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Chinese Revolution
The Chinese government was made into a republic. This led to the Revolution by an agreement that was signed on April 5, 1911. Later, a fight broke out among the troops in Wuchang and this was the beginning of the Revolution. It had an effect on the Cold War for more than twenty years because there was limited trade and no ties between US and China. -
Korean War
North Korea launched a surprise attack on South Korea. This led to the a war that would kill millions. The capitol of South Korea was captured by North Korea. Because of this the UN occupied South Korea and Soviets occupied North Korea. -
Sputnik Launched (and the Space Race)
• Competition between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the US for supremacy in space exploration.
USSR and US were in a competition to be the first ones in space because it was seen as necessary for national security and symbolic of technological and ideological superiority. USSR wer the first one in space with Sputnik. It ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments of the Soviet Union. In response, the US founded a space a space program and launched the Explorer. -
U2 Spy Plane Shot Down
The US CIA made secret high-altitude flights over Soviet territory with the U2 which took photographs. Americans were nervous because the U-2 was an open secret among some press and Soviets had been aware of the flights since 1958.
On May 1st, a Soviet airspace took down the plane. US lied and said the plane had disappeared while on a weather mission. Mentyukov said they had captured him alive but lied to make their missile defenses seem more advanced. The incident raised tension. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The main purpose was to cut off Western "fascists" from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state. It primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba. It started because Cubans had missile that could reach the US which raised tensions.
At this point the Cold war came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict. Kennedy secretly agreed to remove all missiles set in southern Italy and in Turkey, the latter on the border of the Soviet Union, in exchange for Khrushchev removing all missiles in Cuba. -
Uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia had a struggling economy until a new leader, Alexander Dubcek, came in and pushed for reforms. In attempt to improve relations he set up a socialistic democracy that guaranteed the freedom of religion, speech, press, and travel. The Hungary uprising was a nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary. It was failure but played a role in the downfall of the Soviet Union. -
Russia Invades Afghanistan
Soviet troops invaided Afghanistan.The Soviets attempted to eliminate support by bombing the rural areas. After, USSR agreed to sign an accord with US. Pakistan, and Afghanistan to withdraw their troops. Resulted in millions of Afghans fleeing their country, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians were killed in addition to the rebels in the war.
