Cold War was "cold" because neither the Soviet Union nor the US officially declared war on each other
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Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The Soviet Union used the influence it had gained through the war. They established and enforced communist rule and created an alliance of countries on its eastern borders that stood as a buffer between the Western world and itself which was the formation of the Eastern Bloc. -
Postwar occupation and division of Germany
The entire German territory was occupied by foreign armies, cities and infrastructure were unrecognizable, the country was filled with millions of refugees from the east, and large portions of the population were homeless and hungry. Germany was spilt into zones of where other countries own. -
Greek Civil War
Greek communists unsuccessfully tried to gain control of Greece. The war was between the Greek government army (supported by the United Kingdom and the United States) and the Democratic Army of Greece the military branch of the Communist Party of Greece (Supported by the Soviet Union and others).The war left Greece in a greater economic crisis. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
An American initiative to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion in economic recovery programs to Western European economies after the end of World War II. This also helped the US because it made sure Communism went away in Europe. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese declared a republic after they were scared of imperialism. There was growing tension between Japan and China because Japan was taking their land. The Japanese were forced to surrender to China. The after a couple years China was in a civil war between nationalist and communist. The Communist leader created a new socialist nation called The People's Republic of China. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
An attempt by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of the United States, Great Britain and France to travel to their parts of Berlin, which lay within Russian-occupied East Germany. -
Overthrow of the Mossadegh Government in Iran
The United States supported and financial assisted the Iran military to overthrow Mosaddeq and reinstates the Shah of Iran. British intelligence sources and American Central Intelligence Agency, concluded that Mossadegh had communist intentions and would move Iran into the Soviet loop if allowed to stay in power. The Iranian military threatened and bribed its way into influence and helped to organize a coup attempt against Mossadegh. People liked Shah, so Mossadegh was arrested. -
Korean War
North Korea invaded South Korea because of clashes along the border and rebellions in South Korea. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United Nations. The fighting ended with an armistice. Approximately 3 million people died. -
Cuban Revolution
Known as the uprising in arms of the Cuban revolutionary movement, army led by Fidel Castro Ruz, against the dictator of the government Fulgencio Batista. After Batista's overthrow, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's Prime Minister. The U.S. tried to get rid of Castro, but failed. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in early 1961. -
Overthrow of the Guatemalan Government
The U.S. troops helped countries like South Korea with support from the UN to overthrow the Guatemalan government because the U.S. didn't want communism spread. The U.S. lobbied the United Fruit Company and several other factors also led the United States to launch the coup that toppled Árbenz in 1954.The result is they installed a dictator, and had a decades-long civil war and genocide of the Indigenous Mayan people. -
Vietnam War
The conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its ally, the United States. The ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union made the conflict intensify. The opposition to the war in the United States divided Americans. President Richard Nixon withdrawal troops. Communist forces seized control of South Vietnam in 1975, which ended the war. The country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year. -
Hungarian uprising
Khrushchev refused to accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact. Soviet tanks invaded Hungary when they already had power over them. Some Hungarian people took to the streets to fight them, many fled but the countries borders were blocked, others were killed or injured, and some got tried for imprisonment and execution. Communist parties in some Western European countries like Italy, Britain and France, began to change their opinion of the USSR. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A failed attack from the CIA to push Cuban leader Fidel Castro from power. Fidel Castro was okay with Americans having businesses in Cuba, but he didn't like how American's handled business, so Castro wanted to get rid of American influence. The U.S. tried destroying Cuba's air force, but failed. The CIA tried to invade the Bay of Pigs, but once again the invasion was not a secret to the Cubans and the U.S. failed. Kennedy gave up in trying to overthrow Castro, so he would prevent war. -
Building the Berlin Wall
A large barbed wire fence was created along the border between East and West Berlin. The Soviets claimed the purpose of the fence was to stop East Germans from escaping Communism and going to the west. The wall became a symbol of the Cold War and the division between the West and East. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The closest international approach to nuclear war at any time between the US and the Soviet Union. Soviet nuclear missiles were discovered on Cuba, so President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal. The U.S. then announced a naval blockade of the island. The Soviet leader Khrushchev listened to the U.S. demands a week later. -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support to the ruling PDPA following huge rebellions against the government and wanted to make sure pro-Soviet regime would be in power in the country. The Soviet invasion shocked the West, as it was the first direct use of Soviet combat troops outside the region of the Warsaw Pact. Having failed to implement a regime in Afghanistan, in 1988 the Soviet Union signed with the United States, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and agreed to withdraw its troops. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Yaobang's death prompted demonstrators to gather in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. It was first a ceremony to remember the death of someone who's symbol of reform and change, but turned into a protest against political restrictions, corruption, lack of freedom of speech, inflation, and economical sanctions. Tiananmen Square turned deathly because Chinese troops and security police stormed firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a major event in world history which marked the falling of the Iron Curtain and the beginning of the fall of communism in Eastern and Central Europe. The Eastern bloc was under pressure and the Soviet Union couldn't handle having the riots and a war in Afghanistan too. Later they opened the wall freely for everyone. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
Gorbachev announces the Soviet Communist Party has abandoned its monopoly on power. Gorbachev leaves office and Commonwealth of Independent States appears. Three major political groups vie for power, conservatives, reformers, and nationalists. The Soviet Union broke up into fifteen constituent republics. -
9/11 Attacks
Series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks committed by 19 militants. They were an Islamic extremist group against targets in the United States. This was the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in U.S. history. Attacks were against New York City, Washington D.C. and the Pentagon. Impacted the U.S. to have better security on airlines and the attacks left many Americans devastated.