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Cold War Timeline
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Truman Doctrine is Passed
President Truman passes the Truman Doctrine in the U.S, vowing to help all democratic nations under threat from communism. -
National Security Act of 1947
President Truman passes the National Security Act of 1947 in response to perceived threats from the Soviet Union after WWII. It established the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Council. -
Cominform
The USSR sets up Cominform, an alliance with communist countries. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan is passed for the U.S to give aid to struggling countries in Europe that were at risk from communism. -
Bernard Baruch delivers a Speech
Bernard Baruch, an advisor to presidents on economic and foreign policy issues. Coins the name for the current war in a speech in the South Carolina House of Representatives,, “Let us not be deceived;” Baruch said, “we are today in the midst of a Cold War." -
Berlin Airlift
France, Britain and the USA combined their three zones in Germany to form West Germany. In response, Stalin cut off supplies to West Berlin. The Berlin Airlift is established to deliver supplies instead. -
Comecon is formed
The USSR sets up Comecon, an economic organisation formed to facilitate aid and growth to communist countries. -
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is formed
NATO is formed to defend Western Countries from communist attack. -
USSER Detonates A-Bomb
The Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb, known in the West as Joe-1, at Semipalatinsk Test Site, in Kazakhstan. -
President Truman orders development of H-Bomb
President Truman orders the development of the H-Bomb due to Russians advancement to nuclear technology. -
Korean War Begins
North Korea invades South Korea with the support of the USSR and China. UN sends troops and aid to combat China's advances. -
U.S Joins the Korean War
The United States joins the Korean War by providing South Korea with more soldiers. General Douglas MacArthur orders troops into North Korea.Chinese troops enter North Korea and United Nations troops begin to retreat. Chinese troops enter South Korea. -
Spies Convicted for sharing secrets with Soviet Union
Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets, are executed by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. -
US President Harry S. Truman fires Douglas MacArthur
US President Harry S. Truman fires Douglas MacArthur from command of US forces in Korea due to him demanding nuclear weapons to be used on the enemy. -
The Mutual Security Act of 195
President Harry S. Truman signs the Mutual Security Act, announcing to the world, and its communist powers in particular, that the U.S. was prepared to provide military aid to "free peoples." -
Marshall Plan Ends
The Marshall Plan ends, with European industrial output now well above that of 1948. -
The USA detonates its first Hydrogen bomb
The USA tests its first hydrogen bomb, Ivy Mike on the Marshall Islands -
Dwight D. Eisenhower wins 1952 Presidential Election
Dwight Eisenhower defeats Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election, becoming the 34th President. -
Joseph Stalin Dies
Stalin dies, setting off a power struggle to succeed him. NATO debates possibility of a fresh start. -
Korean War Ends
An armistice agreement ends fighting in the Korean War After Eisenhower threatens the use of nuclear weapons. -
Nikita Khrushchev rises to power
Nikita Khrushchev becomes leader of the Soviet Communist Party. His main rival, Lavrentiy Beria, is executed in December. -
Worlds First Nuclear Submarine
The U.S. launches the world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus. The nuclear submarine would become the ultimate nuclear deterrent. -
Communist infiltration
Senator Joseph McCarthy claims that communists have infiltrated the CIA and the atomic weapons industry. -
SEATO is Formed
Foundation of the South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) by Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Like NATO, it is founded to resist Communist expansion, this time in the Philippines and Indochina. -
West Germany joins NATO
West Germany joins NATO and begins rearmament. -
The Warsaw Pact is formed
The Warsaw Pact is founded in Eastern Europe and includes East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. It acts as the Communist military counterpart to NATO. -
Vietnam War Begins
Tensions escalated into armed conflict between North & South Vietnam. The spread of communism increased, United States decides to step in and invade Vietnam -
Hungarian Revolution
Hungarians revolt against the Soviet dominated government. They are crushed by the Soviet military, which reinstates a Communist government. -
Suez Canal Tensions Rise
The Soviet Union threatens to intervene in the war over the Suez Canal. The United Nations demand the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary. UN forces arrives in Egypt to deal with the Suez Crisis. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower wins re-election
Dwight Eisenhower wins re-election, defeating Adlai Stevenson for the second time in the 1956 presidential election -
The Eisenhower Doctrine is passed
The Eisenhower Doctrine commits the United States to defending Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan from Communist influence. -
USSR Missile superiority
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev claims that the Soviet Union has missile superiority over the United States and challenges America to a missile "shooting match" to prove his assertion. -
NATO Meets
NATO holds its first summit in Paris, France. It is the first time NATO leaders have met together since the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in April 1949. -
First American Satellite is launched
The U.S. Army launches Explorer 1, the first American artificial satellite. -
NASA is formed.
