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Period: to
Cold War Timeline
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The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6, 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb ("Little Boy") on Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later a second atomic bomb ("Fat Man") was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. -
The Truman Doctrine
The US offers assistance to countries threatened by communism -
The Soviet blockade of West Berlin
Cut off from the outside world, provisions are delivered to the isolated city by the Americans in the Berlin Air Bridge action. This is the first major Berlin crisis during the Cold War. -
Atomic bomb
the Soviets detonate their first atomic bomb. -
Korean War
After North Korea attacks South Korea, UN troops led by the United States invade the country. China and the Soviet Union back North Korea. -
Workers Uprising
a workers' uprising in East Germany is crushed by Russian tanks. -
Suez crisis
After Egypt attempts to nationalize the Suez Canal, Israel, France and Great Britain occupy the canal zone and bomb Egyptian air fields. -
construction of the Berlin Wall
The construction of the Berlin Wall begins on August 13 -
suspend surface and underwater tests of nuclear weapons
The US, Great Britain and the Soviet Union agree to suspend surface and underwater tests of nuclear weapons -
The first US combat forces land in South Vietnam.
The first US combat forces land in South Vietnam. More than 2 million people will perish during the Vietnam War -- mostly civilians. -
nuclear weapon
Negotiations between the United Nations and the Soviet Union begin on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons. -
The NATO Double-Track Decision
The NATO Double-Track Decision is approved, enabling the US to station 572 "Pershing II" nuclear war heads in Western Europe if the negotiations with the Soviets over the dismantling of SS-20 midrange missiles fail. -
Moscow Olympic Games
Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the US imposes sanctions on the Russians and boycotts the Moscow Olympic Games. -
star wars
US President Ronald Reagan announces the development of a world-wide "Star Wars" missile defense system with his Strategic Defense Initiative. -
The Berlin Wall falls
The Berlin Wall falls on November 9
