Early Cold War Timeline

Chinese Civil War (between Jiang Jieshi and Mao Zedong)

Mar 23, 1927

This was a civil war in China. Fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang - led government of the republican China, and forces loyal to the communists party of China,

Berlin Blockade

Mar 23, 1948

One of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under allied control.

Berlin Airlift

Mar 23, 1948

In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin, the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city. For nearly a year, supplies from American planes sustained the over 2 million people in West Berlin.

Formation of NATO

Mar 23, 1949

also called the North Atlantic Alliance. It is an intergovermental military alliance based on the North Atlantic treaty.

National Security Council Report NSC-68

Mar 23, 1950

It was a 58-paged top secret policy paper issued by the United States National Security Council on April 14, 1950, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. It was one of the most significant statements of American policy in the Cold War.

Korean War

Mar 23, 1950

was a war between North and South Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States of America fought for the South, and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union.

President Truman fires General MacArthur

Mar 23, 1951

Harry S. Truman relieved General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his commands after MacArthur made public statements which contradicted the administration's policies. MacArthur was a popular hero of World War II who was then the commander of United Nations forces fighting in the Korean War, and his relief remains a controversial topic in the field of civil-military relations.

Formation of the Warsaw Pact

Mar 23, 1955

This pact included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, HUngary, East Germany, Czechoslavakia, and Bulgaria as members. The treaty called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union.

Launching of Sputnik

Mar 23, 1957

Sputnik was the world's first artificial sattelite. It was about the size of a beach ball. It took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its eliptical path.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Mar 23, 1962

a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. It played out on television worldwide and was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.