The race to space advances with the USSR, The United States establishes The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. -
Berlin Crisis
Start of the 1958-1959 Berlin crisis, The Soviet Union demands that all foreign troops should be withdrawn from Berlin. -
Fidel Castro wins Cuban Revolution
Fidel Castro wins the Cuban Revolution and becomes the dictator of Cuba. In the next several years Cuban-inspired guerrilla movements spring up across Latin America. -
New Castro Regime
Moscow recognizes the new Castro regime in Cuba. -
American National Exhibition
During the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow US Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet First Secretary Khrushchev openly debate the capacities of each Superpower. This conversation is known as the Kitchen Debate. -
U-2 Spy Plane
American pilot Francis Gary Powers is shot down in his U-2 spy plane while flying at high altitude over the Soviet Union, resulting in the U-2 Incident, an embarrassment for President Eisenhower. -
Aid to Cuba comes to end
United States ends all aid to Cuba due to possible communism threat. -
Khrushchev travels to NYC
Nikita Khrushchev travels to New York City to address the U.N. General Assembly, beginning a month long visit to the United States. -
U.S cuts Cuba Off
President Eisenhower severs diplomatic relations with Cuba. -
JFK wins Presidential election
John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Failed attempt CIA-backed invasion of Cuba by counter-revolutionaries ends in embarrassing failure. -
Soviet Union agrees to send arms to Cuba
Russian transports majority of its arms to Cuba, slowly starting the Cuban Missile Crisis -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviets have secretly been installing military bases, including nuclear weapons, on Cuba, some 90 miles from the US mainland. Kennedy orders a naval blockade of the island that intensifies the crisis and brings the US and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war. In the end, both sides reach a compromise. The Soviets back down and agree to withdraw their nuclear missiles from Cuba, in exchange for a secret agreement by Kennedy. -
Cuban Missile Crisis is Over
John F. Kennedy announces that the Cuban Missile Crisis is over. -
Hot line is established
Nikita Khrushchev and John Kennedy agree to establish a hot line to use in a Cold War crisis. -
Test-Ban Treaty
Soviet Union, United States and Britain sign a nuclear test-ban treaty. The Partial Test Ban Treaty is signed by the US, UK and USSR, prohibiting the testing of nuclear weapons anywhere except underground. -
John F. Kennedy is Assassinated
35th President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas Texas while campaigning for re-election. Lyndon B. Johnson steps up to become the next president. -
Johnson and Khrushchev agree to cut back on making nuclear weapons
US President Lyndon Johnson in New York, and Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow, announce simultaneously plans to cut back production of materials for making nuclear weapons. -
Tonkin Incident
US President Lyndon B. Johnson claims that North Vietnamese naval vessels had fired on two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. -
China tests first atomic bomb
China tests its first atomic bomb. The test makes China the world's fifth nuclear power. -
USA Aids South Vietnam
The USA Sends troops to South Vietnam to prevent a communist takeover by North Vietnam once again. -
Soviet Union aiding North Vietnam
The Soviet Union openly admits to supplying arms to North Vietnam. -
Peace talks rejected
Ho Chi Minh rejects peace talks on the Vietnam War offered by Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Demands to withdraw troops from Vietnam
Charles De Gaulle calls for United States forces to leave Vietnam. -
France withdraws from NATO
All French armed forces were removed from NATO's integrated military command, and all non-French NATO troops were asked to leave France. -
Chemical Warfare
United States government admit to using chemical weapons in North Vietnam.