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Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference (1945) At Yalta, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin made important decisions regarding the future progress of the war and the postwar world. This conference was to agree on some demands they all had. It was all kept secret. This conference was foreshadowing the cold war. -
North Vietnam
Source Following the defeat of Nazi Germany, World War 2 Allies including the U.S. Britain, and Soviet Union, hold the Potsdam Conference in Gernany to plan the post-war world Vietnam is comsidered a minor item on the agenda. In order to disarm the Japanese in Vietnam, the Allies divide the coutnry in half at the 16th parallel. Chinese Nationalists will move in and disarm the Japanese north of the paralle while the British will move. -
Berlin Declaration
Source The Berlin Declaration proclaimed the unconditional surrender of Germany and the assumption of supreme authority by the four victorious powers; to future dealings with vanquished and occupied Germany. Mounting tensions between the Western powers and the Soviet Union created a situation. -
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference The Big Three met in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to talk terms for the end of World War II. Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, and the Allied leaders agreed to meet over the summer at Potsdam to continue the discussions that had begun at Yalta. The conference failed to settle most of the important issues at hand and thus helped set the stage for the Cold War that would begin. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Source Churchill gave his now famous "Iron Curtain" speech to a crowd of 40,000. He accepted an honorary degree from the college and said his most famous post-war speeches. Many people consider Churchill's "iron curtain speech" the beginning of the Cold War. -
First Indochina War
Source The First Indochina War was a major conflict in the Asian region known as Indochina, which is made up of the modern nations of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The war was fought by France, the long-time colonial ruler in the Indochina, and Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian Communist rebel forces. The First Indochina War ended in French defeat following the surrender of a French army to the Viet Minh. -
Marshall Plan
Source This channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe. Its objective is to restore the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole. The plan promoted European economic integration and federalism. -
Containment Policy
Source George F. Kennan, a career Foreign Service Officer, formulated the policy of "containment," the basic U.S. strategy for fightinh the old war with the Soviet Union. Kennan's ideas first came to public attention in 1947. Although his policy was very controversial from the beginning, Containment remained the basic strategy of the United States throughout the cold war. -
Berlin Blockade
Source The Soviet Union blocked all road and rail traffic to and from West Berlin. The Soviet viewed some actions as threats and issued more demands for a say in the economic future of Germany. As result, the population was worried about shortages of food, water, and medical aid. So the United States brought in a massive airlift of supplies. -
Berlin Airlift
Source On June 26, 1948, the first planes took off from bases in England and western Germany and landed in West Berlin. The United States began a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city. Around the world, the Soviets were portrayed as international bullies, holding men, women, and children hostage in West Berlin and threatening them with starvation. -
NATO
Source A mutual defense pact aimed at containing possible Soviet aggression against Western Europe. NATO stood as the main U.S.-led military alliance against the Soviet Union throughout the duration of the Cold War. The Soviet Union condemned NATO as a warmongering alliance and responded by setting up the Warsaw Pact in 1955. -
Soviet Union Tests A-Bomb
Source The USSR successfully detonates its first atomic bomb, code name “First Lightning.” The atomic explosion, which at 20 kilotons was roughly equal to “Trinity,” In order to measure the effects of the blast, the Soviet scientists constructed fake structures and placed animals in the vicinity of the bomb. The first U.S. atomic explosion, destroyed fake structures that were built and incinerated the animals. -
People's Republic of China Founded
Source Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong officially proclaims the existence of the People’s Republic of China. The proclamation was the climax of years of battle between Mao’s communist forces and the regime of Nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek, who had been supported with money and arms from the American government. The loss of China to communism was a severe blow to the U.S. -
Secon Red Scare
Source Hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red Scare. Federal employees were analyzed to determine whether they were sufficiently loyal to the government. The climate of fear and repression began to ease in the late 1950s. The Red Scare has continued to influence political debate and is often cited as an example of how unfounded fears can compromise civil liberties. -
Korean War - American Involvment
