Cold War By collingilreath Period: Jan 1, 1945 to Dec 31, 1991 The Cold War May 1, 1945 World War 2 ends Apr 12, 1949 Nato begins May 13, 1955 Warsaw Pact formed Oct 4, 1957 Soviet launches first man made satellite Oct 13, 1964 China explodes first atomic bomb Apr 15, 1965 US sends troops to dominican republic Aug 13, 1968 Soviet red Army crushes uprising czech Feb 21, 1972 President Richard Nixon visits China Feb 29, 1972 President Richard Nixon visits China. Sep 13, 1973 US supported coup overthrows Chilean government Apr 17, 1975 South Vietnam falls to communist forces. Apr 30, 1975 Vietnam war ends. Feb 10, 1976 Soviet and Cuban forces help install Communist government in Angola Feb 14, 1976 Soviet and Cuban forces help install Communist government in Angola. Aug 14, 1980 Polish shipyard workers strike, Solidarity Union formed. Dec 4, 1983 U.S. invades Grenada Mar 27, 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union, the following year he declares glasnost and perestroika. May 14, 1989 Led by university students, over one million Chinese in Tiananmen Square demand reforms by the Chinese Communist government. Nov 9, 1989 Berlin wall is broken down/German starts process of reunification East german guards are ordered not to fire on Germans wanting to go to west berlin May 21, 1990 Germany decided to be joined together again in 1994
