket accidentally escaped the orbit of the Moon. Luna 1 was the first human-made object to escape the orbit of the Earth and instead, orbit the sun.

The Cuban Missile Crisis begins (October 15th 1962)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-02 18:46:51 UTC

The U.S finds out about the Soviet Unions secret missile sites they are building on Cuba, only about 100 miles off of the coast of the U.S and capable of striking targets across the U.S.

The US launches the first weather satellite, Explorer 6 (August 2, 1959)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-02 18:55:32 UTC

Explorer 6 took the first pictures of Earth from space.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 17, 1961)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-02 18:57:00 UTC

The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed attempt to secretly train 1,400 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba. It was approved by JFK, and was supposed to include 2 air attacks, but the 2nd was called off and left all 1,400 people with no support. All 1,400 people where either killed or captured. Huge failure on U.S' part and JFK took full responsibility for the losses.

The Soviet Union launches Luna 2 (September 12, 1959)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-02 18:58:02 UTC

Luna 2 is the first spacecraft to get to the surface of the Moon.

US drops bomb on Hiroshima, Japan (August 6, 1945)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-02 19:01:09 UTC

The US dropped the bomb called Little Boy onto the town of Hiroshima, Japan. The population was around 280,000 people and the bomb killed around 140,000 people.

US drops bomb on Nagasaki, Japan (August 9, 1945)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-02 19:04:54 UTC

Just 3 days after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the US dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. An estimate of 80,000 people were killed. The bomb was called Fat Man.

Surrender of Japan (Sep 2, 1945)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-03 00:54:05 UTC

After the two atomic bombs that the US dropped on Japan, they surrendered a few days later and officially surrendered on September 2nd.

USSR's first bomb called First Lightning tested (Aug 29, 1949)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-03 01:00:32 UTC

After hearing about the US's atomic bombs, the USSR started creating their own. The USSR tested it's first atomic bomb in 1949 called First Lightning. They created this way faster than the Americans thought they would.

The Soviet Union launches Luna 3 (October 4, 1959)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-03 21:13:09 UTC

While in orbit around the Moon, Luna 3 took pictures of the far side of the Moon.

Sputnik 5 returns from space (August 19, 1960)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-03 21:16:54 UTC

There were two dogs (Belka and Strelka) on Sputnik 5 as well as many plants, of which all were alive when they came back from space.

The US chimp comes back from space (January 31, 1961)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-03 21:21:18 UTC

US chimpanzee, Ham, is the first great ape to travel to space and back.

First man in space (April 12, 1961)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-03 21:33:32 UTC

The Soviet Union sends Yuri Gagarin on the Vostok 1. He made one orbit around Earth and became the first man to reach space. He was in space for 1 hour and 48 minutes before his landing. He landed in Saratov Oblast, west Russia.

First American man in space (May 5, 1961)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-03 21:44:52 UTC

The US sent Alan Shepard into space on the first pilot-controlled spaceship (Mercury-Redstone 3 or Freedom 7). Shepard flew 116 miles high and didn't not orbit Earth. The flight was around 15 minutes long.

First woman in space (June 16, 1963)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-03 22:19:44 UTC

Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. She spent almost three days in space on Vostok 6, and orbited Earth 48 times.

US tests their first hydrogen bomb (November 1, 1952)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-04 00:50:58 UTC

After the USSR made an atomic bomb, the US quickly started creating a more powerful one. This bomb was 1,000 times more powerful than the ones they used against Japan. They called the bomb Ivy Mike.

USSR tests their first hydrogen bomb (August 12, 1953)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-04 00:56:43 UTC

Not long after the US created their first hydrogen bomb, the USSR created one. The bomb was called RDS-6s. This impacts the future because now there is a new and more powerful type of weapon that can cause lots of destruction.

US explodes Castle Bravo (March 1, 1954)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-04 01:07:09 UTC

This bomb was the most powerful bomb that the US ever exploded. It was tested in Bikini Atoll, an island in the Marshall Islands. The explosion was so powerful that it affected nearby islands.

US creates their first ICBM (June 6, 1957)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-04 01:20:15 UTC

In 1957 the US created their first ICBM also known as an intercontinental ballistic missile. An ICBM allows a country to launch a bomb from anywhere instead of dropping it from a plane. This ICBM was called the SM-65 atlas.

USSR creates their first ICBM (August 21, 1957)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-04 01:24:09 UTC

Very shorty after the US created their first ICBM, the USSR created their first. It was called the R-7.

USSR explodes Tsar Bomba (October 30, 1961)

mccussler28_2 — 2023-11-04 01:32:54 UTC

The Tsar Bomba is the most powerful bomb that was ever used. This cloud from the explosion was 7 times the height of mount everest. This meant, the soviet union had won the arms race. This influences the future because it's a weapon so powerful that it could end millions of lives and cause complete chaos throughout the world if someone exploded it.

