Main idea: A political and ideological conflict between the United States (capitalist) and the Soviet Union (communist) after World War II.

No direct war: The two superpowers never fought each other directly but competed through arms races, space race, and proxy wars (like Korea and Vietnam).

Key events:

Berlin Blockade (1948–49)

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Space Race (Sputnik, Moon landing)

Vietnam War and Afghan War

End of the Cold War:

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

The USA remained the only global superpower.

Main cause: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria led to war between two alliances: the Allies (France, Britain, Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire).

Type of war: Mostly trench warfare, with new weapons like tanks, airplanes, and poison gas.

Main fronts:

Western Front: Stalemate in France and Belgium.

Eastern Front: Battles between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia.

End of war: Germany surrendered on November 11, 1918.

Consequences:

Around 10 million soldiers died.

Several empires collapsed.

The Treaty of Versailles punished Germany and helped cause World War II.

Main cause: Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland in 1939. Britain and France declared war.

Major sides:

Allies: Britain, Soviet Union, USA, China, and others.

Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan.

Key events:

Germany conquered much of Europe.

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (1941), bringing the USA into the war.

D-Day (1944): Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945).

End of war:

Germany surrendered in May 1945.

Japan surrendered in August 1945.

Consequences:

Over 70 million people died.

The Holocaust killed 6 million Jews.

The United Nations was created.

The USA and USSR became world superpowers.