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Formation of the eastern bloc
The Soviet Union invaded several bordering countries for the formation of the bloc. It served as a buffer zone to protect the Soviet's military interests. Also known as communist block. -
Greek Civil War
The Greek civil war was a two-part conflict. Once in 1944, and once in 1946. Communist Rebels were trying to take over Greece from the inside out. The rest of Greece, with ally support, put an end to this and forced the communists to cease fire. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Eastern Germany, under power of Soviets, blocked transport from western Germany into Eastern. This included railways, canals, and roads. First major international crisis of Cold War. Western People were supported with an airlift. -
Postwar Occupation and Division of Germany
Germany was split int 2 separate countries. These were Eastern Germany and Western Germany. The east owned by Soviets, and the west owned by Americans, the 2 superpower countries. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
The United States used their wealth to support in rebuilding Europe. This helped repair of good amount of what was ruined in WW2. The US supported with over 12 million dollars. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
Chinese communists spent years clashing with nationalists party for power. Mao Zedong, communist leader of china, led them to power after years of effort. Formation of People’s Republic of China. -
Cuban Revolution
Fidel Castro led revolt over dictatorship. Castro and his supporters withstood 6 years of Guerrilla warfare and took communist power right next to America. -
Korean War
North Korea, with the aid of China and the Soviets, invaded their southern neighbor, South Korea. The United States quickly flocked to support South Korea. The Koreas were being destroyed quickly before an armistice was signed in 1953 to pause the war, which has stood until today. This left North and South Korea extremely divided. -
Overthrow of the Guatemalan Govt.
Jacobo Arbenz, Latin American Reformative president of Guatemala was overthrown by an American coup. This coup and overthrowing was planned by the CIA. Guatemalan government was successfully overthrown. -
Vietnam War
North Vietnam was hungry for power and wanted to take over South Vietnam to spread communism. The United States was scared of the spread of communism, so we sent troops overseas. The fighting was a lot more serious and brutal than expected so the US just kept sending troops and applying pressure. After years of constant bloodshed, the US pulled their troops and the south Vietnamese capital fell to the north. The war went on for 20 years. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The US attempted to aid Cuban exiles in an attack on Fidel Castro and his army. The exiles and US soldiers landed on the southwest coast of Cuba, where Castro had expected them. Castros army captured and killed many. This invasion mainly failed because of poor planning and lack of secrecy. -
Building the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall divided Eastern Germany from Western Germany. This affected the people physically, as they were restricted in their travel. As well as mentally, cutting off families and friends. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis involved the Soviet Union secretly planted missiles in Cuba. They planned on hosting surprise terror attacks on the cities of the US, as it was easier from Cuba. -
Prague Spring
This was a massive protest by Czechoslovakian civilians and Alexander Dubcek, who was trying to frank the civilians more rights and freedoms. This broke Czechoslovakia from Soviet rule and gave them the freedom speech. -
Overthrow of Allende Govt in Chile
Salvador Allende was the leader of Chile for years. The US feared that he would turn Chile into a socialist nation. Because of these disagreements, Augusto Pinochet took power over chile through a military coup. -
Soviet-Afghan War
In another effort to expand communism, the Soviets attempted to invade Afghanistan. This war lasted around 10 years and ended when the Soviets signed a peace treaty and withdrew their troops. This war resulted in a completely ran down Afghanistan. And tons of refugees coming out. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Wall separated Germany for 28 years. It was split into east and west Germany. until it was taken down in 1989, starting their merger back into just “Germany,” which officially happened in Oct, 1990. This decision was made at a press conference by German Officials. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
In Tiananmen Square, protestors were peacefully expressing need for political and economic reform. The Chinese Govt. decided their way to deal with this was to send dozens of tanks to put an end to the protest. These tanks and military units were killing many people. The iconic tank man photo was taken here when an unidentified man stood unaffected in front of the swarm of tanks. -
The Fall of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union had been slowly getting picked apart for years during the Cold War. Constant economic, political, social, and nationalistic problems kept them in turmoil. No specific event took down the Soviets, but rather a mix of protest, conflict, and money took them down, leading to reform. -
9/11
A terrorist group known as Al- Qaeda disagreed with how the US dealt with worldwide issues. Al- Qaeda didn’t like that they gave support against Muslim countries. So a few members of the terrorist group hijacked 4 planes, 2 of which connected with the World Trade Center. Taking many lives and completely demolishing the massive building. The other 2 planes were not so destructive, one crash landed while trying to hit the pentagon.