-
Chinese Civil War (between Jiang Jieshi and Mao Zedong)
The revolution brought that to an end and started the Civil War. The revolution had been led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925). Because of economic problems, Nationalist soldiers to desert to the Shanghi and the southwest part of China. With this, the Communists took over the northeastern part of China. -
Berlin Blockade
The U.S. and the USSR had different Aims for what they wanted to do to Germany. The USA wanted to rebuild Germany’s industry to become a wealthy trading partner. Stalin wanted to destroy Germany, and the USSR had been stripping East Germany of its wealth and machinery. -
Berlin Airlift
Great Britain, France, and US plan to rebuild Germany differed from the Soviet Union's plan. On June 21, the Soviets halted a US Military Supply Train and refused it a passage to Berlin.US Military Commander Lucius Clay had developed a plan by which an armed convoy through Soviet Controlled Germany, would break the blockade. -
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The Alliance’s creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes. These purposes were: deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration. -
National Security Council Report NSC-68
According to the report, the United States should vigorously pursue a policy of "containing" Soviet expansion. NSC-68 recommended that the United States embark on rapid military expansion of conventional forces and the nuclear arsenal, including the development of the new hydrogen bomb. -
Korean War
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. As far as American officials were concerned, It was a war against the forces of international communism itself. -
President Truman fires General MacArthur
MacArthur was a popular hero of World War II who was then the commander of United Nations forces fighting in the Korean War. His relief remains a controversial topic in the field of civil-military relations. MacArthur led the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific during World War II. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
In May 1955, the Soviet Union institutionalized its East European alliance system when it gathered together representatives from Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania in Warsaw to sign the multilateral Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. The Soviets claimed that the Warsaw Pact was a direct response to the inclusion of the Federal Republic of Germany, in 1955. On May 14, 1955, the Soviet Union and its East European allies signed the Warsaw Pact.
