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Yalta Conference
A meeting in which the U.S. , Britain, and Soviet leaders sought Germany's surrender and discussed end-war efforts. This pushed for the end of WW2. -
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Cold War Timeline
A list of major events during the cold war and the impact they had. -
WW2 Ends in Europe
The surrender of the axis powers, accepted by the allies. This brought an end to the fighting and provided a temporary peace for the world. -
Postdam Conference
Stalin and the British divide up Europe. At this conference, Stalin learns of America's new nuclear weapons and becomes more distrustful of them. -
U.S. Drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
The U.S. dropped the atomic bomb named Little Boy on Hiroshima, Japan. This showed the true destructive power of nucular weapons. -
Truman Doctrine announced.
President truman declares that the United States will aid any country being opposed by an outside threat. This is a defense against communism that was made to stop expansion. -
Berlin Airlift Begins
While the Berlin Blockade stopped any ground supplies from coming into east Berlin, an airlift dropped supplies to the people in need. This led directly to the building of the Berlin Wall. -
NATO established.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed between 12 countries, including the United States and Canada. These countries wanted a collective security and pledged to defend Western Europe if a Soviet invasion took place. -
Soviet Union explodes first atomic bomb
The soviet union detonated the its first atomic bomb. This seemed to be the beggining of the arms race. -
Communists win Chinese Civil War
Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong take over China. This ended the hopes of China becoming a powerful, noncommunist ally in the war. This also gave the soviet union a powerful ally during the cold war. -
U.S. and other U.N. members fight North Korean forces.
The U.S. aided noncommunist South Korea fight North Korea. This nation was divided amoung the 38th parallel. The war ended in July 27th of 1953 with a divided nation. A communist North and a noncommunist South. -
U.S. Sponsored coup overthrows Iranian goverment
The U.S. helped topple Mohammed Mossadegh and take control of a formerly private oil company. -
SEATO formed
Formed for the collective defense of Southeast Asia. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
A collective defense treaty made by eight communist countries. Formed in retaliation of NATO. Created tension between the communists and noncommunists, heating up the cold war. -
Red Army crushes the Hungarian Revolution
Two weeks of protest and political unstabablity in Hungary was followed up by the Soviets marching through and killing or wounding thousands. This shocked the United States and put many Americans and Hungarians into fear of the Red Army. -
Soviet launches the first man made satalite
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik into orbit. This was a big step in the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. This caused unrest in many parts of America, due to many people fearing a soviet attack from space. -
Fidel Castro becomes premier of Cuba
Fidel Castro overthrows Batista and installs a communist government. This gives the Soviet Union an ally very close to the U.S. and causes tension between the two. -
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
Failed millitary invasion of Cuba. This failed invasion helped Castro get a steady footing of power in Cuba. This also was one of the causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union begins storing nucular missiles in Cuba. This causes unrest in America because they fear the attacks that could not be stopped if launched from Cuba. -
China explodes its first atomic bomb
China tests its first atomic bomb. This testing showed that another communist ally had the powerful weapons of mass destruction. -
U.S. commits combat troops to South Vietnam.
Opperation Rolling Thunder began and the U.S. deployed troops to help support South Vietnam. The goal was to contain communism and win the war, comming together under a noncommunist form of government. Instead of this happening, the country was divided into a communist North and a noncommunist South. -
Soviet Red Army Crushes Czech Uprising
In 1964, Czech began to lean more and more towards a democratic reform. A string of acts against the government led to an invasion by the Soviets. This stomped out the uprising before anything major had began. -
South Vietnam falls to Communist forces.
Communist forces move into Saigon. The United States did nothing to help during the invasion even though they promised to help if the situation were to occur. -
Soviet Red Army invades Afghanistan