Cold War Timeline

  • Marshall Plan

    The Marshall Plan was announced to help countries combat poverty, disease and malnutrition. The USA gave aid to struggling countries in Europe that were at risk to communism.
  • Red Scare

    The second Red Scare happened during the start of the Cold War. With the spread of communism in Eastern Europe and China and the Korean War, people were scared that communism could come to the US. Communists were referred to as Red for their allegiance to the red Soviet flag.
  • Berlin Blockade

    Berlin Blockade: France Britain and the US combined their three zones ijn Germany to form West Germany. Stalin wanted them to stay weak so he started the Blockade to cut off supplies to West Berlin. Western Allies organized airlift to deliver supplies instead.
  • NATO

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to protect Western Countries from Communist attacks.
  • Korean War begins

    North Korea invades South Korea with the support of China and the Soviets. The United Nations send troops to protect South Korea. They pushed North Korea back almost to the Chinese border.
  • Dien Bien Phu

    The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought from 3/13-5/7/1054 and was an important fight of the First Indochina War and the beginning of the Vietnam War.
  • Geneva Peace Accords

    Representatives of Vietnam, France, China, the Soviet Union, Laos, Cambodia, and the USA met in Geneva to work out an agreement to extradite France and the USA wanted to contain communism there.
  • Bay of Pigs

    Bay of Pigs invasion was an operation to overthrow communist Prime Minister Fidel Castro of Cuba. It was a failed attack launched by the CIA during the Kennedy administration.
  • Berlin Wall

    Construction of the Berlin Wall begins. This was a barrier that physically prevented East Germans from fleeing and migration of workers from East Germany.
  • Cuban Missle Crisis

    The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world's superpowers (USA and Soviet Union) to the brink of nuclear war. The Soviet Union placed nuclear weapons in Cuba, just 90 miles from the US shores. Kennedy made a naval blockade around Cuba. Disaster was avoided when the USA agreed not to invade Cuba and the Soviets removed their missiles.
  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    This resolution launched America's involvement in the Vietnam War. It stated a goal to stop the spread of communism in Vietnam.
  • Tet Offensive

    This was one of the largest military operations of the Vietnam War and was a turning point in the war. It was a series of attacks during the Vietnamese New Year festival. The military was caught off guard.
  • My Lai Massacre

    This was the mass murder of more than 500 people who were unarmed in the South Vietnamese village of My Lai by US military troops.
  • Kent State University Shooting

    Four Kent State University students were killed, and nine students were hurt when the Ohio National Guard members opened fire on a crowd gathered to protect the Vietnam War.
  • Pentagon Papers

    These were papers that contain a history of the US role in Indochina from World War II until 1968. They were turned over without approval to the New York Times and revealed that 3 presidents deceived the American people about what was happening in Vietnam.
  • Paris Peace Accords

    This was a peace treaty and agreement on ending the Vietnam War and restoring peace in Vietnam.
  • War Powers Act

    This was a law passed by US Congress over the veto of President Nixon which limits the president's ability to initiate or escalate military actions.
  • Fall of Saigon

    The South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, this ended the Vietnam War.