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Cold War Events
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Berlin Air Lift
The Soviets responded on June 24 by cutting off all road, rail and canal links between West Germany and West Berlin. This was the start of the Berlin Blockade. This began the Berlin Air Lift. During the eleven months of the Berlin Airlift, U.S. and British planes supplied West Berlin with 1.5 million tons of supplies, a plane landing every three minutes, day and night. -
KOREAN WAR
Korea was occupied by Japan until the end of WWII. After the end of WWII, Korea was divided by the U.S. to the south and Russia/China to the North similar to what happened in Germany. The two countries were divided at the 38th parallel. This was to ensure a buffer zone between the two super powers. On June 25, 1950, the North invaded the south pushing all the way to the tip of the peninsula in a matter of months. The U.S. soon intervened by landing in Incheon, not too far south of the 38th par -
VIETNAM WAR
This war followed the First Indochina War (1946–54) and was fought between North Vietnam—supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies—and the government of South Vietnam—supported by the United States, Philippines and other anti-communist allies.[43] The Viet Cong (also known as the National Liberation Front, or NLF), a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region. The People's Army of Vietnam ( -
SPUTNIK CRISIS
The Sputnik crisis was the American reaction to the success of the Sputnik program. It was a key Cold War event that began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite. The launch of Sputnik I rattled the American public. -
U-2 INCIDENT
On May 1, 1960, the Soviet Union shot down a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane and called the flight an aggressive act. The U.S. denied Soviet claims that the pilot, F. Gary Powers, had stated that his mission was to collect Soviet intelligence data. -
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
On October 14, 1962, a U-2 spy plane flying over Cuba discovered nuclear missile sites under construction. These missiles would have been capable of quickly reaching the United States. -
NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. Countries started signing it in 1968 and it came into effect in 1970. -
SOVIET AFGHAN WAR
The Soviet war in Afghanistan lasted nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. It was fought between Soviet-led Afghan forces against multi-national rebel groups called the mujahideens. The Soviets led the Afghans because they were communist and had good resources. -
BERLIN WALL FALLS
The Berlin Wall was a symbol throughout the whole Cold War representing the war itself and communism. The falling of the wall symbolized the end of the cold war and the end of the Iron Curtains dominance. This was important to the Cold War because it signaled the end. After this, the Soviet Union Collapsed and then the U.S. could finally exist in peace without fear. -
PERESTROIKA AND GLASNOST
When Mikhail S. Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, he launched his nation on a dramatic new course. His dual program of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) introduced huge changes in economic practice, internal affairs and international relations. Within five years, Gorbachev's revolutionary program swept communist governments throughout Eastern Europe from power and brought an end to the Cold War (1945-91). The largely
