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The Cold War
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Marshall Plan
This was a program of economic aid offered by the United States to any European country. The plan was rejected outright by Stalin and any Eastern Bloc country considering accepting aid was reprimanded severely. Consequently the aid was only given to Western European Countries. -
Berlin Airlift
Britain established a new currency between Desutshmark and West Berlin. The Soviets cut off all land and water ways, but not the air. This started the Berlin Airlift. The Soviets end up losing the Cold War and the USA and its allies won it. -
Berlin Blockade
Russia’s response to the merger of the French, USA and UK partitions of Berlin was to cut all road and rail links to that sector. This meant that those living in Western Berlin had no access to food supplies and faced starvation. Food was brought to Western Berliners by US and UK airplanes, an exercise known as the Berlin Airlift. -
NATO
This is a military alliance between several Northern American and European countries based on the North American treaty. The treaty was signed on April 4, 1949. The main purpose of NATO is to defend each other from the possibility communist Soviet Union from taking control of their nations. -
Korean War
North Korea invaded South Korea on June 15, 1950. Soon the U.S. intervened, they helped the South get back up the Chinese border. The Chinese fought back, they fought on the line where an armistice was being signed on 1953. -
Hungarian Revolution
This began as a Hungarian protest against Communist rule in Budapest. It quickly gathered momentum and on 24th October Soviet tanks entered Budapest. The tanks withdrew on 28th October and a new government was formed which quickly moved to introduce democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. The Soviet tanks returned on 4th November encircling Budapest. -
Suez Crisis
Following military bombardment by Israeli forces, a joint British and French force invaded Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal which had been nationalized by the Egyptian leader Nasser. The attack was heavily criticized by World leaders, especially America because Russia had offered support to Egypt. The British and French were forced to withdraw and a UN peace keeping force was sent to establish order. -
Space Race
The Space Race refers to the 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union and the United States, for dominance in spaceflight capability. The race peeked when Apollo landed on the moon. -
Sputnik
The Sputnik itself was harmless, its orbiting intensified was a threat to the USA. The Sputnik could send nuclear missiles around the world at any minute. Less then a year after the Sputnik was lunched, Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA). -
U-2 Incident
The Soviet Union shot down a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane. The leader of the Soviet union declared that they would not take part in conference's unless the U.S., Britain, and France stopped flights over the Soviet territory. They didn't stop, so the Soviet's shot down a plane and kept the Powers prisoner. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A U-2 plane found nuclear missiles pointed at the USA from Cuba. After 8 days, President Kennedy ordered there was a blockade of Cuba and all of USA military forces to DEFCON 3. On October 28, Khrushrev said they will dismiss the missiles and in spring 1963 the USA dismissed their missiles from Turkey. -
Vietnam War
The war was between France. Vietnam and a few extra countries. Viet Cong troops used threats against innocent civilians, when it became obvious the Chinese were assisting Ho, the government of the south asked the Allied countries for assistance. On April 30, 1975 the last of American troops left. -
Non-Proliferation Treaty
The treaty was signed in 1968 and came into affect in 1970. A total of 90 parties have joined the treaty, with 5 states being recolonized as nuclear-weapon states. More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, which shows just how important and relevant it still is. -
Soviet Afghan War
The war was between Soviet-led Afghan and the group Mujahideens. All the Afghan people ran to Pakistan and Iran. On December 24, 1979 the Afghan army deployed and on May 15 1988 the last troop with drawled. On February 15, 1989, the war ended. -
Berlin Wall
In the late 1980's, Russian leader Gorbachev decided to abandon Russia’s satellite states to try and save his crumbling nation, allowing democracy to filter through, as it did in Poland. A politburo member named Schabowski briefed the media on November 9, 1989 on the swiftly written decree he misinterpreted what it said, announcing that East Germans could freely use all border crossings to "permanently exit" the nation. Word soon spread and people gathered at the border crossings. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
On March, General Mikhail S. Gorbachev, launched his nation on a dramatic new course. His program of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) introduced huge changes in economic practice, internal affairs and international relations. Gorbachev's actions set the stage for the fall of the Soviet Union.
