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The Yalta Conference Occurs
The allies of World War II divide Germany into occupation zones. -
Bizonia
The British and American of control in Germany are combined to create a Bizone. -
Blockade of Berlin
Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin orders the blockade of all land routes from West Germany to Berlin, in an attempt to starve out the French, British, and American forces from the city. In response, the three Western powers launch the Berlin Airlift to supply the citizens of Berlin by air. -
NATO is founded
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is founded by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States, in order to resist Communist expansion. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes President of the United States.
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The Baghdad Pact is founded
Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom commit to resisting Communist expansion in the Middle East. -
Cuban Revolution
Fidel Castro becomes the leader of Cuba although refrains from declaring the country Communist. Cuban-inspired guerrilla movements spring up across Latin America -
France successfully tests its first atomic bomb
Gerboise Bleue, in the middle of the Algerian Sahara Desert. -
US Embassy closed in Cuba
Dwight D. Eisenhower closes the U.S. embassy in Havana and severs diplomatic relations with Cuba. -
Nuclear missiles placed in range of Moscow
Jupiter IRBM deployment to Turkey begins, joining the Jupiters deployed to Italy as well as the Thor IRBMs deployed to the UK as nuclear missiles placed within striking distance of Moscow. -
The Tsar Bomba
The Soviet Union detonates the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever tested, with an explosive yield of some 50 megatons. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviets have secretly been installing military bases, including nuclear weapons, on Cuba, some 90 miles from the US mainland. Kennedy orders a "quarantine" (a naval blockade) of the island that intensifies the crisis and brings the US and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war. -
USSR Hotline
The United States agrees to set up a hotline with the USSR, thus making direct communication possible.