Cold War. It was called the Cold War because there was no direct fighting between the United States and the USSR.
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Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The formation of the Eastern Bloc originated at the end of World War II and occurred in 1945. This created a coalition of communist nations, specifically Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The formation of the Eastern Bloc was facilitated by the USSR after they supported communist takeovers in Eastern European governments. The Eastern Bloc gave affiliated countries a military alliance and favorable trade relations with each other. -
Postwar Occupation and Division of Germany
The postwar occupation and division of Germany began after the Potsdam Conference. Germany was divided into four zones, one each for the United States, the USSR, France, and Great Britain as agreed on in the conference. This led to the eventual official establishment of East and West Germany in 1949. The capital city of Berlin was also split into four occupied zones. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese communist revolution involved the warring of the Chinese Communist Party and the National Party after the surrender of Japan after World War II. The United States supported the National Party but ended up losing the war. The CCP emerged victorious in 1949, and led by Mao Zedong, established the People’s Republic of China. -
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil war was a communist uprising against the established government in the Kingdom of Greece. It was a two-stage conflict in where, after the where the communists surrendered in the first stage after losing to British military forces, they reopened fighting. In the second stage, The United States supported the established government of Greece, which allowed them to clear out the Greek rebels, which made the communists lose the war. -
Enactment of the Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a plan to assist postwar Europe with its economic structure and stability. It was signed by President Truman on April 3, 1948, and it was named after Secretary of State George Marshall, who proposed the plan in 1947. The United States transferred around 13.3 billion dollars in recovery aid to Europe. Its goals were to rebuild Europe, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, prevent the spread of communism, and make Europe more prosperous. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first crises of the Cold War, as it was caused by the Soviet Union prohibiting the Allies' access to Western Berlin by railway, road, and canal. It was the Soviet Union's attempt to force the Allies to abandon West Berlin. To bypass this, the United States and Britain began to airlift supplies into the city. This lasted for eleven months, and by May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade. -
Korean War
the Korean War was a conflict between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. The war was funded by the Soviet Union and the United States, with the Soviet Union providing measures for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United States doing so for the Republic of Korea. The War ended in a stalemate. A border demilitarized zone between North and South Korea was set near the 38th parallel. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was a social and armed uprising to overthrow Fulgencio Batista's government. The leader of this revolution was Fidel Castro and the revolution started when he and a small band of men began a guerrilla campaign against Batista in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Castro's forces won, and he became the prime minister on January 8, 1959, and purged those linked to Batista's government. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict between the communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, and South Vietnam and the United States. The United States' goal was to prevent the spread of communism to south-east Asia. At the peak of U.S. involvement, over half a million troops were stationed in Vietnam. North Vietnam and the Viet Cong emerged victorious and united Vietnam as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976. -
Hungarian Uprising
The Hungarian Revolution was a an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic. The goal of the revolution was the withdrawal of Soviet troops, democratization, and a government more independent from Soviet control. The Soviet Union interfered and crushed the rebellion. -
Prague Spring
Prague Spring was a period of protest and political liberation in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It was a strong attempt to grant rights to the people of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The USSR led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion to halt reformist trends in Prague. This threatened the power heiracrchy of the Eastern bloc, and led to debates on the USSR's right to intervene in its ally nations. -
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
the Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military landing on Cuba. During the Invasion, invaders, consisting of Cuban exiles, were defeated by the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front. The invaders were supported by the United States. The defeat was because of poor planning and execution by the CIA. -
Building the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that separated East and West Germany. The building of the wall was initiated because of the mass exodus of people like skilled workers, professionals, and intellectuals from East Berlin to West Berlin. The Berlin Wall came to symbolize the Cold War's division of East and West Berlin, as well as the division of Eastern and Western Europe. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union when American nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The missiles in Cuba were discovered by U.S. U-2 spy planes flying over the island. It led to a blockade of Cuba by the United States. The conflict ended with the Soviets removing the missiles from Cuba and the United States removing missiles from Turkey. -
Soviet War in Afganistan
The Soviet-Afghan was an armed conflict where the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The Soviet Union's goal was to support the Afghan communist government in its conflict with the anti-communist Muslim guerillas. The War ended in the defeat of the Soviet Union, as they agreed to sign an accord to withdraw their troops. -
Solidarity Movement in Poland
The Solidarity movement was an anti-authoritarian social movement in Poland. Methods of civil resistance were used to advance the causes of workers' rights and social change. The Solidarity's influence spread anti-Communist ideals and movements throughout the countries of the Eastern Bloc. This greatly contributed to the fall of communism. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre started as a protest in Beijing to protest corruption and ask for new economic policy. A the height of the protest, there were around one million protesters. On June 3-4, troops marched toward Tiananmen Square and opened fire on people blocking their path. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative wall of the Iron Curtain. This led to the reunification of Germany and the eventual fall of other Eastern European regimes. This was caused by Gorbachev renouncing the Brezhnev doctrine. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was caused by Gorbachev's ideas for reform. Specifically, his introduction of a multi-party system began a process of democratization that eventually destabilized Communist control. The dissolution of the Soviet Union was also due in part to economic stagnation and the overextension of the military, which were rooted in Soviet policies. -
9/11 Attacks
The September 11 attacks were terrorist attacks on the United States by the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four planes to facilitate the attack. Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, one crashed into the Pentagon, and one hijacking failed. The underlying cause of the attacks were Islamic extremism caused by the the Iranian Revolution, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the assassination of the Egyptian president.