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Chinese Civil War
picwas fought from 1927 to 1949. On one side were the Communists, who wanted to make China like the Soviet Union. They were backed by the Soviet Union, and they had the support of many poor people. On the others side were the Nationalists, who wanted to make China like the United States. They were also called the Kuomintang. They were backed by the United States and the United Kingdom, and they had the support of the richer people and the Chinese who lived in cities. More than a million people died -
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Eastern European Independence
When Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europeans began to seek greater freedom. In the late 1980s, Gorbachev declared that he would not interfere with Eastern European reforms. Poland legalized Solidarity and, im 1989, held the first free elections in 50 years. A year later, Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland. The new governmaent bagan a difficult, but peaceful, transistion from a command economy to a market economy. Nicolae Ceausescu was -
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Eastern European Independence cont.
executed. For the first time since 1939, Eastern European countries were free. -
NATO
picIn 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten other countries formed a new military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Members pledged to help one another if any one of them were attacked. -
Chinese Civil War cont.
who lived in cities. More than a million people died in the Chinese Civil War. The Communists were led by Mao Zedong, and the Nationalists were led by Chiang Kai-shek. -
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Communist Cuba and Missle Crisis
In the 1950s, Fidel Castro organized an armed rebellion against the corrupt dictator who then ruled Cuba. By 1959, Catro had led his guerrilla army to victory and set about transforming the country. Castro nationalized businesses and put most land under goverment control. Castro severly restricted Cubans' political freedom. In 1962, the Soviet Union sent nuclear missiles to Cuba.Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the Soviert missiles, and war was averted. -
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Korean Conflict
After Japan's defeat in world war ll, Soviet and American forces agreed to devide Korea temporarily along the 38th parallel of latitude. North Korean troops attacked in June, 1950, and soon over ran most of the south. In September 1950, United Nations troops landed o the beaches around the port of Inch'on. U.S led troops captured Koreas north-south rail lines and cut off North Korean tropps from their supply of food and ammunition. North Korean forces in the south soon surrendered. After the war -
Warsaw Pact
It included the Soviet Union and seven satelites in Eastern Europe. The warsaw pact was often invoked by the Soviets to keep its satellite in order. The Warsaw pact cemented the division of Europe into "Eastern" and "western" blocs. -
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Vietnam Conflict
Communist rebels try to over throw South Vietnam's government. At first, the United Statessent only supplies and military advisors to South Vietnam. Later, it sent thousands of troops, turning a local struggle into a major cold war conflict. -
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Nuclear Arms Race and Detente
Began right after World War ll. At first the United States was the only nuclear power. By 1945, The Soviet Union had also developed nuclear weapons. Both Sides engaged in a race to match each other's new weapons. To reduce the threat of nuclear war, the two sides met at disarmament talks. To limit the number of nuclear weapons held by each side, both sides signed agreements to set limits, in 1972 and 1979. American and Soviet arms control agreements led to an era od detente, or relaxation of -
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Nuclear Arms Race and Detente cont.
tensions, during the 1970s. The American startegy under detente was to restrain the Soviet Union through diplomatic agreements rather than by militarymeans. The era of detente ended in 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. -
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Soviet Union falls
Stalin continued to fill forced labor camps with "enemies of the state." In 1979, the Soviet Union became involved in a long war in Afghanistan. In 1985, an energetic new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, came to power in the Soviet Union. His reforms however, brought economic turnmoil. -
Berlin Wall
A massive exodus of low paid East Germans, unhappy with communism, fled into West Berlin. To stop the flight, East Germany built a wall in 1961 that sealed off West Berlin. When completed, the Berlin Wall was a massive concrete barrier, topped with barbed wire and patrolled by gaurds. -
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Vietnam conflict
<a href='' >pic</a>Ho Chi Minh remained determined to unite Vietnam under communist rule. He continued to aid the National Liberation Front. At first, the United States sent only supplies and military advisors to South Vietnam. Later it sent thousands of troops, turning a local struggle into a major Cold War conflict. -
Soviets in Afghanistan
In 1979, the Soviet Union became involved in a long war in Afghanistan. By the mid-1980s, the American Government began to smuggle modern weaponry to the mujahedin. The Soviets had years of heavy casualties, high costs, and few successes. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev cam to power in the Soviet Union. He urged perestroika. -
Korean Conflict cont.
, South Korea slowly rebuilt it's econemy. Even aftter its Soviet and Chinese allies undertook economic reforms in the 1980s, North Korea clung to hard-line communism.
