Cold War Timeline

1945 Feb.

Feb 16, 1945

Yalta Conference
May World War II ends in Europe.
Aug. U.S. drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
Potsdam Conference - Truman - Stalin and British divide up Europe

cold war

Jan 18, 1946

First East European Communist government set up in Albania.

cold war

Mar 16, 1947

Communists seize power in Poland.
March Truman Doctrine announced.

cold war

Jun 24, 1948

Berlin Airlift begins (ends May 19, 1949)

cold war

Oct 26, 1949

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established.
Soviet Union explodes its first atomic bomb.
Communists win Chinese Civil War.

cold war

Jun 16, 1950

U.S. and other U.N. members fight North Korean forces.
(the Korean War ends July 27, 1953)

cold war

Aug 12, 1953

U.S. sponsored coup overthrows Iranian government.

cold war

Sep 28, 1954

U.S. sponsored coup overthrows Guatemalan government.
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) formed.

cold war

Jul 19, 1955

Warsaw Pact formed.
First Summit Meeting between President Dwight Eisenhower and Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

cold war

Nov 24, 1956

Red Army crushes the Hungarian Revolution.

cold war

Dec 23, 1979

U.S. and China establish diplomatic relations.
Soviet Red Army invades Afghanistan