First spacewalk (March 18, 1965)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-04 14:14:57 UTC

The Soviet Union sent Alexei Leonov into space on the Voskhod 2, and he left the spaceship for 12 minutes. It was the first spacewalk in history.

First trip to Mars (July 14, 1965)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-04 14:16:50 UTC

Mariner 4, a US satellite flies to Mars for the first time, and takes close-up pictures of Mars.

The deadly year (1967)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-04 15:11:03 UTC

In January, when Apollo 1 cut fire while on the launch pad, American astronauts Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee were in the capsule, and so they died. A few months later the spaceship Soyuz 1 crashed while returning to earth because the parachute wouldn't activate. Vladimir Komarov, a Soviet cosmonaut was killed. This year is clearly the most deadly year of the space race for both the US and Soviet Union.

First human-crewed spaceship (December 21, 1968)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-04 15:15:19 UTC

Apollo 8, a US spaceship, reached the Moon, orbited it, and returned to Earth. It was the first human-crewed spaceship.

First steps on the Moon (July 20, 1969)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-04 17:10:52 UTC

Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon. Later, Edwin Aldrin (Buzz) became the second man to walk on the Moon. Michael Collins continued to orbit the Moon aboard the Apollo 11 while Armstrong and Aldrin were making history. The landing was watched by 723 million people around the world. This is what won the space race for the U.S.

The Space Race is back on (2023)

kraxner28_ — 2023-11-04 17:33:00 UTC

The space race is back on with a lot more countries competing. This time, the goal is to get to the lunar south pole, where some scientists have found clues of water ice.

North Korea invades South Korea signifying the beginning of the Korean War (1950)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-05 17:16:47 UTC

North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25th 1950 in a coordinated attack on several parts of the 38th parrellel. The U.S entered the war a few days later supporting South Korea, while North Korea was backed with Soviet aid and Chinese soldiers.

The Korean War ends (July 27th 1953)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-05 17:23:55 UTC

The Korean War ended in a stalemate on July 27th, 1953, when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed ending the 3 year conflict, agreeing that both North and South Korea would remain separate. The Korean War is often called "The Forgotten War" as it was overshadowed by WW2 even though millions of people died.

Vietnam War begins (1954)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 01:56:22 UTC

The Vietnam War started in 1954 when the colonial French. regime fell, splitting the country in two. The Soviet Union and China strongly backed North Korea whose goal was to rejoin the two countries with communism. While the United States backed South Korea as they fought to prevent this from happening.

Vietnam War ends (April 30th 1975)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 02:48:05 UTC

The Vietnam War officially ended on April 30th 1975 when North Vietnam gained control of Saigon- the capital of South Vietnam. North Vietnam in the end won the war turning the country into what is now Vietnam.

JFK publicly announces a quarantine around Cuba (October 22nd 1962)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 03:07:38 UTC

JFK tells the U.S about the missile threat and announces to the U.S that they will be blocking any ships that are carrying weapons from entering Cuba. He also demanded that the Soviets remove all missiles.

Khrushchev and JFK exchange letters (October 23-24th 1962)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 03:20:55 UTC

Khrushchev and JFK exchange letters arguing about the situation, and Khrushchev stating that JFK was being "unreasonable" and stating things such as it was international water so they couldn't do these things.

U.S U-2 Pilot is shot down over Cuba (October 27th 1962)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 03:24:00 UTC

U-2 pilot Maj, Rudolf Anderson is shot down and killed over Cuba. War appears to be imminent as blood had been drawn.

Cuban Missle Crisis ends (October 28th 1962)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 03:27:58 UTC

The Crisis ends after 13 stressful days that were the closest the world has ever gotten to nuclear war. It ended with Khrushchev agreeing to dismantle Soviet Missiles in Cuba.

JFK and Khrushchev start to reach an agreement (October 27th 1962)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 03:38:53 UTC

Kenndy and Khrushchev exchange letters in hopes of reaching an agreement because both know Nuclear War would not end well. Khrushchev says that they will remove missiles from Cuba if the U.S removes theirs from Turkey.

The Korean War starts to get remebered (1993)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 03:52:18 UTC

The Korean War was often referred to as the "forgotten war" and for good reasons as only then 40 years after the conflict were memorials starting to get created to honor the soldiers who fought in the war.

Current Day U.S-Cuba relations (2023)

aduda28_ — 2023-11-06 04:02:11 UTC

Currently the U.S maintains limited engagements with Cuba, and usually take opposing sides on issues. Cuba and Russia also currently share strong economic ties with eachother, and are allies.