The Cold War – 1945 - 1991

The Cold War begins

Apr 11, 1945

http://hoffblog3.blogspot.com/2012/03/test-unit-2-cold-war-hints-and-tips.html
At February April 11th,1945: Yalta Conference meeting of FDR, Churchill, Stalin - the 'Big Three' Soviet Union has control of Eastern Europe. The Cold War Begins.

"Sinews of Peace" Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill - "an "iron curtain" has descended on Europe"

Mar 5, 1946

<ahref='http://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1946-1963-elder-statesman/the-sinews-of-peace' >
This speech may be regarded as the most important Churchill delivered as Leader of the Opposition (1945-1951).But it is the passage on "the iron curtain" which attracted immediate international attention, and had incalculable impact upon public opinion in the United States and in Western Europe. Russian historians date the beginning of the Cold War from this speech.

Truman demands Russia leave Iran

Mar 10, 1946

<a href='http://www.coldwarstudies.com/2011/02/09/cold-war-iran-1945-1959/' >
ruman demands Russia withdraw from Iran, which had been jointly occupied by the British and the Red Army during World War II, with no oil concessions and no annexation of Azerbaijan.

United States Actions and the Cuban Missle Crisis

Oct 28, 1946

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis
In 1946 the U.S. tested its first atomic bomb. This started the scare and caused Russia to eventually show their nuclear powers and strengths. Russia contacted Cuba and Fidel Castro and after getting Castro’s approval, the Soviet Union worked secretly inside of Cuba with the building of their missile installations.

The Marshall Plan

Jun 5, 1947

<a href='http://marshallfoundation.org/marshall/the-marshall-plan/' >The U.S. leaders concluded that a strong European economy was essential to continued American prosperity. The U.S. would gain world markets and access to natural resources. They realized that an economically sound Germany was central to a strong Europe. On June 5, Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced a comprehensive program of American economic assistance to all European nations wanting to participate (including the Soviet Union and those of Eastern Europe).

Czechoslovakia

Feb 25, 1948

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/communists-take-power-in-czechoslovakia
The communists took over Czechoslovakia in a brutal coup. This event guaranteed four decades of communist rule in the country, and it so shocked the world that much of the U.S. congressional opposition to the Marshall Plan disappeared.

The Berlin Airlift

Jun 26, 1948

<a href='http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/airlift.html' >
On June 26, the first two cargo planes loaded with 80 tons of supplies took off for West Berlin. The Berlin Airlift (Operation Vittles) was expected to last three weeks. Great Britain's Royal Air Force and the recently formed United States Air Force, flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing 13,000 tons of daily necessities such as fuel and food to the people of West Berlin.

NATO

Apr 4, 1949

<a href='http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nato-pact-signed' >
NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was ratified. The treaty, intended as a safeguard against the threat of Soviet aggression, provided for a collective self-defense and was designed to encourage greater political and economic cooperation in the Atlantic region. The original Western democracies that joined were the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway,

Russia tested its first atomic bomb

Aug 29, 1949

<ahref='http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/hbomb/page_09.shtml' >
The Soviets began construction of a near copy of the Fat Man bomb, using the detailed design descriptions provided by Fuchs. This replica, named Joe-1 by the West, was detonated at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan on August 29, 1949. Its estimated yield was about 22 kilotons.

Congressman support the H-bomb Plan

Apr 16, 1950

<a href='http://www.authentichistory.com/1946-1960/1-cworigins/19500201_Congressman_Henry_Jackson_on_H-bomb.html' >
Congressman Henry Jackson (D-WA), a member of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, offered his support of the H-bomb plan officially.

The Korean War Began

Jun 24, 1950

<a href='http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war' >
Russia supported North Korea, which invaded South Korea equipped with Soviet weapons .

Berlin Wall

Aug 13, 1961

<ahref='http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/133c/133cTexts/newsclips/LAT04v-07ReaganBerlinWall.htm' >http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/133c/133cTexts/newsclips/LAT04v-07ReaganBerlinWall.htm</a> August 13, 1961, the Communist government of German Democratic Republic (GDR) began to build a large wall of concrete and barbed wire keeping the communist from escaping between East and West Berlin. Basically it was a wall separating the East(Communist) half of Berlin, and the West(Democratic) side of Berlin . However, the wall ended up stemming mass defections from East to West.

Soviet forces invade Afghanistan

Apr 16, 1979

<a href='https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan' >
At the end of December 1979, the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country.

End of the Cold War

Apr 16, 1991

<a href='http://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/history/timeline/end/' >
In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end.

Stalin hostile speech - communism & capitalism were incompatible

Feb 9, 2015

http://www.marx2mao.com/Stalin/SS46.html
February 9, 1946: Joseph Stalin, at a meeting of Voters of the Stalin Electoral District, Moscow, declared that communism & capitalism were incompatible.