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Chinese Civil War (between Jiang Jieshi and Mao Zedong)
Because of economic problems, Nationalist soldiers to desert to the Shanghi and the southwest part of China. With this, the Communists took over the northeastern part of China. Japan invaded China and the Nationalists and the Communists combined to fight for there country. They forced the Japanese out and then Mao was able to force the Nationalists to flee to the island of Taiwan. U.S. supported the Nationalist state in Taiwan, called the Republic of China. -
Berlin blockade
After WWII the Soviets blocked of Western allies roads, railways, canal access to the Sectors of Berlin. This was a major upset and conflict for the Cold War. The kay was to force the western powers to supply food, fuel, and aid to Berlin giving Soviets complete control over the entire city. -
Berlin Airlift
Allies partitioned the defeated Germany into a Soviet, American, British, and French occupied zone. Russians shut down all transportation because eventually
Britian, US, and France would have get supplies. U.S. and allies decided to supply their sectors by air, this lasted for more than a year. -
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration. By signing this created Allies but not military structure that could be effectively coordinate their actions. -
National Security Council Report NSC-68
The NSC was written by the Defense Department, State Department, and the CIA to plan the basis for Americas Cold War Policy for the next decades. This situation left the United States and the Soviet Union as the only two great world powers. The United States should vigorously pursue a policy of "containing" Soviet expansion. NSC-68 recommended that the United States embark on rapid military expansion of conventional forces and the nuclear arsenal. -
Korean War
Korean War began when 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. As far as American officials were concerned, it was a war against the forces of international communism itself. American officials worked anxiously to fashion some sort of armistice with the North Koreans. -
President Truman fires General MacArthur
The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a "limited war." As U.S. and United Nations forces turned the tide of battle in Korea, MacArthur argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. The American people began to understand that his policies and recommendations might have led to a massively expanded war in Asia. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
The political and military alliance of the Soviet Union and East European socialist states. Was formed to counterweight the the NATO.