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United States and Soviet Union Form Military Alliance
After World War II, The United States and the Soviet Union formed a military alliance. Although they both had different ideologies, they had a common goal to defeat Hitler and they believed the best way to doing so was by forming an alliance, -
Yalta Conference
British prime minister Winston Churchill, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Soviet premier Joseph Stalin agreed on their military plan to end the war and a joint occupation of Germany. At the Yalta conference Stalin also promised to allow free elections in Poland. -
Germany Divided
After World War II Germany was placed under military rule and divided into zones. The soviets were stationed in the east, the Americans took the south, and the British controlled the northwest. France also controlled parts of the American and British zones. Berlin was also divided among the victors. -
Allies defeat Germany
After the Allies defeated Germany, Stalin established Soviet-controlled governments in Eastern European countries.The United States objected to these totalitarian, communist regimes. It became clear that Europe would be divided into two spheres of influence, East and West. -
United States Tested First A-bomb
The United States successfully tested the world's first atomic bomb, or A-bomb, in Alamogordo, New Mexico. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands of people and ending the war with Japan. The dropping of the bomb increased the consequences of armed conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. Each side was now encouraged to develop their nuclear strength. -
Winston Churchill "Iron Curtain" Speech
The famous Iron Curtain speech stated that behind a line from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron Curtain has descended across the European continent. Behind the line lie all the capitals of ancient states of central and eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union could do what they wish to these countries. Overtime the countries attempted to rebel, but were shut down. -
Governments of Greece and Turkey
The Governments of Greece and Turkey were fighting off Communist rebellions. Great Britain had been supporting the Greek government fights against communists. However, British funding soon ran dry and Britain appealed to the United States for help. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was the plan of containment, or containing the spread of Soviet communism. Truman asked for and recieved from the U.S. congress $400 million to provide assistace to Greece and Turkey. Bolstered by U.S. aid, both countries successfully defeated the attempted Communist takeovers. -
Marshall Plan
The United States introduced a plan to provide $17 billion in aid for the economic recovery of Europe. However, if European countries wanted loans they had to promise to purchase American products. U.S. leaders promoted the Marshall plan as an effort to promote world peace and stability. The Soviets viewed the plan as a way to support American Capitalism by economically enslaving Europe. -
NSC 68
President Truman's National Security Council drafted NSC 68, a secret document tha twould be a blueprint for American policy in the Cold War. The authors of NSC 68 warned that Soviet military capability was substantially superior to that of the west and coninuing to improve rapidly. They asserted that the U.S. had no choice but to rapidly increase its atomic capability. As a result, the council recommended to increase U.S. military spending to $50 billion a year, which happened within two years. -
New Currency in Germany
France, Great Britain, and the United States had plans to introduce a new form of currency in germany. After not being consulted, the Soviets formally withdrew from the Allied Control Council. -
Blockade of Berlin
The Soviet Union protested the actions of the new currency by instituting a formal blockade of Berlin. Stalin closed all roads, railways, and water routes to and from the city.Shortly after that, Stalin cut off the inhabitants of West Berlin from all supplies of fuel, power, and food. -
Berlin Airlift
The United States begain airlifting supplies into West Berlin in an attempt to aid West Berlin without starting an armed conflict with the Soviet Union due to the Blockade of Berlin set up byu the Soviet Union. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization is formed
United States joined western nations such as Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Netherlands to form NATO. It's member nations formed a military alliance to protect each other from Soviet aggression. -
Mao Zedong Communist Revolution
Mao Zedong successfully led the communist revolution in China. Mao's communist government quickly allied itself with the Soviet Union, and both countries signed a mutual defense and economic agreement. China had been allies with the U.S. during World War II, and later they looked upon China's alliance with the Soviet Union with alarm and hostility. -
American Monopoly Ends
The American Monopoly on nuclear weapons ended in 1949 when the Soviets perfected their nuclear technology and developed a nuclear weapon of their own. -
Stalin Reopens Berlin
After almost a year of the United States having to airlift necessities into Berlin, the Soviet Union gave up. The Soviets gave up on their blockade and reopened all of the routes to Berlin. -
The Korean War
The Korean War increased alarm over the spread of communism in Asia. Post World War II, Korea was divided by the 38th parallel into two new countries: North Korea, suported by the Soviet Union, and South Korea, supported by the United States and United Nations. When North Korea attacked South Korea, the United Nations quickly sent back up help under the leadership of U.S. general Douglas McArthur. -
The Korean War Begins
With arms provided from the Soviet Union, North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion and sent back up troops. Under the leadership of American general Douglas MacArthur, the troops pushed toward the Chinese Border and made plans for a victory. However, nervous Chinese sent 1 million "volunteers" into the fighting. U.S. troops were pushed back into South Korea. -
Hydrogen Bomb
In 1952 the United States successfully tested an even more powerful nuclear device, the hydrogen bomb. -
Soviet Union Test Hydrogen Bomb
In 1953, the Soviet Union successfully tested the hydrogen bomb, one year after the U.S. Both sides now competed in a race to build enough nuclear weapons to defeat the other in the event of war. Soon each superpower war armed with enough destructive power to destroy an entire continent, and, later, the world. -
The Korean War Ends
General MacArthur called for all-out war against China, but Truman disagreed.Truman advocated limited war. He feared the Soviets might be drawn into the fighting on the onset of a third world war. MacArthur was fired for taking his public stand. The Korean War ended inastalement. -
Warsaw Treaty Organization
In response to NATO, the Soviet Union formed a similar military alliance with Eastern European nations such as Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. -
Uprisings and Riots in Hungary
Over time Eastern European countries in the Soviet bloc attempted to rebel against in the communist regimes. Hungarian citizens began rioting and demanded more freedom from their Communist Government. The new Soviet leader, Nikita Khurshchev, quickly dispatched the Soviet Red Army with tanks to the Hungarian capital of Budapest. The army rounded up protesters and executed their leaders. Hungarians begged to the United States for help, but did not recieve any and the uprising was soon crushed. -
Berlin Wall
After the blockade of Berlin was over, Berlin still remained a divided city.The Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin to prevent people from escaping to the west. -
Czechoslovakia Uprises
Czechoslovakia rebelled against the Soviet Union. The Czechoslovakians disliked the commuist regime, and attempted to uprise beut were stopped by the Soviet Red Army.
