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Greek Civil War
This was a two-stage conflict were Greek communists failed to gain control of Greece. It began as a conflict between the communist-dominated, left-wing resistance organization: EAM-ELAS and the very loosely allied: anti-communist resistance forces. It later escalated into a major Civil War between the Greek state and the communists. The fighting ended with the defeat of the DSE by the Hellenic Army. -
Postwar occupation and division of Germany
After realizing that the Soviet Union would not achieve its goal of a socialist Germany, they withdrew from the Atlantic Coast Conference. This prompted the Western Allies to create a separate administration. The Potsdam Agreement was made between the US, UK, and USSR where Germany was separated into spheres of influence during the Cold War between the Western and Eastern Bloc. The Soviet zone extended to the Elbe and a French zone was carved out of the Anglo-American spheres. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The combination of increasing imperialist demands, from both Japan and the West, frustration with the foreign Manchu Government, and the desire to see a unified China that had a less narrow-minded outlook, led to growing nationalism that provoked revolutionary ideas. Launched by Mao, the revolution's goal was to preserve Chinese communism by getting rid of people who are considered disloyal of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, and to re-impose Mao. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. It became known as the Marshall Plan, named after Secretary of State, George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe. It was formally called the European Recovery Program. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Joseph Stalin imposed the Berlin Blockade from June 24th, 1948 to May 12th, 1949, cutting off all land and river transit between West Berlin and West Germany. The Western Allies responded with a massive airlift to come to West Berlin's aid. This event represented the first major conflict of the Cold War. -
Korean War
The Korean War was because of a conflict between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea where at least 2.5 million people lost their lives. The war reached international proportions in June 1950 when North Korea, supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded the South. An armistice was signed, ending organized combat operations, ultimately ending the war. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt that was led by Fidel Castro against the government of Fulgencio Batista. Batista was finally removed from office on January 1, 1959. Immediately after the revolution, the government started a program of nationalization, centralization of the press and political consolidation that transformed Cuba's economy and civil society. The revolution lasted just under six years. -
Overthrow of the Mossadegh Government in Iran
The Iranian coup d'état overthrew Mahammad Mossadegh to ensure Western control of Iran's petroleum resources and prevented the Soviet Union from competing for Iranian oil. The United States government assisted the Iranian military financially and supported their decision to overthrow them. His 22-year old son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became the new Shah of Iran. -
Formation of the Eastern Bloc
During the beginning of World War ll, the Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc by invading and then annexing several countries as Soviet Socialist Republics by making an agreement with Nazi Germany; the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Soviet Union broke up into independent republics. The alliance included six European countries that were occupied by the USSR following Nazi defeat plus Albania and can be known as the Eastern Bloc. -
Vietnam War
Ending with over 3 million casualties, the Vietnam War started because of the fear of communism. The communists wanted reunification of Vietnam, but the U.S. feared this, thus, the beginning of the war. The U.S. was afraid of communism spreading through all of South-east Asia. The policy of containment eventually stopped the spread of communism. -
Hungarian uprising
With their newfound freedom of debate and criticism, Hungarians were fighting against the ideas they opposed. Imre Nagy became premier and agreed to establish a multiparty system. On November 1, 1956, he declared Hungarian neutrality and turned to the United Nations for support. Western powers gave in, in hopes of avoiding global confrontation. The Soviet Union invaded Hungary to stop the revolution, and Nagy was executed for treason in 1958. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This was a failed attack that the CIA launched to remove the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, from power. Two years prior, Castro had drove his guerilla army into Havana and overthrew General Fulgencio Batista, who was the nation's American-backed president. Back to 1961; the CIA and the U.S. State Department had finally came up with, what they thought, was a final solution. They used 1,400 American-trained Cubans who fled when Castro gained power; however, they were outnumbered and defeated. -
Building the Berlin Wall
The Communist government of the German Democratic Republic began to build a barbed wire and concrete “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin. It was built to prevent its population from escaping Soviet-controlled East Berlin to West Berlin, which was controlled by the major Western Allies. The wall divided the city of Berlin into two physically and ideologically contrasting zones -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962 the Soviet Union began to secretly install missiles in Cuba to launch attacks on U.S. cities. The result of this was then known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. This brought the powers to the brink of war before an agreement was reached to withdraw the missiles. The crisis lasted 35 days and caused no recorded casualties. -
Prague Spring
Alexander Dubcek, first secretary of Czechoslovakia, granted the press greater freedom of expression and he also rehabilitated victims of political purges during the Joseph Stalin era. In April, he implemented a successful reform that allowed autonomy for Slovakia, he revised the constitution to guarantee civil rights and liberties, and created plans for the democratization of the government. Disagreeing with his decisions, the Soviet Armed forced invaded the country and quickly occupied it. -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
The Mujahideen, as well as smaller Marxist, Leninist, and Maoist groups, fought a nine-year guerrilla war against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan throughout the 1980s. As midnight approached, the Soviets organized a massive military airlift into Kabul, with an estimated 280 transport aircraft and three divisions of almost 8,500 men each. First, the Soviet Union air-dropped troops into principal Afghan cities. Soon after, they deployed motorized divisions across the border. -
Solidarity Movement in Poland
In the 1980s, Solidarity was a broad anti-authoritarian social movement, using methods like: civil resistance, to protest in the favor of workers' rights and social change. The government attempts to destroy the union by imposing martial law in Poland and using political repression failed. The movement officially started at the Gdansk Shipyard when Poland's Communist government signed an agreement that allowed it to take place. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The death of Hu cause tens of thousands of students to gather in Tiananmen Square and demand democratic and other reforms. The government's initial decision was to warn the protestors but take no physical approach. By the beginning of June, the government was ready to act again. On the night of June 3, tanks and heavily armed troops advanced toward Tiananmen Square, opening fire on, or crushing, those who again tried to block their way. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Five days after half a million people gathered in East Berlin for a mass protest, the Berlin Wall crumbled. After the wall was fully dismantled, Germany and its people reunified. It also became a symbol for the fall of the "Iron Curtain" that separated the Eastern Bloc from Western Europe during the Cold War. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
Gorbachev's decided to allow elections with a multi-party system and created a presidency for the Soviet Union. This slowly normalized and eventually destabilized Communist control. On Christmas of 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time and replaced by the Russian flag. -
9/11 attacks
Al-Qaeda hijacked four planes on a suicide-terrorist mission targeted in the U.S. The New York City twin towers, The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania are the locations of the attacks. The tragedy resulted in nearly 3,000 civilian deaths. The attacks were allegedly a form of retaliation for America’s support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.