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Chinese Revolution
The Chinese Revolution occurred from 1946-1950. It was fought between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party. Peace talks between the two sides broke down and an all-out-war resumed. The U.S.S.R. lightly backed the Communists and the United States provided a ton of support to the Nationalists. This was just the start of many wars where the USSR and the USA were on opposite sides and indirectly fought against each other. -
Korean War
The Korean War was fought from June 25, 1950- July 27, 1953. The two sides were the communist North Korea, backed by China and the USSR (both communist countries), and the anti-communist South Korea, backed by the USA, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations. They fought over who would control the Korean Peninsula, and after going back and forth for three years they signed a cease-fire and the Demilitarized Zone was established along the 38th Parallel. This impacted the Cold War because the S -
Uprising in Hungaria
The Hungarian Revolution happened in 1956 (October 23rd to November 10th). It was fought between the Hungarian Revolutionaries and the State Protection Authority who was backed by the Soviet Union. The whole country of Hungary began to fight the State Police after a demonstration by a bunch of college students turned violent when the crowd got shot at by the Police. After a couple weeks the demonstration died down, but the Soviets invaded and crushed all forms of the revolution. Over 2,500 Hung -
Sputnik Launch
Sputnik was the first ever artificial Earth Satellite to be launched into orbit. The Soviet Union launched it on October 4th, 1957. This launching stared the Space Race between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. We were racing each other for new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. -
U2 Spy Plane Shot Down
On May 1st, 1960 an American U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defense Forces over Soviet Airspace. The U.S. first denied the plane’s purpose and mission but then conceded the truth when the Soviets produced the intact aircraft, the surviving pilot, and photos of Soviet military bases taken by that aircraft. The pilot’s name was Francis Gary Powers. The event occurred 2 weeks before an East-West summit in Paris, and made tensions with the soviets and the Americans increase. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by East Germany to completely block them off from West Germany. Construction began on August 13th, 1961. This wall split Berlin in half, East Berlin, controlled by the Soviets, and West Berlin, which was democratic. Thousands of people left East Germany prior to the construction of the Wall so they wouldn’t be stuck there forever. Between 1961 and 1989 people couldn’t go over to the other side, although around 5,000 people tried crossing from East Berlin -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 14 day confrontation in October 1962, and it was the closest The Cold War ever came to nuclear warfare. The Americans placed nuclear missiles in Turkey aimed at Moscow in May, so the Soviets placed nuclear warheads in Cuba aimed at the United States. We discovered the missiles on October 14th when a U-2 spy plane flew over suspected areas of Cuba and took clear pictures of the Soviet missiles. After 14 days of very high tensions and a U.S. naval blockade of Cuba t -
Russia Invades Afghanistan
The Soviet Union first sent forces into Afghanistan on December 24th, 1979 and they were there until February 15th, 1989. The Soviets backed the Afghan forces who fought against the Mujahideen. They were composed of two alliances: The Peshawar Seven backed by: Pakistan, China, The United States, The United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, and The Tehran 8, backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The war was fought for over 9 years, and ended with the Soviets pulling out their troops, although the Afgh
