Cold War- It was called the "Cold War" because neither side declared war on each other, so they fought against each other indirectly.
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Greek Civil War
A two stage conflict where Greek communists tried to to gain control of Greece, but failed. The start of the civil war began while Nazi Germany was still in charge. German rule was being opposed by two Greek guerrilla forces, the EAM- ELAS and the EDES. EAM-ELAS set up a professional government that disowned the king. Finally after lots of fighting with the Greek guerrilla forces, British troops were able to suppress the forces. -
Postwar Occupation and Division of Germany
After the war Germany was divided into four zones. These zones were split between the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. The British were given the northwest quadrant, the Americans were given the southeast, the French were given the southwest, and the Soviets were given the northeast quadrant. Even though the capital Berlin was in the Soviet quadrant, it was also divided up between Germany, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. -
Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc was a unified force formed during the WW2 led by the USSR. Initially it was created to defeat Nazi Germany, but after the war it lacked a common goal. Fearing neighboring countries would convert to capitalism, he mobilized, funded, and mentored socialist movements in those countries. These countries and Russia signed the Warsaw Pact, and became known as the Eastern Bloc. -
Enactment of the Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a U.S. aid plan to help Western Europe after the devastation of WW2. $15 billion was provided to help rebuild. Also the Marshall Plan one of the goals of the Marshall Plan was to stop the spread of Communism. Named after Secretary of State George C. Marshall who created the four-year-plan to reconstruct everything. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
An attempt by the Soviet Union to limit France, Britain, and the United States' access to their Berlin territories, they blocked highways, railroads, and canals. The Soviets believed that by doing this the other countries would back out of Berlin and the Soviet Union would have the capital city to itself. Instead it caused the United States, Britain, and France to start sending their supplies by air. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
Communist leader Mao Zedong announced the creation of the People's Republic of China. This announcement created a civil war to break out in China against the Nationalist Party. The creation of the PRC caused a government disturbance in China. Eventually China was taken over by communism. -
Korean War
75,000 soldiers lined up on the 38th parallel, the boarder line between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the pro-Western Republic of Korea. This was the first military action in the Cold War, and the U.S. sided with the south, the pro-Western Republic. For the U.S. it was a fight against the forces of international communism. After a while of fighting on the 38th parallel the fighting stalled. People were concerned that this would lead to WW3, but it ended in July of 1953. -
Cuban Revolution
An armed uprising led by Fidel Castro to take over Fulgencio Batista. It began when an assault on the Cuban military barracks had failed. By the end of 1958, the revolutionaries of Castro's 26th of July Movement gained the advantage in Cuba forcing Batista to flee on Jan. 1, 1959. -
Vietnam War
War that pitted North Vietnam and South Vietnam, and ally United States. This event increased the intensity of the cold war. Communist powers took over in the North, causing conflicts between the North and the South. This was only the start of a long war. When it was all over more than 3 million people were killed. -
Hungarian Uprising
Uprising began when people were protesting a more democratic political system and freedom from the Soviet oppression. They asked that the Soviet Union would remove their troops, which they did. Then they abolished one-party rule and withdrew from the Warsaw Pact. In November the Soviet Union tanks came back in and crushed Hungary. Killing and injuring thousands and causing millions to flee. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A failed attempt to push Fidel Castro from power. The plan was to destroy Castro's air force, through a conducted strike. However Fidel Castro found out about the U.S. attack and moved his planes. Since the plan failed the Cuban brigade started the invasion on a small island called the Bay of Pigs, It was supposed to be a secret, but it was being broadcasted. After the plan continued to fail, exiles surrendered in less than a day. -
Building the Berlin Wall
To stop the flow of emigrants by closing the borders for good, East Germany created the Berlin Wall. Before it was put up people could travel freely between Germany, after it was built it became impossible. The wall took only two weeks to construct and it was a makeshift barbed wire and concrete wall, and it only had three checkpoints where people could get through. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13 day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union because Soviet missiles were placed in Cuba. Because the missiles were placed so close to the United States, they made the decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and emphasized that military force would be used if they felt their was a threat. Thankfully nuclear war was avoided when the Soviet Union agreed to take the missiles out of Cuba if the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba. -
Prague Spring
A short period of liberalism in Czechoslovakia. People in Czechoslovakia were given the rights of free speech and the rehabilitation of political dissidents. The idea of "communism with a human face" was celebrated, but the Prague Spring was shortly ended by the Soviet Union. On August 20, the Soviet Union invaded, which ended the Prague Spring. -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
On December 24 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan by organizing a huge military airlift at midnight. On December 27 Afghanistan got a new government, and the soviets entered from the North, but were met with great resistance. Things changed in 1987 when the U.S. launched anti-aircraft missiles. The new soviet leader, Gorbachev, decided it was time to get out. The Soviets had all withdrew by 1989. -
Solidarity Movement in Poland
An independent trade union movement in Poland that created campaigns for political change. In 1980, the workers in Poland went on labor strikes that compelled the Polish government to agree to independent unions. Due to winning economic reform, free elections, and the backing of the Soviet Union the Polish government suppressed the union in 1989. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Storming through Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Chinese troops killed and arrested thousands of pro-democracy protestors. For weeks people had been protesting in Tiananmen Square for a greater democracy, but on June 4th the Chinese Government retaliated. Some people tried to escape the attack, while others fought back. They estimated that either hundreds or thousands were killed that day, and 10,000 had been arrested. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
At midnight on November 9th it was announced that the Berlin Wall was coming down and that people were now free to travel between West an East Berlin. Millions of people celebrated the fall of the wall and the people were finally reunited. One year later East and West Germany was reunified. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
One of the main reasons the Soviet Union fell was because of the radical reforms Mikhail Gorbachev carried out in his years of leadership of the USSR. The representatives of the Soviet republics decided they wanted to leave the USSR and become independent states. December 25, Gorbachev resigned from leadership and the next day the USSR split. -
9/11 Attacks
On September 11, 2001 four airplanes were hijacked and carried out attacks on the U.S. Two planes were flown into the twin towers, one hit the Pentagon, and the final plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks were carried out by Islamic terrorists led by Osama bin Laden. Almost 3.000 people were killed from the attacks and the event caused U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism.
