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Period: to
The Cold War
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U.S. drops an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
The five ton bomb dropped was ordered by President Harry S. Truman. This bomb was a new weapon and meant to bring WWII to it's end; it marked the end but the bomb would be seen as the 'first shot' in the Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
The offical declaration of the Cold War. In the address, Truman administration believed that the Turkish and Greek nations needs the support to stand against the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union were communists; their movement thorought Europe wasfr control and assurance of alliances. -
North Atlantic Treaty Orgainzation established
The U.S. and 11 other Nations established NATO- a mutual defense pact aimed at couaning possible Soviet aggression against western Europe. -
U.S. and other U.N. members fight North Korean forces
A battle within the Cold War, was the Korean War. Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into the Soviet (North Korea) and United States (South Korea) zones of occupation. President Truman and the United Nations placed land, sea and air forces in Korea. July 27, 1953 armistic agreement was signed under the negotiations of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Soviet Union explodes its first atomic bomb
A U.S. spy plane spotted a radioactive explosion off the coast of Siberia; four months later a German-born physist who helped the U.S. build its first atomic bomb was arrested for giving the Soviet Union a blue print of the bomb. This sparked Truman to order development of an hydrogen bomb; a more powerful bomb. -
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) formed
A pledge to "act to meet the common danger" in the event of aggression against any signatory state; France, Great Britian, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Thailand, the U.S., Laos, Combodia, and "the free territory under the jurisdiction of the state of Vietnam (South)" were all included. SEATO expired June 30, 1977. -
The Warsaw Pact formed
The Soviet Union and its seven allies signed a treaty establishing a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. Signed in Warsaw, the pact included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. Warsaw Pact remained intacted until 1991. -
Soviets crush Hungarian Revolution
Soviet tanks and troops viciously crush the protests after two weeks of protests and political instability in Hungary. The United States issued public statements of sympathy for their losses. -
Fidel Castro becomes Prime Minister of Cuba, installs communist government
Castro became Commander in Chief of Cubas armed forces after Batista was ousted; due to Castro's querrilla compaign that forced the dictator into exile. -
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba
The attempt on the bay of pigs failed. Launched by Cuban exiles and fianced by the CIA; the group of refugees were lightly armed and had very little chance of success. The U.S. expected the refugees to rally and bring an upraising to overthrow Castro's government. When the refugees cam eot shore the Cubans were there to attack. After the failure at Bay of Pigs, Castro used this win for him to request additional Soviet military aid. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
President John F. Kennedy announced his decision on a naval quarantine of Cuban. On October 23 the quarantine began. On October 24 the Soviet ships en route to Cuba revered their course. On October 26 the U.S. learned of continued work on the missile; on the same say the Soviets ended the crisis by removing the missiles in exchange the U.S. would not invade Cuba. -
U.S. commit combat troops to South Vietnam
U.S. military personnel in Vietnam started as a ssisstance advisory group, but by the end of 1962 the number of military personnel rose to 3,200 and by Nov. 1963 (the time of Kennedy's assassination) that number reached 16,000. March 1965 3,500 U.S. Marines landed near Da Nang in South Vietnam, the first U.S. troops to arrive in Vietnam. In 1975, Vietnam would fall to communist forces. -
U.S. invade Grenada
President Ronald Reagon was concerned about the safety of American nationals in the Caribbean nation of Grenada and ordered Marines to invade and secure their safety. The Reagon Administration claimed a great victory, calling it the first "roll back" of communist influence since the beginning of the Cold War. -
Berlin Wall is demolished
East Germany (Warsaw Pact) opened the Berlin Wall (built in Aug 1961) allowing travel from East to West Berlin. This action was encouraged by Soviet leader Gorbachev. The destruction of the Berlin Wall was one of the most significant actions leading to the end of the Cold War. -
The Soviet Union is abolished. Boris Yeltsin becomes President of Russia
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union. As Gorbachevs power slipped away, Yeltsin took over the government facilities and replaced the Soviet flag with the flag of Russia. After over 70 years of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was gone.
