The Cold War

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    Yalta Conference

    Three powers; the UK, US and Soviet Union discuss reparations and what to do with Germany once they've lost World War II.
  • VE Day - Victory in Europe

    Germany surrenders in Berlin
  • Postdam Conference

    A post-war settlement for Germany was finalised. The three powers, the UK, US and Soviet Union attended. Germany is split into four parts.
  • Hiroshima

    The US drops an atomic bomb ('Little Boy') on Japan, killing 80,000 people in the process.
  • Russia vs Japan

    Russia declares war on Japan
  • Nagasaki

    The US drops an atomic bomb ('Fat Man' )on Japan, killing 70,000 people
  • Japan's fall

    Japan surrenders, World War II ends.
  • America's Underwater Explosion

    America's test baker: an underwater explosion occurs
  • The Cold War begins

    The Truman Doctrine is released and the Cold War begins.
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    Marshall Plan

    A plan was proposed to rebuild Europe to prevent people from turning to communism. It was believed that when times were bad, people would be more likely to turn to it.
  • Cold War Spies

    Truman implements a loyalty program to catch Cold War spies.
  • Berlin Blockade

    The Berlin Blockade begins, Stalin prevents supplies from reaching the west part of Germany. The US works around this by using supply planes.
  • NATO

    NATO is ratified
  • Berlin Blockade

    The blockade in Berlin ends
  • Russia's nuclear weapons

    Russia tests its first atomic bomb
  • The US' Nuclear development

    Truman approves the development of the 'H-Bomb'
  • Korean War

    The War in Korea begins. North Korea is support by the USSR while South Korea is supported by the US. North Korea is equipped with Soviet Weapons.
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    Nuclear tests

    A series of 11 explosions are tested at the Nevada Test site
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    Korean War (July 1953)

    The war in Korea ends.
  • Nuclear Weaponry

    The H-bomb Castle Bravo test occurs
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    Vietnam War

    The Vietnam war occurs. North and South Vietnam fight while North Vietnam is being backed by communism and the USSR. The US only backed South Vietnam once they released they needed to prevent the spread of communism. North Vietnam effectively wins, with South Vietnam falling to communism.
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    Space Race (1957)

    The USSR and US feud over technological advancements. A race is begun to see who can reach the moon first - it was a race to build a rocket proving technological superiority and assisting is nuclear warfare.
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    US Spy Planes (May 1960)

    The USSR reveals that a US Spy Plane was shot down when over Soviet Territory
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    Berlin Closes

    The border to Berlin is closed and the Berlin wall begins construction
  • Tsar Bomba

    The Tsar Bomba or 'Big Ivan', the largest nuclear bomb is tested by the USSR. It was airdropped from 34,000 and it's fireball still reached the Earth.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    US Spy Planes reveal a USSR nuclear weaponry construction site in Cuba. The US crafted a response and it nearly led to the closest instance of nuclear war.
  • Titan II Missile

    The largest land-based missile developed by the US, yielded 9 million tons of TNT.
  • 'Hot Line'

    The US and USSR set up a communication system ('Hot Line') between each other to allow rapid communication in case the security of either country would be impacted. While against teach other, they were still somewhat rational.
  • Apollo 11

    American spacecraft Apollo 11 lands on the moon, effectively making the US win the space race.
  • War Scare

    The closest ever to all out nuclear warfare occurred when NATO established a routine exercise named 'Able Archer', a simulation designed to train for shifting from convential to nuclear warfare. Russia interpreted this as 'a prelude to a first strike by the US'
  • Last Titan II Missile

    The last Titan II Missile came off alert.
  • Berlin Wall

    The Berlin Wall falls and East Germany allows unrestricted to West Germany.
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    The fall of Communism (December 1989)

    Communism falls in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania.
  • Germany reconstructs

    Germany is reunited.
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    Fall of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War

    In December of 1991, The Soviet Union was effectively beaten and fell (communism falling with it). This and the fall of the Berlin Wall effectively ended the Cold War.