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The Yalta Conference *First Highlighting Event because this is why the cold war all begin.
The February 1945 Yalta Conference was the second wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the conference, the three leaders agreed to demand Germany's unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. This event is significant because it is the most obvious event that potentially lead to and shaped the cold war. -
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
At the order of President Harry S. Truman during the final stage of World War II, the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. This event is significant because from US bombing Japan, it showed that they had that power and nuclear weapons that can make the conflict a lot worse than it currently was and that is one of the reason why that the cold war never went hot, because both sides had weapons pointed eachothe -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the name for the boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
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The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe between 1948 and 1951. This event is significant because it stopped west Germany from going communist, because after the war, they were devastated by the destruction and high reparations. -
The Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift, 1948–1949. At the end of the Second World War, U.S., British, and Soviet military forces divided and occupied Germany. Also divided into occupation zones, Berlin was located far inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany.
+ Soviets placed a blockade on the allied sector of Berlin to starve the population into Soviet Alliance.
The berlin airlift event is significant because of this event, it kept West Berlin from being occupied by the Soviets. -
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between several North American and European states based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949 -
Soviet Atomic Bomb
At a secluded test site in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully tests its first atomic bomb, "First Lightning." The explosion destroyed all of the surrounding structures built to test the strength. Just a few days later, a U.S. spy plane picked up radioactivity from the explosion. President Truman soon announced that the Soviets had the bomb, which created fear among the American people. -
The U-2 Incident
The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the Cold War on 1 May 1960, during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower and during the leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union. This is significant to the cold war because in 1962, espionage became big news as the 'U2 Incident' grabbed world headlines. The US demanded his safe return. The USSR wanted to know what he was doing up there in the first place. -
North Korea Attacks South Korea
75,000 North Korean soldiers from the People’s Army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The surprise attack not only marked the start of the Korean War, but it was also the first military action of the Cold War meaning the United States had to get involved. In July 1950, U.S. troops began a defensive mission to defend South Korea from North Korea and, in turn, from communism. This event is significant because it showed that US was willing to fight against communist expansion. -
Death of Stalin
Soviet leader Josef Stalin died of a massive heart attack in Moscow, ending his 30-year reign on power in the Soviet Union. -
Formation of Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization, 1955. The Warsaw Treaty Organization (also known as the Warsaw Pact) was a political and military alliance established on May 14, 1955 between the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries. -
Vietnam War
The Cold War was a fight between the United States and USSR over the world's resources. South Vietnam was the allie of the USSR. The US feared if North Vietnam won the war other countries in South Asia would also fall to Communism. it is significant because the Vietnam War grew out of the American commitment to the containment of communism during the Cold War. For approximately fifteen years, the North Vietnam fought against an American-supported South Vietnam. -
Sputnik
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 and the failure of its first two Project Vanguard launch attempts rattled the American public; President Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to it as the “Sputnik Crisis”. Although Sputnik was itself harmless, its orbiting scared the people of the US. -
Creation of NASA
In response to Sputnik I, congress passed legislation that established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and thus began the US-Soviet "space race". NASA was crafted from a group previously known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay Of Pigs invasion refers to the CIA sponsored American attack of the Cuban government in order to overthrow Fidel Castro. It was a tricky plan to execute as US was not in war with Cuba then. This is a significant event because the USA invaded Cuba to get rid of Fidel Castro. Castro was angry. Both Cuba and the Soviet Union were allies. So, in retaliation, Cuba allowed the Soviet Union to build bases in Cuba and station nuclear missiles there. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was erected in the dead of night and for 28 years kept East Germans from fleeing to the West.
Berlin wall is a significant event during the cold war because Berlin was the first point of conflict between the Western Powers and the Soviets. The Berlin Blockade stemmed from the Western Powers wanting to rebuild Germany's postwar economy against the Soviet's wishes. -
Cuban Missile Crisis *Climax of highlighting event: Cuban Missile Crisis is the example of Brinkmanship because both sides of the conflict allowed the situation to go right to the edge of nuclear war before negotiating a deal.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. This event is significant because when the Soviets put the missile bases in Cuba, that was a sign to the US that they were preparing for an attack. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall happened nearly as suddenly as its rise. There had been signs that the Communist bloc was weakening, but the East German Communist leaders insisted that East Germany just needed a moderate change rather than a drastic revolution. -
The Strategic Arms Reduction Talk
The Strategic Arms Reduction Talk is signed by George W. Bush (USA) and Mikhail Gorbachev (USSR), which callded for the disarmament of both parties' nuclear weapons. This offically ended the Cold War, and broke up the Soviet Union into independent republics. -
Fall of the USSR *last highlight event because the fall of USSR meant that there was going to be no further conflict and expansion of communism. Surrounding country was free from communism and some countries went through turmoil to recover their country.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991 by declaration of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. This declaration acknowledged the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union following the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. On the previous day, 25 December 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned, declaring his office extinct, and handed over the Soviet nuclear missile launching