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Formation of the Eastern Block
The formation of the Eastern Bloc is the formation of a bunch of communist countries who aligned with the Soviets after WWII.
Members included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Yugoslavia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.
This group ended in 1989 when the Bloc members decided to have a revolution against the Soviet Union -
Postwar occupation and division of Germany
After the Potsdam conference, Germany was split into four different zones each controlled by different countries. This was to make sure that Germany would not rise to power again which could cause another World War. This also made it, so Germany wasn't left in shambles like it was after WWI. -
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil war which happened shortly after WWII, was an uprising of Communist revolutionaries against Greece's democratic government. The revolutionaries were backed by the Soviet Union. The war ended with the Democratic side of the war crushing the communist revolutionaries. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
The Marshal Plan was a plan from the U.S. after World War 2. The main goal of this plan was to help the European countries involved in WWII recover from the damages. The U.S. supplied more than 15 billion dollars in funds to the aid the European's recovery. This plan lasted for four years and also increased commerce between the U.S. and those European countries helped. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Berlin Blockade was the Soviets attempt to cut off the East Berlin's supplies of necessary goods. This caused the U.S. to enforce an Airlift system. This was where they would fly packages of the needed goods over the blockade. The Soviets eventually stopped the blockade because Stalin thought the U.S. could do it forever. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Revolution was the very beginning of the Peoples Republic of China. This was due to the Chinese Communist Mao Zedong where he took control of the Chinese government through force. This was the formation of the first official unified state in China. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between democratic South Korea, and Communist North Korea. It started when North Korea which was backed by Communist China and Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. This caused the U.S. troops to back up the democratic South Korea. This war ended in the two sides of Korea still remaining divided today and is considered as the, "Forgotten War," due to the lack of attention. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution, which was led by Fidel Castro, was a successful attempt in overthrowing the Cuban government in 1953. The revolution began with an assault on Cuban military barracks on July 26, 1953. The Revolution ended in 1959 when the revolutionaries got the upper hand and forced Fulgencio Batista, the previous dictator, to flee Cuba, where Fidel ruled all the way until 2008. -
Overthrow of the Mossadegh Government in Iran
In 1953 an Iranian coup d'état was put in act to overthrow the Iranian government. This was aided by United Kingdom and United States intelligence. This ended up being successful and the Iranian government was overthrown. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict mainly between the North and South sides of Vietnam. This lengthy war had the involvement of many other allies of the two sides, most notably the U.S. and Soviet Union. This war would ultimately end in failure for the U.S. due to all of the lives lost in trying to prevent Vietnam from becoming a Communist Country, however Vietnam ended up becoming a full-on Communist Government. -
Hungarian Uprising
This was a countrywide revolution against the Hungarian government. This is due to thousands of protestors wanting a more democratic government. However, it ended in the brutal killing of many, due to the Soviets use of tanks on the protestors. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This Invasion was a failed attack by the U.S. on Cuba. This is due to the U.S. relations with Cuba deteriorating after Fidel Castro took over. It mainly failed due to poor preparation for the Cuban troop heavily outnumbered the U.S. -
Building the Berlin Wall
The building of the Berlin Wall was the Soviets attempt to stop communist ruled West Berlin People from crossing into the democratic East Berlin. This was done by building a wall, which cost the Soviets 3.6 million dollars to make. However, it was not just a wall used to prevent escape there were also many other obstacles such as shooting zones where anyone who was seen in those zones would be shot. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was an extremely tense standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, where the Soviets had atomic bombs aimed right at the U.S. in Cuba, which lasted for 13 days. Many thought the world was on the brink of nuclear warfare. However, J.F.K.'s blockade of Cuba worked, and the conflict was avoided. -
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization and protest in the Czechoslovak. This is because the people wanted reforms on free speech and many other human rights. This was squashed once many members of the war saw pact invaded the country to suppress the protests. However, some good came from it with less restriction on speech, and other additional rights to citizens. -
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviets intervened in the Afghanistan war to help the communist government against the Muslim revolutionaries. This was a big war during the Cold War because it occupied many of the Soviet troops. This weakened the Soviet Union because they could not leave this war, which ultimately lead to them having to admit defeat, and the Afghanistan communist government was no more after 10 years of fighting. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
With tension rising within China due to insecurities of its future, protestors arose against the government. A lot of unsuccessful compromises between the government and the people led to rising tensions. Finally, to end the protests the Chinese government opened fire on the protestors which led to the Tiananmen square massacre. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Fall of the Berlin Wall was a huge for the world due to the fall of the iron curtain, and the start of communisms fall. The wall fell due to many protest that lead the Soviets on the brink of collapse. Finally, it was announced the East and West Berlin citizens could travel over the wall and crowds surrounded the wall with excitement. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union fell due to its continuously failing economy. This caused the many of the countries that made up the Soviet Union to revolt. This ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of 15 independent countries. -
9/11 Attacks
On this day two planes would end up hitting the twin towers in New York City. There would also be another plane that crashed into the pentagon. This event was the result of a terrorist attack where thousands lost their lives.