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The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation for the allied countries of Europe, and repelling communism after World War II. The initiative was named for Secretary of State George Marshall and was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan. It was developed at a meeting of the participating European states. -
Berlin Airlift
After WWII, Germany was divided into 4 sections. They were divided by the Soviet Union, France, Britain, & US. In June 1948, the Russians (wanted Berlin all for themselve) closed all highways, railroads & canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin. They believed this would make it impossible for the civilians to get food/any other supplies & would eventually drive Britain, France and the US out of the city. Instead of retreating, they decided to send supplies by air. -
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Events of the Cold War
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Creation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. -
Soviets create & test nuclear bomb
The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb was a clandestine research and development program begun during and post-World War II, in the wake of the Soviet Union's discovery of the United States and British nuclear project. This scientific research was directed by Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, while the military logistics and intelligence efforts were undertaken and managed by NKVD director Lavrentiy Beria. -
The Korean War
The Korean War began when some 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. By July, American troops had entered the war for South Korea. As far as American officials were concerned, it was a war against the forces of international communism itself. After some early back-and-forth across the 38th parallel, the fighting stalled & casualties mounted w/ nothing to show for them. Ended July 1953. -
United States tests first hydrogen bomb
Detonates the world's first thermonuclear weapon on Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific. The test gave the United States a short-lived advantage in the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. Following the successful Soviet detonation of an atomic device in September 1949, the United States accelerated its program to develop the next stage in atomic weaponry, a thermonuclear bomb. Approximately 1,000 times more powerful than conventional nuclear devices. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty between 8 communist states of Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. The founding treaty was established under the initiative of the Soviet Union and signed on May 14 1955, in Warsaw. The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the regional economic organization for the communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. -
Vietnam War
Long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of N. Vietnam and its southern allies, aka the Viet Cong, against S. Vietnam & its principal ally, the U.S. Began in '54 after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh & his communist Viet Minh party in N. Vietnam, & continued against the backdrop of intense Cold War between the U.S & Soviet Union. More than 3 million people were killed in the Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians. In 1975, the Vietnam War ended. -
Soviets Launch Sputnik
The successful launch of the unmanned satellite by the Soviet Union shocks and frightens many Americans. As the tiny satellite orbited the earth, Americans reacted with dismay that the Soviets could have gotten so far ahead of the supposedly technologically superior United States. There was also fear that with their new invention, the Soviets had gained the upper hand in the arms race. -
Bay of Pigs
On April 17, 1961, about 1300 exiles armed w/ United States weapons landed at Bay of Pigs on southern coast of Cuba hoping for support from the local populations, & cross the island to Havana, & overthrow Castro. U.S was quickly defeated by his army. Castro took control of Cuba in January 1959, & in 1960 took over U.S. oil refineries in Cuba. As a result, the United States stopped buying Cuban sugar. He responded by taking over all of U.S businesses in Cuba causing Kennedy to authorize invasion. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
There were rumors that something might happen to tighten the boarder of East and West Berlin, but nobody was expecting the speed or absoluteness of the wall. Just past midnight on the night of August 12-13, trucks with soldiers and construction workers rumbled through East Berlin. While most of Berlin was asleep, the workers tore up streets that entered West Berlin, dug holes to put up concrete posts, and strung barbed wire all across the border between East and West Berlin. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. War was averted thanks to President Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev. -
The Six Day War
The Six-Day War was fought between June 5th and June 10th. The Israelis defended the war as a preventative military effort to counter what the Israelis saw as an impending attack by Arab nations that surrounded Israel. The Six-Day War was initiated by General Moshe Dayan, the Israeli’s Defence Minister. -
First Man on the Moon
In 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong became the very first to accomplish that dream, followed only minutes later by Buzz Aldrin. Their accomplishment placed the United States ahead of the Soviets in the Space Race and gave people around the world the hope of future space exploration. -
Nixon Visits China
President Richard Nixon visits the People's Republic of China. After arriving in Beijing, announced that his breakthrough visit is "The week that changed the world." In meeting with Nixon, Prime Minister Zhou Enlai urged early peace in Vietnam, but did not endorse North Vietnam's political demands. North Vietnamese officials and peace negotiators took a dim view of Nixon's trip, fearing that China and the United States would make a deal behind their backs. -
USSR invades Afghanistan
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a 10-year war which wreaked incredible havoc and destruction on Afghanistan. Soviet troops ultimately withdrew from the area between May 15, 1988 and February 2, 1989. The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had left Afghanistan on February 15. -
1980 Olympic Games
The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York. The United States team, made up of amateur and collegiate players and led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet team, who had won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament since 1954. Team USA went on to win the gold medal by winning its last match over Finland. -
US Invades Grenada
President Ronald Reagan, citing the threat posed to American nationals on the Caribbean nation of Grenada by that nation's Marxist regime, orders the Marines to invade and secure their safety. There were nearly 1,000 Americans in Grenada at the time, many of them students at the island's medical school. In little more than a week, Grenada's government was overthrown. -
German Reunification/ Fall of Berlin Wall
The process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany, and when Berlin united into a single city. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as The Turning Point. The end of the unification process is officially referred to as German unity celebrated on March 3rd. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
On Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time. A few days earlier, representatives from 11 Soviet republics met in the Kazakh city of Alma-Ata and announced that they would no longer be part of the Soviet Union. Instead, they declared they would establish a Commonwealth of Independent States. The once-mighty Soviet Union had fallen, largely due to the great number of radical reforms that Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev had implemented.
