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US uses atomic bombs on Japan, effectively ending world war II
The US dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in an attempt to end the war without a costly invasion of Japan. -
Korea gets divided
Japan had begun ruling over Korea in 1910 but ended up ceding control when it surrendered at the end of World War II. The United States and the USSR had agreed to split Korea into two occupation zones. The north zone was occupied by the USSR and it led the Koreans living there to a communist government. While the US who occupied the South oversaw elections that resulted in it becoming a democratic government. -
The Berlin Blockade
At the end of World War II, the Western Allies as well as the Soviet Union divided control of Germany. Berlin, the country's capital was located inside the Soviet Union's sector, however, due to its status as the capital it was also divided between the two parties. In June of 1948, the USSR attempted to gain control of the city by establishing the blockade, which effectively cut off all surface traffic to West Berlin. -
The US response (Airlift)
The United State's response to this was a daily airlift of food and supplies sent into the besieged city. The Western allied powers ended up delivering 2.3 million tons of supplies and fuel to West Berlin during this time. -
USSR tests first nuclear weapon
In 1943, the Soviet Union began research on its own atomic bomb program. With aid from the information and plans stolen from the Manhattan Project by Soviet spies, the Soviets were able to develop their own nuclear weapon a few years after the end of World War II. In August 1949, they conducted a successful 20-kiloton bomb test years ahead of American predictions. This created the nuclear arms race between the two super-powers. -
The Korean War (The beginning)
Once the two major powerhouses withdrew. The friction between both sides finally erupted into a war in 1950 when North Korea invaded the South. The South was unprepared for this and was overrun resulting in the eventual stepping in of the United States. -
Testing of the first Hydrogen Bomb
On November 1, 1952, the United States tested its first thermonuclear device (the hydrogen bomb) about 3,000 miles west of Hawaii on the island of Elugelab. The device was remotely detonated from a distance of 30 miles. The result was a fireball 3 miles wide and reaching 120,000 feet in height. The mushroom cloud that followed the fireball was 100 miles wide. The island of Elugelab was vaporised and all that was left behind was a crater more than a mile wide and more than 160 feet deep. -
The Korean War (The End)
A final peace treaty to end the war was never signed, however, the two sides signed an armistice in 1953 that ceased hostilities and formed the Korean Demilitarised Zone, a no-man's land between the two countries that became the new border. -
The beginning of the Vietnam War
When nationalist forces created North Vietnam, the USSR and China recognised and backed the communist country while the US became committed to stopping the spread of communism in the region and began backing South Vietnam. Like in Korea, both parties avoided direct warfare by backing the opposing governments and forces. -
The Berlin wall divides Germany.
Massive numbers of East Berliners began fleeing through the open border to West Berlin by 1961. In an effort to stop the defectors, the Soviet Premier at the time gave the East German government permission to close the border. Construction of the Berlin wall on the border began on the 13th of August. The construction of a barbed wire and concrete block fence was created in just two weeks. The wall ended up being 26 miles long and the barbed wire eventually got replaced by a 13-foot wall. -
USSR tests the largest nuclear weapon ever built
A bomb known to the Soviets as Big Ivan and the Tsar Bomb in the US, RDS-220 was the largest nuclear weapon ever built. The 100-megaton hydrogen bomb. The device was air-dropped from an altitude just above 34,000 feet over the Mityushikha Bay test site. The bomb detonated 13,000 feet and its fireball still reached the earth. The blast pressure was measured at 300 psi and the flash of light was visible more than 600 miles away. The mushroom cloud reached an altitude of 210,000 feet. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 16, 1962, President John F. Kennedy was briefed by the CIA that an American U-2 spy plane had taken photographs of Soviet nuclear missile launch sites under construction in Cuba. Over the next 13 days, the Cuban Missile Crisis would unfold, which resulted in bringing the US and the former Soviet Union the closest we have ever been to nuclear war. -
Titan II is deployed
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A "Hot line" is established between US & USSR
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The end of the Vietnam War
The war was extremely unpopular in the US, resulting in the withdrawal of its forces and aid to South Vietnam in 1975. This resulted in North Vietnam ultimately prevailing in the war and Vietnam was unified into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976. -
Able Archer and the war scare
In early November, NATO was conducting what it considered a routine exercise named Able Archer, a simulation designed to train and test the procedures for shifting from conventional to nuclear war. However, the Soviet Union interpreted this as a prelude to a first strike by the United States. -
Last Titan II comes off alert
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The Berlin Wall comes down
In June of 1987, US President Ronald Reagan stood at the infamous Brandenburg Gate, part of the Berlin Wall, and challenged the Soviet General Secretary: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Then a little less than 18 months later, millions of Germans celebrated as the Berlin Wall was torn down. This was one of the most iconic symbols and enduring images of the Cold War. -
The fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
Following the wave of unrest from the opening of the Berlin Wall, the overthrowing of every Eastern European apart from Bulgaria was overthrown by uprisings by the end of 1989. The Soviet Union was in turmoil with attempts to overthrow General Secretary Gorbachev. Then at last, on December 8, 1991. The Soviet Union collapsed and the president of the Russian Republic, Boris Yelstin, formed the Commonwealth of Independent states. The longest War spanning 45 years, was over.