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Chinese Revolution
Who: Chinese Communists (Mao Zedong led in northern struggle) & Nationalists (Chiang Kai-shek was China's president and led southern struggle)
What: The Japanese left China at the end of WWII, and civil war broke out between the Communists and Nationalists. Between 1944 to 1947, the United States attempted to be the peacemaker, but the U.S. supported the Nationalists, who were not so great either. The U.S. ended up sending two billion dollars worth of supplies and military equipment. In May -
Chinese Revolution, Part 2
of 1949, the Nationalists had to flee to Taiwan because they were too weak against the Communists.
How: Another country becoming Communist scared the Americans. -
Korean War, Part 2
the UN General Assembly thought that MacArthur should go over the 38th Parallel to reunite Korea, but, when the South Korean and UN forces started advancing, on November 25, about 300,000 Chinese soldiers crossed the Yalu River into Korea, forcing them to retreat. One the fourth of January in 1951, Seoul was lost again because the Chinese and North Koreans pushed them so far back, but, in March of 1951, Matthew B. Ridgway got it back and moved back up to the 38th Parallel. -
Korean War, Part 3
The war eventually ended on July 27, 1953.
How: This increased the fear of Communist aggression and motivated hunts for spies to blame for the gains Communists would make. -
Korean War
Who: North & South Koreans
What: On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and the U.S. joined South Korea because North Korea was Communist, and the United States vowed to fight the spread of Communism. Because North Korea was seeming to be unstoppable, General MacArthur launched the counterattack on the North Koreans on the fifteenth of September in 1950. His troops landed behind enemy lines forching about half the North Korean troops to surrender by being trapped. On October 7, -
Uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, Part 2
the fourth of November, the Soviets attacked Budapest, Kadar declaring himself Prime Minister. Nagy was captured within the month, and he was hung with three other officials on June 16, 1958.
On August 20, 1968, Czechoslovakia was occupied by troops from East Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, and Russia. On the seventeeth of April in 1969, Gusav Husak replaced Alexander Dubcek as First Secretary, and the invasion was over.
How: There was Communist expansion, which upset the United States. -
Uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
Who: Hungarians & Soviets; Czechoslovakians & Soviets
What: Hungary was a poor country with a Stalinist government at the time. On October 23, 1956, Hungarians protested against the government and some even destroyed a Joseph Stalin statue and attempted to take control of a local radio station. The next day the Communist leaders in the government gave into the demands and appointed Imre Nagy, a popular Communist politician, Prime Minister. Many people had been killed in the uprisings, and, on -
Sputnik launched (and the space race)
Who: Soviets vs. Americans
What: On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik I, the first satellite. The U.S. Defense Department started funding satellite projects because Americans felt inferior and vulnerable to nuclear attack. On the third of November, the USSR launched Sputnik II. So, on January 31, 1958, the U.S. launched Explorer I, and in July Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, A.K.A. the Space Act, creating NASA on October 1. But, the USSR had the first man in -
Sputnik launched (and the space race), Part 2
space - Yuri Gagarin in Vostok 1. On April 12, 1961, Allan Shepard was the first American in space, less than a month after, and the space race was on. In that same month, Kennedy created the Apollo program.
How: With Soviets and Americans trying to be better than the other in space, Cold War tensions were being risen. -
U2 spy plane shot down (Francis Gary Powers)
Who: Americans & Soviets
What: On May 1, 1960, Francis Gary Powers flew an American U2 spy plane over the Soviet Union to photograph the denied territory but was shot down and captured, being one of the most dramatic moments in the Cold War. Eisenhower had to publicly announce it was a U2 spy plane. In 1962, Powers was released in exchange for a captured Soviet spy.
How: This was another incident where the tensions between the two superpowers, the USSR and the US, rose. -
Berlin Wall goes up
Who: Communist government of GDR, German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
What: A barbed wire and concrete wall began to be built on August 13, 1961. It was 2 meters high between East & West Berlin to prevent those in West Germany, "fascists," from going into East Germany, but the wall was mostly for causing huge desertion from East to West. Later, on November 9, 1989, the government of East Germany declared that people could cross the wall, and people began to tear it down.
How: The Berlin -
Berlin Wall goes up, Part 2
Wall represents one of the most long-lasting & powerful symbols of the Cold War. With East Germany building the wall, more tensions were created. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Who: Soviets & Americans
What: The Soviet Union installed of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba. On October 22, 1962, Kennedy told Americans on TV that the U.S. would set up a naval blockade around Cuba and was prepared to use military force. On the twenty-sixth of October Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy and offered to remove Cuban missiles if the U.S. wouldn't invade Cuba and if the U.S. would remove their missiles from Turkey. So, the U.S. agreed.
How: The risks of nuclear war -
Cuban Missile Crisis, Part 2
happening became real and frightening. The risk of large-scale nuclear exchange also became very real. The world had come so close to another war - a nuclear war, too. -
Russia invades Afghanistan
Who: Soviets & people of Afghanistan & U.S.
What: The Soviets entered to establish a key position in Asia and imposed social & military reforms in order to make enemies in various parts of the native population. The U.S. teamed with the Pakistani intelligence to recruit & train guerilla fighters to put up resistance against the Soviets and donated anti-aircraft missiles to them, which payed off. The UN General Assembly wanted the Soviets out, so Pakistan and Afghanistan's governments signed -
Russia invades Afghanistan, Part 2
a treaty in April of 1988, in order to outline a non-interference policy with a timeline for the Soviet troops to leave, which they began to in May and were gone by February of the next year.
How: This was considered "the Cold War's last relic" or "the Cold War's Last Gasp" because it was practically the ending of the Cold War.
