Cold War Timeline By Jacob Willinger

Yalta Conference

1945

Meeting between United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union to discuss power separation in Germany.

Victory In Europe Day

May 8, 1945

Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces.

Postdam Conference

Jul 17, 1945

Stalin, Churchill, and Truman gathered to decide how to administer Germany.

Japanese Surrender

Aug 14, 1945

Japan surrenders but Hirohito remains emperor.

"Iron Curtain" Speech

Mar 5, 1946

Speech that stated Eastern Europe was more or less controlled by Soviet Union.

Truman Doctrine

Mar 12, 1947

Policy written by President Truman which was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War.

Marshall Plan

Apr 3, 1948

Initiative passed to aid Western Europe.

Berlin Blockade/Airlift

Jun 24, 1948

Forced Western Allied Powers to abandon their jurisdictions in Berlin. June 24, 1948-May 1949

Comecon Created

Jan 5, 1949

Formed in response to the formation of the Committee of European Economic Cooperation in Western Europe.

NATO Established

Apr 4, 1949

Implements the North Atlantic Treaty.

China Becomes Communist

Oct 1, 1949

China became communist as a result of the proclamation of the People's Republic of China.

Korean War

Jun 25, 1950

War between North and South Korea. June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953

KGB Established

Mar 13, 1954

Main security agency for Soviet Union.

Domino Theory

Apr 7, 1954

Thought that one political event in one place would influence events in another.

Warsaw Pact Established

May 14, 1955

Military and political alliance between the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe countries

Suez Crisis

1956

Invasion of Egypt by Israel, and then by United Kingdom and France.

Sputnik

Nov 1, 1957

First artificial Earth satellite.

Fidel Castro Takes Over Cuba

1959

Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's Prime Minister.

U2 Spy Plane Shot Down

May 1, 1960

United States spy plane shot down by Soviet Union.

First Man In Space (Yuri Gagarin)

Apr 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin was a 27 years old when he was the first man to go into space.

Berlin Wall Built

Apr 13, 1961

Concrete wall that divided East and West Berlin.

Bay of Pigs

Apr 17, 1961

Cuban refugees try to take over government.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 14, 1962

13-day confrontation between U.S. and Soviet Union.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident/Resolution

Aug 2, 1964

Granted President Lyndon B. Johnson the chance to help all Southeast Asian countries whose governments were considered to be jeopardized by "communist aggression".

Vietnam War

1965

Resistance War fought against America. July 1965-April 30,1970

Six-Day War

Jun 5, 1967

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights.

Tet Offensive

Jan 30, 1968

Surprise attacks by the Vietcong, rebel forces from North Vietnam

Apollo 11 Lands on the Moon

Dec 21, 1968

Flight that landed the first two people on the moon.

First American In Space (Alan Shepard)

Jul 20, 1969

First American in space and travelled on the Freedom 7 spacecraft.

Yom Kippur War

Oct 6, 1973

Arab states join forces including Egypt and Syria against Israel.

Nicaraguan Revolution

1979

Somoza used violence and poverty to control people. This led to people revolting against Somoza. 1979-1990

Iranian Hostage Crisis

Nov 4, 1979

Diplomatic standoff between United States and Iran.

Mikhail Gorbachev Takes Office

Mar 11, 1985

Last general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Iran-Contra Affair

Aug 20, 1985

Political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration.

Communist Governments Fall

1989

Resulted in the end of Communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe.

Tiananmen Square

Jun 4, 1989

Beijing protests, most famous for woman standing in front of tanks.

Germany Reunited

Oct 3, 1990

German Democratic Republic becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany which reunited the nation of Germany.

Boris Yeltsin elected president of Russia

1991

First President of Russian federation.

Warsaw Pact Ends

Jul 1, 1991

Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance disestablished the Warsaw Treaty.

USSR Dissolved

Dec 26, 1991

Granted self-governing independence to the Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.