Cold War Timeline

By Jacob Simkins
  • Period: to

    Cold War Timeline

  • Yalta Conference

    The Yalta Conference was held in Crimea in Russia. The conference was the initial start for the Cold War. This was the event that split Berlin into 4 different sections.

  • Truman Doctrine

    The Truman Doctrine is written and signed by President Truman. Greece and Turkey's appeal for financial and economic help. This money goes towards the fight agaisnt communism which fuels the Cold War.

  • Marshall Plan

    The Marshall Plan was signed by Truman in April of 1948. This plan gave $12.4 billion dollars to the European countries. This money was used to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism.

  • Berlin Airlift

    The Berlin Airlift was an Allied plan to fly supplies to Western Berlin for 10 months. These plans were due to Berlin being split and supplies being halted at the border. After Russia failed to persuade a government from being made in Western Germany the airlifts stopped.

  • NATO

    This was the date NATO was created. It consisted of allied powers who carried out the United States containment policy against communism. They placed missiles in Turkey later which threatened the USSR against nuclear attack which proceeded to make the USSR to want to create more missiles.

  • USSR Atomic Bomb

    The first USSR nuclear bomb to exist. This was the spiritual start to the arms race because it finally gave the two countries the drive to start the arms race.

  • Korean War Begins

    This was the beginning to one of the bigger confrontations between the USSR and the United States. The United States was using its containment policy to prevent the USSR from making Korea a communist country.

  • Rosenberg Spy Case

    This court case went against 2 people in the United States who were spies for the USSR. They were feeding information about the missiles in the US which gave the USSR a strategic advantage. The 2 people were executed for treason.

  • Korean War Ends

    This was the ending to the Korean War. By the end of it the border was split at the 38th Parallel and Northern Korea was now communist. The war also now involved China in the Cold War due to the pressure of the border being pushed so far back near China.

  • Nikita Khrushchev comes to power

    Nikita Khrushchev was the man in charge of the USSR and was the one who supplied Cuba the missles which lead to the cuban missle crisis. He also removed the missiles and played a huge role in the development of the Cold War.

  • Warsaw Pact

    The Warsaw Pact was created to mainly fight against NATO who already had missiles in Turkey. This group is responsible for protecting communist ways and for the fight against capitalism.

  • Hungarian Uprising

    This was the first major threat to Soviet Control. This was the Hungarian Revolution that was against Soviet policies. This showed weakness in communism and the Soviet Union in general.

  • Sputnik

    This tiny satellite that orbited earth struck fear in americans. This made them feel that the USSR was more technologically advanced and that they had an upper hand in the arms race. This fueled american scientists to make better bombs to try and outmatch the USSR,

  • U2 Incident

    The Soviet Union shot down a U2 Plane because it was causing problems with the radar. The US claims it was a weather plane but it was proved to be a U2. This caused conflict which fueled the arms race.

  • Bay of Pigs Invasion

    This was one of the first invasions that lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The United States invaded Cuba but the standing socialist army held them back. They killed or captured ever american involved.

  • Berlin Wall Built

    The Berlin Wall is starting to be built. Berlin was the centerpiece to the Cold War and seperating cut communications and seperated the main powers from the alliance which was a ajor importance.

  • Cuban Missle Crisis

    The Cuban Missle Crisis changed the Cold War because it showed that the USSR doesn't care about the backlash of nuclear war. This definately changed the way the United States saw and played in the Cold War.

  • Prague Spring

    A Short Period of time when the government of Czechoslavakia wanted to democratise. This was to lessen the stronghold of Moscow that was on the country. This showed the lessening power of communism in the world.

  • Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

    The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan which puts them in a war with Afghanistan for some years. They invaded Afghanistan to put an end to the revolution that was overthrowing the communist government.

  • Lech Walesa organizes trade union Soldarity

    This trade union was one of the biggest blows to communism as a whole. This independent trade union started the end of communism in 1980.

  • Mikail Gorbachev comes to power

    A huge sign of peace known all around the world. This figure brought the end of communism in Russia. He also was one of the biggest factors to the end of the Cold War in 1991.

  • Berlin Wall Destruction

    The destruction of the wall was a big sign of peace to the countries. The Cold War didn't end but was very much close to the end. This also brought split up families that were seperated 28 years before.

  • German Unification

    East and West Germany unify and put it to a vote to become one country again. The vote is successful and Germany is unified again.