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Iran
British and Soviet troops had jointly occupied Iran since 1941 to protect oil reserves from falling into German hands. At the end of the war, the British withdrew their troops, but the Soviets refused to withdraw their forces hoping to force oil concessions from the Iranians. But were forced to leave after U.S. threats war. -
Marshal Plan created
The Marshal Plan is used to combat Communism spread with economic growth. Helps modernization of industrial construction, creation of sound currencies and national budgets, expansion of trade and increase in exports. Increased economic cooperation among Europeans countries, removal of quantitative restrictions in foreign trade, increase in production especially in agriculture and energy industry, and Improvement in transport systems. -
Communism Spreads
Both Greece and Turkey faced communist revolts in 1947 and asked the U.S. for aid to defend themselves from communist takeovers. -
Germany Splits?
After the war Berlin, the capital city of Germany, was divided into four zones USSR, French, British and American. The three allies united their zones into one that was known as west Berlin. West Berlin was deep inside the communist controlled part of Germany. 1949 saw the establishment of two German nations. East Germany was ruled by the USSR while west Germany was independent. -
Berlin Airlifts
The USSR imposed a complete blockade on railway, road and canal traffic leading to west Berlin from the allied German zone. No supplies of any type, including food, fuel and consumer goods, were allowed to enter west Berlin. President Truman decided that we were going to hold on to west Berlin and he chose an airlift from the options presented to him. The airlift would be used for keeping the city supplied with food, fuel and consumer goods like coal and chocolate. -
NATO created
Dean Acheson developed a policy to contain communist expansion by funneling economic and military aid to democratic nations, and by helping to establish NATO.
Ten west European countries and the united states and Canada, signed the Washington treaty. The principal purpose of the alliance is specified in article 5 which states that An armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or north america shall be considered an attack against them all. -
Korean War
The communist North Koreans pushed the South Korean and unprepared U.S. armies all the way to Pusan in the south where they were finally stopped by U.S. firepower.
Macarthur made a brilliant invasion at Inchon which threatened to trap all the North Korean forces fighting near the Pusan perimeter. Chinese communist troops invaded North Korea and pushed the UN armies back south of the 38th parallel.
An armistice was signed ending the Korean war. Korea remained divided at the 38th parallel. -
Stalin Dead, New power emerges
Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the soviet union after Stalin's death. He denounced the crimes of Stalin in a famous speech and set out to reform the USSR. In 1956 he announced at a UN speech that “we (USSR) will bury you (US)”
In 1957 a new word entered the world’s vocabulary: ICBM were nuclear bomb carrying missiles with ranges of over five thousand miles. No place on earth was safe from nuclear destruction. -
Space War
The space age begins as Russia launches sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth. Americans were shocked that the soviets were the first into space.
The U.S. did not get an object into orbit until January of 1958 after several embarrassing failures. The space race was on. -
Cuba Issues
Revolution in Cuba successfully overthrew the government. Fidel Castro became premier and later communist dictator of Cuba. Many Cubans flee to the U.S.
Castro started bringing Cuba closer to the communist USSR starting with a trade agreement.
President Eisenhower authorized a CIA plan to overthrow Castor using Cuban exiles living in the U.S.
John F. Kennedy becomes president of the US in 1961 and inherits a planned invasion of Cuba from the Eisenhower administration. -
The U-2 Incident
A U.S. U-2 spy plane was shot down over the soviet union and its pilot Gary Powers captured and put on trial. Khrushchev used this incident to cancel a planned east-west summit conference in Paris. -
Bay of Pigs
Cuban exiles invading Cuba with the help of the us, April 1961.
The invasion was a failure and all the Cuban exile invasion force was either killed or captured by Castro's army. -
Cuban Missile Crises
Declassified 1962 map showing the distances nuclear armed missiles would go if fired from Cuba. Almost all major us population centers were within range. This convinced JFK that the soviet missiles must be removed from Cuba.
Each one of the Russian missiles in Cuba had the explosive power of 50 Hiroshima type atomic bombs. JFK ordered a naval blockade and stop Soviet ships from bringing in missiles and other equipment. Which worked paying off. -
Vietnam War
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident drags us into war reinstating drafts, leading to unpopularity. Eventually leads to Paris Peace Accords 1972 which puts an Armistice. Eventually it is taken over by Communism because of disruption with presidency in America -
Cold War ends USSR falls
Ronald Reagan elected president thought to finish the USSR by spending a lot into the military 'forcing' the USSR to match by spending all there money collapsing there economic allowing the people to revolt.