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Period: to
The Cold War
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Berlin Airlift Starts
Germany was divided into sections by U.S., Soviet Union, FRance, and Britain. The west decided to create a separate government in their zones. To prevent this, the Soviets increasingly harassed the western traffic to and from Berlin. It intensified into the Berlin Blockade on June 24, 1948.To counter the blockade, the western powers organized and airlifted a total of 2,326,406 tons of food, coal, passengers, and other items into the city in a total of 278,228 flights. -
Berlin Airlift ends
The mission nicknamed “Operation Vittles” by the United States and “Plain Fare” by the British, was a success. -
Soviet Atomic Bomb Test
The Soviet Union test their atomic bomb they had built. This proved that the bigger countries had power. They are the dominant countries. -
The Baltic Sea Incident
The PB4Y-2 Privateer 59645 operated by VP-26 of the US Navy Detachment A, based at Port Lyautey in French Morocco, became the first casualty of the missions to probe the boundaries of the USSR. -
Korean War Starts
In the Korean War (1950-53) a U.S.-dominated United Nations coalition came to the aid of South Korea in responding to an invasion by North Korea, which was aided by the USSR and allied with Communist China -
Korean War Ends
The war ended in a military stalemate and the restoration of the political status quo. -
The Warsaw Pact
The “treaty of mutual friendship, co-operation and mutual assistance” was signed between the People’s Republic of Albania, the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, the Hungarian People’s Republic, the German Democratic Republic, the Polish People’s Republic, the Rumanian People’s Republic, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Czechoslovak Republic. It was the Communist counteraction to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). -
Vietnam Conflict Starts
The U.S. wanted to help South Vietnam so that North Vietnam did not take over and make them a communist country. This sparked a war. The war was never really officially declared to start fighting. -
Sputnik
On October 4, 1957, when the former Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. -
The Cuban Revolution
Fidel Castro took over Cuba. He became the new dictator of Cuba. -
The Bay of Pigs
The United States attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro. On the April 17 about 1,300 exiles armed with United States weapons landed at Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the southern coast of Cuba. They were quickly defeated by Castro's army. -
The Six Day War Starts
In 1967, tensions between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria escalated to a war in the Middle East. -
The Six Day War Ends
The outcome of the Six-Day war was an unexpected one. The Arab nations, who planned an attack with full confidence that they would win the war, were surprised by Israel’s quick, successful tactics. Leaders went back to their counties embarrassed that they were defeated by a country before viewed as inferior. -
Tet Offensive
The Viet Cong and North Vietnam planned an attack on January 21. North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong bombed a few important American bases in South Vietnam. This was a total shock to America and was a major blow to its confidence. The North Vietnamese destroyed much of the American artillery and supplies. But this was acctually a decoy because North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong attack Southern Vietnamese cities. -
The Czechoslovakian Uprising
On the night of August 20, 1968, troops from Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Poland occupied Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovakian government immediately declared that the “invasion was a violation of socialist principals, international law, and the United Nations Charter.” -
The Vietnam Conflict Ends
The Fall of Saigon ended the Vietnam War and the U.S. troops started to come home. -
The Fall of Saigon
On April 30, 1975, a North Vietnamese tank broke through the walls of the South’s presidential palace. The troops cornered South Vietnam’s last president Duong Van Minh and when he told his captives that he wanted to surrender, they informed him that he no longer had anything left to surrender. Before the Fall of Saigon the U.S. evacuated troops, loyal Southern Vietnamese people, and childern and took them to the U.S. -
Iran Hostige Crisis
500 Muslim Students siezed the U.S. Embassy in Iran. Out of 90 people only 66 people were taking hostage. 14 were released early and they kept 52. January 20, 1981, the day of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration and after 444 days of captivity, the hostages were released. -
Afghan War Starts
This was another war that was trying to prevent communism from taking over the counrty. About 30000 Soviet troops entered Afgan. The Muslim rebels tried to rebel against the Soviets but it did not work. The Soviets then attempted to eliminate the mujahideen’s civilian support by bombing and depopulating the rural areas. Their tactics sparked a massive flight from the countryside. -
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
The Cold War was coming to an end but the world startedto use nuclear power to power cities. Sadly in Chernobyl in Northern Ukraine found out that was the worst way to power a city. The was a nuclear explosion that killed many people and ruined the whole city. The city and enviroment are still trying to recover from the disaster. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Gьnter Schabowski sais that East Berlin and West Berlin can cross the border to see each other. The celebrated and then on Nov. 10 1989 they started demolition began to take down the wall. -
Reunification of Germany
Both East and West Germany decided to try new goverments. The West had worked out ok but the East collapsed and went into a recession. -
The Fall of the Soviet Union
The world was amazed that the Soviet Union had fallen apart. The United States was happy that its former enemy had fallen apart and died away. The Cold War had officially come to an end. -
Afghan War Ends
The mujahideen were able to finally defeat the Soviet powers. The U.S. had to help them defeat the Soviets, who were aiding the communist group fighting against the mujahideen.various rebel groups, together with newly rebellious government troops, stormed the besieged capital of Kabul, and the communist president, Mohammad Najibullah, was ousted from power. Then they made an Islamic republic.
