Map by Harley Wendell

D-Day

hw155 — 2025-01-21 20:24:17 UTC

D-Day was on June 6th 1944. It was a key moment in World War II when Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy France, to fight against Nazi Germany. More than 156 000 soldiers from the US, Britain, and Canada took part in the attack. This successful invasion helped start the liberation of France and played a big role in ending the war in Europe.

Hiroshima Bombings

hw155 — 2025-01-21 20:27:50 UTC

On August 6th, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima Japan, during World War II. The explosion killed around 140 000 people. This attack, followed by another bombing in Nagasaki, led to Japan's surrender and the end of the war in the Pacific. It was the first time nuclear weapons were used in war.

Nagasaki bombings

hw155 — 2025-01-21 20:29:01 UTC

On August 9th, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki Japan, just days after Hiroshima. The explosion killed about 70 000 people and caused massive damage. This bombing helped lead to Japan’s surrender, ending World War II in the Pacific. It was the second and last time nuclear weapons were used in war.

Berlin Airlift

hw155 — 2025-01-23 20:00:20 UTC

The Berlin Airlift was in response to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin, which cut off all access to the city. To feed the people of West Berlin and keep them supplied, the US and its allies organized an airlift, flying thousands of tons of goods into the city each day. The airlift lasted for almost a year and kept West Berlin supplied, forcing the Soviets to finally lift the blockade.

Korean War

hw155 — 2025-01-23 20:04:42 UTC

The Korean War, was fought between North Korea and the Soviet Union, and South Korea. North Korea was supported by China and the South was supported by the United States and other UN forces. It started with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea with the intention of unifying the country under communist rule. It ended in a stalemate with an armistice agreement that left Korea divided, with no peace treaty ever signed.

Cuban Revolution

hw155 — 2025-01-23 20:11:20 UTC

The Cuban Revolution took place in 1959 when Fidel Castro and his followers overthrew the dictator Fulgencio Batista. After years of fighting in Cuba, the capture of power by the forces of Fidel Castro established a communist government. With the revolution, the political, economic, and social way of life changed, aligning Cuba with the Soviet Union.

Vietnam War

hw155 — 2025-01-23 20:17:02 UTC

The Vietnam War was super long, from 1955 to 1975. It was a conflict between North Vietnam, and South Vietnam, who was backed by the United States. The US fought in this war to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. After years of intense fighting, the US withdrew, and North Vietnam eventually won, unifying the country under communist control.

Nuclear Arms Race

hw155 — 2025-01-23 20:21:00 UTC

The Nuclear Arms Race was during the Cold War, the competition was developing the strongest nuclear bombs by both the United States and the Soviet Union through rapid experiments and testing. So it was building all kinds of anxiety for a nuclear war, it was happening for two decades, where each nation was trying to outrank the other regarding military power, so if they actually did go to war, the stronger one would win. I chose to just put this as the USA because it happened there and Russia too.

The space race

hw155 — 2025-01-28 19:25:53 UTC

On July 20th, 1969, The first man ever had landed on the moon. It was done in a rocket named the 'Apollo 11.' Anyways, this was a huge event in history for the US because they were in a race with the Soviet Union to get to the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the American men on the moon. This achievement showed America's success in the technology and smarts on their side of the cold war.

Dentente

hw155 — 2025-01-28 19:42:47 UTC

Dentente translates to the word 'easing' in french. Dentente was a time during the cold war, when the US and Soviet Union wanted to get along better. The two had made agreements which were named SALT I and II, which stood for Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty. The two nations started trading and sharing more culture, this was all during the late 1960's and throughout the 70's, but things started to get sour again in 1979, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

hw155 — 2025-01-28 19:52:38 UTC

On December 24th, 1979, the Soviet Union went and invaded Afghanistan. The goal was to prop up their communist government, which was on a decline against enemies. This is what started the Soviet and Afghan war, which was part of the Cold War plan. They wanted to keep the country away, so they weren't a problem, but for whatever reason, they decided to try and assert dominance over them. The plan backfired because Afghanistan got support from other countries, like the US, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and more. This kind of pointless war went on for nearly ten years, becoming a nightmare for the Soviets. They lost tons of soldiers, spent loads of money, and put themself in a conflict they couldn't win.

Sputnik 1 launch

hw155 — 2025-01-28 19:59:29 UTC

The launch of this rocket marked a big moment in history, as it became the first satellite to ever orbit Earth. This recently started the space race between the USA and Uthe SSR. This race had all kinds of competition, over things like science, technology, and politics. The success of this satellite was a shock to the US, leading to fears of being behind in technology, and that they'd have to spend a bunch of money on it. The sputnik satellite even had its radio channel, where the beeping signal coming from it would play, kind of pointless but I thought that was kinda funny. All of this ended up leading to the creation of NASA.

Chernobyl disaster

hw155 — 2025-01-28 20:13:33 UTC

This happened on April 26th, 1986, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in what was the Soviet Union, now Ukraine. It was the result of a crazy explosion that caused fires inside the plant during a late-night safety test. This is by far the world's worst nuclear accident. The explosion released loads of radioactive stuff into the sky, affecting millions of innocent lives, giving them long-term health problems, and killing so many people. This made the Soviet Union look super bad, and unorganized.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

hw155 — 2025-01-28 20:39:17 UTC

This took place on November 9th, 1989. It symbolized the end of the Cold War. This barrier was made in 1961 by Germany to prevent citizens from escaping to the West. It was unexpectedly opened because of some miscommunication by a German official during a conference. As the word spread, loads of citizens fled to the opening and started dismantling it. This reunited all kinds of families and friends, but it declined communism heavily in Eastern Europe which was terrible for the Soviet Union.