Source Armed forces from communist North Korea smash into South Korea, setting off the Korean War. North Korean forces surprised the South Korean army (and the small U.S. force stationed in the country). In 1953, the United States and North Korea signed a cease-fire that ended the conflict and resulted in the continued division of North and South Korea. -
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Source Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage in 1951, are put to death in the electric chair. They were accused of heading a spy ring that passed top-secret information concerning the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Julius Rosenberg was the first to be executed then Ethel Rosenberg was led in and strapped to the chair. -
Eisenhower Presidency
Source In 1952, leading Republicans convinced Eisenhower to run for president. During his term, he managed Cold War-era tensions with the Soviet Union under the looming threat of nuclear weapons and authorized a number of covert anti-communist operations by the CIA around the world. Though popular throughout his administration, he faltered in the protection of civil rights for African Americans. -
Nikita Khrushchev
Source The Soviet government announces that Nikita Khrushchev has been selected as one of five men named to the new office of Secretariat of the Communist Party. Stalin died in March 1953 and Khrushchev took advantage of the mediocre Malenkov. Khrushchev’s rise to power did initiate a period in which tensions began slightly to ease. -
Iranian Coup D'etat
Source On August 19, 1953, the military, backed by street protests organized and financed by the CIA, overthrew Mossadeq. The Shah quickly returned to take power and, as thanks for the American help, signed over 40 percent of Iran’s oil fields to U.S. companies. Mossadeq was arrested, served three years in prison, and died under house arrest in 1967. -
Warsaw Pact
Source The warsaw pact is a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. The Warsaw Pact, so named because the treaty was signed in Warsaw. The Warsaw Pact remained intact until 1991. The rise of non-communist governments in other eastern bloc nations throughout 1990 and 1991 marked an effective end of the power of the Warsaw Pact. -
Suez Crisis
Source On October 29, 1956, Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the Suez Canal, initiating the Suez Crisis. The Israelis soon were joined by French and British forces, which nearly brought the Soviet Union into the conflict, and damaged their relationships with the United States. In the end, the British, French and Israeli governments withdrew their troops in late 1956 and early 1957. -
Hungarian Revoltuion
Source Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country. Thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression. Nagy tried to restore peace and asked the Soviets to withdraw their troops and they did so, but Nagy then tried to push the revolt forward by abolishing one-party rule. -
Sputnik
Source The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for “satellite,” was launched at 10:29 p.m. It was the world’s first artificial satellite. Sputnik transmitted radio signals back to Earth strong enough to be picked up by amateur radio operators. In January 1958, Sputnik’s orbit deteriorated, as expected, and the spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere. -
Cuban Revolution
Source Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista flees the island nation. Rampant corruption, brutality, and inefficiency was within the Batista government. This reality forced U.S. policymakers to slowly withdraw their support from Batista. Tens of thousands of Cubans joyously celebrated the end of the dictator’s regime. -
U2 Incident
Source An American U-2 spy plane is shot down the aircraft was equipped with state-of-the-art photography equipment that could take high-resolution pictures of headlines in Russian newspapers as it flew overhead. The meeting collapsed immediately and the summit was called off. The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was released in 1962 in exchange for a captured Soviet spy. -
Kennedy Presidency
Source John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States. He charged the Republicans with losing Cuba and allowing a dangerous “missile gap” to develop, in which the Soviets had overtaken the United States in the building of missiles. He did not have long to wait before those challenges were upon him. Kennedy appeared overwhelmed. -
First Man in Space
Source On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space in the spacecraft Vostok 1. Monuments were raised to him across the Soviet Union and streets renamed in his honor. Yuri Gagarin was killed in a routine jet-aircraft test flight in 1968. His ashes were placed in the Kremlin wall. -
Bay Of Pigs
Source The Bay of Pigs invasion begins when a CIA-financed and -trained group of Cuban refugees attempts to topple the communist government of Fidel Castro. Around 1,200 exiles, armed with American weapons and using American landing craft, waded ashore at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. Over 100 of the attackers were killed, and more than 1,100 were captured. -
Berlin Wall
Source East German authorities begin building a wall–the Berlin Wall–to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War–a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe. Thousands of East Germans were captured during attempted crossings and 191 were killed. -
Checkpoint Charlie
Source On October 27, 1961, combat-ready American and Soviet tanks faced off in Berlin at the U.S. Army's Checkpoint Charlie. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union over access to the outpost city of Berlin and its Soviet-controlled eastern sector had increased to the point of direct military confrontation. The U.S. armor pulled back. The stand-off at Checkpoint Charlie was over. -
