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Greek Civil War
In the years following the Second World War in Greece, the Communists engaged in violent conflicts against the government forces who were receiving massive military and financial aid from Britain and, later, from the USA. Greece liked the benefits of the Marshall Plan and slowly became part of the Western system, joining NATO in 1951. The defeat of the Communist revolt in Greece, more than 50 000 people died, marked the end of the spread of Soviet influence in Europe. -
Postwar occupation and division of Germany
The surrender of the German armed forces ended World War II for Germany. German territory was than taken over by foreign armies. The country was flooded with refugees. The Allies would govern Germany through four occupation zones, one for each of the Four Powers--the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. Which became known as the Marshall Plan. It provided more than $15 million to help finance rebuilding efforts. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Berlin Blockade was an attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of the United States, Great Britain and France. The Soviet Union fell into a crisis. This triggered the new U.S policy of giving economic aid to Germany and other struggling European nations. In response to Germany putting up the Berlin Blockade, the U.S and other nations came up with the Berlin Airlift. This allowed them to fly supplies into Berlin. -
Cold War
The Cold War got its name because both sides were afraid of fighting each other directly. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China. This broke out shortly after World War 2. This led to the "fall" of mainland China to communism. The effect of this made the United States to cut off diplomatic ties with the PRC for decades. -
Korean War
This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. In July, American troops had entered the war on South Korea’s behalf. It was a war against communism itself. On July 1953, the Korean War came to an end. The U.S had won. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed uprising led by Fidel Castro. The revolution began with a failed assault on Cuban military barracks on July 26, 1953. Most of the group was killed, around 20 of them escaped, including Fidel and Raúl Castro. -
Overthrow of the Guatemalan Government
The U.S. government was intent on removing Arbenz from power and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was given this task by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The CIA spread propaganda through the radio. Then started to drop bomb raids. Arbenz realized he was not going to win this battle. Arbenz resigned on June 27th. -
Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The Soviet Union oversaw the establishment of Communist regimes throughout central and Eastern Europe. Over the next four decades, those regimes constituted what was informally known as the Eastern bloc. China ended up falling under the communist rule in 1949. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War ended communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973. Vietnam emerged from the war as a potent military power within Southeast Asia, but its agriculture, business, and industry were disrupted. -
Hungarian uprising
Hungary had decided to withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. This sent the Soviet into a rage. They stormed Hungary with tanks. The Soviet Union killed over 2,500 Hungarians. The U.S allowed refugees to enter the country but other than that the U.S did not help Hungary. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 was a failed attack launched by the CIA to remove Cuban leader Fidel Castro from power. For the next two years, the U.S. State Department and the CIA attempted to remove Castro. The invasion did not go well, the invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
Building the Berlin Wall
After the end of World War 2, Germany was divided up into four sections. The Berlin Wall was built to keep people from East Berlin who were in a communist government to cross over to West Berlin which was a democratic government. The Berlin Wall started off with just barbed wire but quickly turned into a 15 feet wall. These walls were topped with barbed wire and guarded with watchtowers, machine gun emplacements, and mines. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. President John F. Kennedy made the decision to put up naval blockades around Cuba. The U.S. agreed to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s (1894-1971) offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. -
Overthrow of the Allende government in Chile
Chile’s armed forces stage a coup d’état against the government of President Salvador Allende. He was surrounded by tanks and infantry and bombed by air force jets. Allende survived the aerial attack but then apparently shot himself to death as troops stormed the burning palace. -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, ending the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978. The Soviets organized a massive military airlift into Kabul. The Soviets eventually took over Kabul. Soviet forces started withdrawing in 1988. The last Soviet soldier crossed back across the border on February 15, 1989. More than fifteen thousand Soviet soldiers were killed. This affected the Soviet Union in many ways, contributing to the fall of the Soviet Union. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing into the crowds of protesters. Some protesters fought back. Reporters and Western diplomats on the scene estimated that at least 300, and perhaps thousands, of the protesters had been killed during the massacre. In the United States, members of Congress denounced the Tiananmen Square massacre. Many people wanted in the United States wanted to punish the Chinese government. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
More than 2 million people from East Berlin visited West Berlin that weekend to participate in a celebration of the falling of the Berlin Wall. People used hammers and picks to knock away chunks of the wall. The wall was finally gone and Berlin was united for the first time since 1945. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time. They declared they would establish a Commonwealth of Independent States. Because the three Baltic republics had already declared their independence from the USSR. The Soviet Union had fallen, due to the great number of radical reforms that Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev had implemented during his six years. He didn't have the money nor time to repair the damage that was already done to the Soviet Union. -
9/11 Attacks
19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Around 3,000 people were killed. This shook the entire U.S. There is now more security for airports and passports.