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Cold War Countdown
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Berlin Blockade
This was very significant in the Cold War, becuase it was the first tangible sign of the Cold War. The Russians occupied East Berlin and East Germany whilst the Germans controlled the West Berlin and the West of Germany. Also the USA airlifted food into East Germany and East Berlin, against the wish of the USSR, showing the rest of the world the first signs of disagreement -
China Becomes Communist
This is very significant to the war becuase the capitalist momvement was no longer fighting just Russia (one of the most populpus nations on the planet), but now they are also fighting China, which also happens to be one of the most populous nations on Earth. The man power now availabe behind the Communist movement was unparalleled for the time, power that could've easily crushed that of the USA -
U2 reconaissance incident
This event, eventhough only one pilot, Gary Powers was captured, was very relevant to the serious outbreak of the war. America, who had deined the spying and the intelligence planes flying over the USSR was a rumour, yet when this plane was shot down, the propaganda that followed denounced the US as liars in the face of the rest of the World. This just added to the tension being built in Europe at the time. -
US visits Berlin
This was the first major commitment shown by the US to the people of the West, the West of Germany and the West of Berlin. America supported them, making the trip half way across the globe to pay them a visit would anger the Soviets, and this may had been their plan. They, in theory, did nothing wrong, they visited to show the people of the area support, whilst doing nothing wrong. This gave the Soviets nothing to get angry at, they had no right to be angry, they were poking the bear -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This is a very sginificant event of the time, as it was the closest the two powers (USSR and USA) got to open warfare. The warfare was not only just ground warfare but would've included the use of Nuclear Warheads, which had the ability to wipe out not just whole cities, but obliterate whole countries at the press of the button. This power was at the fingers of two powers that proved to be wildly unpredictable throughout the 20th century -
Reagan retracts weapons
This was another major event in the conclusion of the Cold War, becuase the threat that both countries were always afraid of, Nuclear Waponry. With the abolishment of these weapons the tension was greatly reduced throughout Europe. Becuase this tension was released the breakdown of the Berlin Wall followed, and then the war slowly simmred out after this event -
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader
Becuase Gorbachev was introduced into the picture, he allowed for a different view on the issues and a different personality at the top. This mans personality was a lot calmer, and he had the right headspace towards the issue becuase he hadnt been a part of it for as long. When he was introduced into the conflict he introduced many different policies in calming the conflict and calming the tension, as well as having a large input into retracting the weapons out of Europe -
Berlin Wall Demolished
This is a large stepping stone into the dissolution of the Cold War, the divide between the East and West of Berlin was being broken down, and soon followed the greater breakdown of the east and west nations. This agreement for the demolition of the wall showed the leaders that they can get along, and that they can get together to achieve a common goal for the better of the world