JFK Assassination
Source Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. Oswald was formally arraigned on November 23 for the murders of President Kennedy and Officer J.D. Tippit. The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that Kennedy was “probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy” that may have involved multiple shooters. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Source The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave broad congressional approval for expansion of the Vietnam War. During the spring of 1964, military planners had developed a detailed design for major attacks on the North, but at that time President Johnson and his advisers feared that the public would not support an expansion of the war. By summer, rebel forces had established control over nearly half of South Vietnam. -
Vietnam War - American Involvement
Source The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies. The war began in 1954 and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people (including 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians. -
SALT 1
Source President Johnson called for strategic arms limitations talks (SALT). SALT I is considered the crowning achievement of the Nixon-Kissinger strategy of détente. Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty and interim SALT agreement on May 26, 1972, in Moscow. -
Prague Spring
Source Dubcek’s effort to establish “communism with a human face” was celebrated across the country, and the brief period of freedom became known as the “Prague Spring.” Prague was not eager to give way, but scattered student resistance was no match for Soviet tanks. Dubcek’s reforms were repealed and was replaced with Gustav Husak who re-established an authoritarian Communist regime in the country. -
Tet Offensive
Source The Tet Offensive is a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. General Vo Nguyen Giap, planned the offensive in an attempt both to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its support of the Saigon regime. Despite heavy casualties, North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive. -
Nixon Presidency
Source Richard Nixon was elected the 37th President of the United States (1969-1974) after previously serving as a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from California. After successfully ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving international relations with the U.S.S.R. and China, he became the only President to ever resign the office. -
Apollo 11
American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human ever to land on the moon. As he set took his first step, Armstrong famously said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” A plaque was left on the moon that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon–July 1969 A.D–We came in peace for all mankind.” -
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Source The United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom signed the treaty, which limits the spread of military nuclear technology by the recognized nuclear-weapon states. Non-weapon states agree not to get nuclear arms and countries with nuclear weapons will negotiate for disarmament. It has since been signed by 187 countries and was extended indefinitely in May 1995. -
Détente
Source Détente (a French word meaning release from tension) is the name given to a period of improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both countries stood to gain if trade could be increased and the danger of nuclear warfare reduced. With the election of Ronald Reagan, who emphasized military preparedness as the key to Soviet-American relations, détente as Nixon had envisioned it came to an end. -
Nixon Visits China
Source President Nixon visits China. After arriving, the president announced that his breakthrough visit to China is “The week that changed the world.” Nixon’s promise to reduce the U.S. military presence on Taiwan seemed to confirm North Vietnam’s fears of a Chinese-American sellout-trading U.S. military reduction for peace in Vietnam. China's aid permitted the North Vietnamese to launch a major new offensive in 1972. -
SALT 2
Source Negotiations for a second round began in late 1972. Negotiations also sought to prevent both sides from making qualitative breakthroughs that would again destabilize the strategic relationship. SALT 2 aggreement included a 2,400 limit on strategic nuclear delivery vehicles for each side; a 1,320 limit on MIRV systems; a ban on new land-based ICBM launchers; and limits on deployment of new types of strategic offensive arms. -
Paris Peace Accords
Source The U.S., South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam sign “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” in Paris. The settlement included a cease-fire throughout Vietnam. It addition, the U.S. agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and advisors and the dismantling of all U.S. bases within 60 days. In return, the North Vietnamese agreed to release all U.S. and other prisoners of war. -
Chilean Coup D'etat
Source Chile’s armed forces stage a coup d’état against the government of President Salvador Allende. Allende survived the aerial attack but then apparently shot himself to death as troops stormed the burning palace. The U.S. government and its CIA had worked for three years to foment a coup against Allende, who was regarded by the Nixon administration as a threat to democracy in Chile and Latin America. -
