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Adolf Hitler Invades Soviet Union
When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, the USSR and the United States became allied. The Untied States and the Soviet Union had diffrerent views; however, they set aside their differences and formed an alliance to attend to the urgent business of defeating Hitler. -
Yalta Conference
At the Yalta Conference in the Soviet Union, British prime minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Soviet premier Josef Stalin agreed on a military plan to end the war a subsequent joint occupation of Germany. Stalin promised to allow free elections in Poland, in accordance with Roosevelt's desire for an independent and democratic Eastern Europe. -
Potsdam Conference
The Soviet Union and the Untied States agreed to recongize each others' influence over reigons where their respective troops remained at the end of the war. -
Stalin Establishes Soviet-Controlled Governments
Stalin created Eastern Europe countries occupied by his Army and influenced by communism, including Poland. The United States objected to these satellite nations; however it could do nothing to stop them,. Postwar Europe became divided into two spheres of influence, East and West. -
Germany Is Divided
In 1945 Germany was placed under military rule and divided into zones broadly reflecting the positions of the occupying armies. 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 into four separate sectors. -
Atomic Bomb Was Dropped
In August, 1945 the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japaense cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands of people and ending the war with Japan. The use of the bomb dramatically increased the consequences of armed conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. -
Winston Churchill gives Speech
Winston Churchilll visited the United States in the spring of 1946 and delivered his famous Iron Curtain speech. He stated "From Stettin in the Baltic Sea, to Treiste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the European continent. Behind that line lie all the captials of the acient states of central and eastern Europe." He was describing the "iron curtain" of satellite nations controlled by the Soviets. -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman made a speech on national television stating that it was the obligation of the Unied States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures. The speech became known as the Truman Doctrine, which outlined the Cold War policy of containment. -
Marshall Plan
The Untied States introduced the Marshall Plan to provide $17 billion in aid for the economic recovery of Europe. Truman believed the plan would help European countries who were on the brink of economic collapse. -
NSC 68 Was Drafted
In 1947 President Harry S. Truman's National Security Council drafted NSC 68, a secret document that would be as one historian noted, a "blueprint for American policy in the Cold War." The document stated that the Soviet Union's military power was now substantially greater than the United State's. This led Truman to increase U.S. military spending to $50 billion a year. -
Greeece & Turkey Fight Off Communists
In early 1947 the governments of Greece and Turkey were fighting off Communist rebellions. Great Britain had been supporting the Greek government; however, funding soon ran dry and Britain looked to the United States for help. This led to the Truman Doctrine. -
New Form of Currency for Germany
In 1948 France, Great Britain, and the United States announced plans to introduce a new form of currency in Germany. -
Berlin Blockade
In 1948, the Soviets protested the new form of currency by instituting a formal blockade of Berlin. This closed all road, raid, and water routes to and from the city. Shortly afterward, Stalin cut off the inhabitants of West Berlin from all supplies of fuel, power, and food. -
Berlin Airlift
In August, the United States began airlifting supplies to Berlin in an attempt to aid West Berlin without starting an armed conflict with the Soviet Union. -
NATO was formed
In 1949 the United States joined western nations such as Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, and the Netherlands to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO's member nations formed a military alliance to protect each other from Soviet aggression. -
Mao Zedong leads Communist Revolution
In 1949, Mao Zedong sucessfully led the Communist Revolution in China. Mao's Communist government quickly became allied with the Soviet Union, and both countries signed a mutual defense and economic aid agreement. -
American Monopoly on Nuclear Weapons Ends
The American monopoly on nuclear weapons ended in 1949 when the Soviets perfected their nuclear technology and developed a nucelar weapon of their own. -
Berlin Blockade Ends
On May 12th, 1949 Stalin reopens all routes into Berlin. -
The Korean War Begins
After World War II, the northeast Asian country of Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into two countries: North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, and South Korea, supported by the United States and the United Nations. -
North Korea Invades South Korea
On June 25th, 1950, with arms provided by the Soviet Union, Communist North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion and authorized sending troops to the region. -
H-Bomb is developed
By the mid 1950s both the United States and the Soviet Union had developed a much more powerful bomb than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was called the Hydrogen Bomb. Both sides now competed in a race to build enough nuclear weapons to defeat the other in the event of war. Both superpowers were armed with enough destructive power to destroy an entire continent. -
Soviet Union tests Hydrogen Bomb
Following the United States, the Soviet Union sucessfully tests a hydrogen bomb in 1953. -
Korean War Ends
The Korean war ended in a stalemate in July 1953. -
Warsaw Pact
In 1955 the Soviet Union formed a military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact, similar to NATO, with Eastern European nations such as Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, & Romania. -
Hungarian Citizens Riot
In 1956 Hungarian citizens began rioting and demanded more freedom from their Communist government. They threatened to return to a parliamentary democracy if their demands were not met. The new Soviet leader, Khrusachev, dispatched the Soviet army to quickly round up the protesters and execute their leaders. -
Berlin Wall is Built
In 1961, the Soviet Union built a wall, called the Berlin Wall, between East and West Berlin to prevent people from escaping to the west. -
Czechoslovakia Uprising
In 1968, the Soviet Union stopped another uprising in Czechoslovakia. The Soviets managed to keep most of Eastern Europe under their control until the late 1980's.
