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On August 8,1945, the Soviet Union declared war on japan and invaded Manchuria the next day.. The attack help force japan to surrender on August 15 1945,along with atomic bombings of Hiroshima and nagasaki . -
On August 15 1945 (VJ DAY), Emperor Hirohito of Japan announce japan's surrender in a radio broadcast , Gyokuon-hōsō ("Jewel Voice Broadcast"). This ended WW2 , the following atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Formal surrender was signed on September 2,1945. -
Operation Crossroads – Test Baker was an underwater nuclear explosion conducted by the U.S. on July 25, 1946, at Bikini Atoll. It was a 23-kiloton bomb detonated 90 feet underwater, creating a massive water column and heavily contaminating target ships with radioactive fallout. It was the first underwater nuclear test. -
The Rio Pact 1947 was a U.S. led a security treaty with 19 Latin American countries , creating a collective defense zone in the western Hemisphere . An attack on one was considered an attack on all during the cold war. -
On February 1948, the communist party of Czechoslovakia took control over the government in a coup back by the Soviet union. Non communist leaders were forced out, and czechoslovakia became a communist state under Soviet influence . this event marks a moment at the start of a cold war. -
In 1949, after losing the Chinese civil war to the communist, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government (Kuomintang, KMT) retreated to Formosa (Taiwan). There, they established the Republic of China(ROC),Claiming to the legitimate government of China. -
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was ratified on April 4, 1949, when 12 countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C. The treaty created a military alliance to defend against Soviet expansion during the Cold War. It became official when member nations completed their approval processes later that year. -
Berlin blockade ended may 12 1949,when Soviet union lifted its blockade of west Berlin. The blockade had started in June 1948, as the Soviet tried to cut of supplies to the city. In response , the U.S and its allies organized the Berlin airlift, delivering food and fuel by air for nearly a year. The success of the airlift forced the Soviets to reopen land routes to Berlin. -
In 1950 senator McCarthy launched a communist witch hunt ,accusing government officials of communist ties without Mccarthy solid proof . This led to widespread loyalty test, blacklisting, and fear during the Red Scare. -
President Harry S. Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur on April 11, 1951, during the Korean War. MacArthur, the commander of U.S. and U.N. forces, publicly criticized Truman’s strategy of limited war and wanted to expand the conflict into China. Truman, believing MacArthur’s actions threatened civilian control over the military and could escalate the war, removed him from command and replaced him with General Matthew Ridgway. -
Vietnam split at 17th Parallel under the Geneva accord,ending the French rule . North Vietnam , led by Ho Chi Minh, became communist,while South Vietnam, backed by the U.S.,was anti communist . The division was meant to be temporary ,with elections planned for reunification ,but they never happened leading to the Vietnam War. -
On August 13 1961, East Germany(GDR),backed by Soviet union , closed the border and began building the Berlin Wall to stop mass deflection to West Berlin. The wall remained until November 9, 1989, when it was finally opened ,leading to German unification. -
The Cuban Missile crisis October 16-28 1962 was a 13 days standoff between U.S and the Soviet union over Soviet nuclear missile in Cuba . The U.S imposed a naval blockade , bringing both nations close to war. it ended when the USSR agreed to remove the missile in exchange for the U.S pledge not to invade Cuba and a secret removal of U.S. missile from Turkey. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurred in August 1964, when the U.S. claimed that North Vietnamese boats attacked American destroyers. The reports led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers to escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. The incident played a key role in the start of the Vietnam War, though later evidence suggested that the second attack may not have happened. -
China developed it first atomic bomb(A-Bomb) on October 16,1964 as a part of its Two Bombs, One Satellite program.The test ,called 596, took place at Lop Nur and made china the fifth nuclear power after the U.S, USSR,France and UK. -
On January 23, 1968, North Korea captured the USS Pueblo, a U.S. Navy intelligence ship, off its coast. North Korea claimed the ship had entered its territorial waters, while the U.S. insisted it was in international waters. The 82 crew members were held captive for 11 months, during which they were mistreated. They were finally released on December 23, 1968, after the U.S. signed a formal apology The USS Pueblo remains in North Korea as a museum. -
in 1983 ,the U.S invaded Grenada in Operation Urgent Fury to remove its marxist government after prime minister Maurice bishop was killed U.S Forces,along with carribean allies,quickly overthrew the regime and restore democracy, but the invasion face international criticism -
Germany was officially reunified on October 3 1990,after being divided since the ended of WW2. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 show the collapse of communist rule in east Germany .with support from western allies and negotiation with the soviet union. east and west Germany merged into one democratic nation. this mark the end of cold war era in europe. -
Cold war ended with the collapse of the soviet union in 1991. The key factors include Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms economic struggles, and rising nationalist movements in Soviet republics. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 showed the weakening of Soviet influence . in 1991 , a failed coup against Gorbachev weakened his leadership, leading to the independence of many Soviet republics.December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned, and the USSR officially end the next day marking the end of the cold war. -
The Warsaw pact was a military alliance formed in 1995 by the soviet union and seven eastern Bloc countries to counter NATO. It ended in 1991 after the Cold war.