Yom Kippur War
Source Hoping to win back territory lost to Israel, in 1967, Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Taking the Israeli Defense Forces by surprise, Egyptian troops swept deep into the Sinai Peninsula, while Syria struggled to throw occupying Israeli troops out of the Golan Heights. Israel counterattacked and recaptured the Golan Heights. -
Khmer Rouge and the "Killing Fields"
Source Pol Pot and his communist Khmer Rouge movement led Cambodia. During 1975-1979, about 1.5 million Cambodians out of 7 to 8 million died of starvation, execution, disease or overwork. One detention center, was so notorious that only seven of the roughly 20,000 people imprisoned there are known to have survived. In 1997 a Khmer Rouge splinter group captured Pol Pot and placed him under house arrest. He died in his sleep on 04/15/1998. -
Fall of Saigon
Source Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces. The fall of Saigon effectively marked the end of the Vietnam War. Saigon had already experienced direct military action in 1968 when as part of the Tet Offensive North Vietnamese forces had appeared in Saigon and for a short time had entered the US Embassy. By 1975, what remained of the South Vietnamese Army was not capable of withstanding the advance of the North. -
Iranian Revolution
Source The Shah, Iran's ruler for nearly four decades, had fled the country. A million people took to the streets to cheer on Khomeini and denounce the Shah. By year's end, young supporters of Khomeini had stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking dozens of hostages. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
Source A group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. The hostage-taking was about more than the Shah’s medical care: it was a dramatic way for the student revolutionaries to declare a break with Iran’s past and an end to American interference in its affairs. The students set their hostages free on January 21, 1981, 444 days after the crisis began. -
Reagan Presidency
Source Ronald Reagan, a former actor and California governor, served as the 40th U.S. president from 1981 to 1989. He cut taxes, increased defense spending, negotiated a nuclear arms reduction agreement with the Soviets and is credited with helping to bring a quicker end to the Cold War. Reagan, who survived a 1981 assassination attempt, died at age 93 after battling Alzheimer’s disease. -
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Source On September 1, 1983, Korean Airlines (KAL) flight 007 was on the last leg of a flight from New York City to Seoul. As it approached its final destination, the plane began to veer far off its normal course. Soviet jet fighters shoot the Korean Airlines plane down, killing 269 passengers and crewmembers. The incident increased tension between the Soviet Union and the U.S. -
Reagan and Gorbachev Meet
Source Meeting in Geneva, President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev produced no earth-shattering agreements. The meeting boded well for the future, as the two men engaged in long, personal talks and seemed to develop a sincere and close relationship. Both Reagan and Gorbachev, however, expressed satisfaction with the summit, which ended on November 21. -
Reykjavik Summit
Source In 1986, the leaders of the world’s two superpowers met at the stark and picturesque Hofdi House in Reykjavik. A proposal to eliminate all new strategic missiles grew into a discussion, of the real possibility of eliminating nuclear weapons forever. A summit that began with low expectations had blossomed into one of the most dramatic and potentially productive summits of all time. -
"Tear Down This Wall" Speech
Source In one of his most famous Cold War speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. "Come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” says Reagan. Two years later, deliriously happy East and West Germans did break down the infamous barrier between East and West Berlin. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Source Chinese troops storm through Tiananmen Square killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The protesters kept up daily vigils, and marched and chanted for about three weeks. Some Chinese protestos tried to escape the Chinese troops and others fought back. Atleast 300, perhaps thousands of protestors, were killed and 10,000 arrested. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Source The head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border whenever they pleased. Some crossed freely into West Berlin, while others brought hammers and picks and began to chip away at the wall itself. The reunification of East and West Germany was made official on October 3, 1990, almost one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. -
Gulf War
Source On November 29, 1990, the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of “all necessary means” of force against Iraq if it did not withdraw from Kuwait by the following January 15. By January, the coalition forces prepared to face off against Iraq numbered some 750,000, including 540,000 U.S. personnel and smaller forces. The Gulf War was recognized as a decisive victory for the coalition. -
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Source On Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time. A few days earlier, representatives from 11 Soviet republics announced that they would no longer be part of the Soviet Union. The once-mighty Soviet Union had fallen and Gorbachev resigned from his job on December 25.
