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Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between forces loyal to the KMT led government of the Republic of China, and forces loyal to the CPC. The civil war began in August 1927 and ended when major hostilities ceased in 1950. The war was a major turning point in modern Chinese history, with the CPC gaining control of almost the entirety of Mainland China, establishing the PRC to replace the KMT's Republic of China ROC. -
Berlin Blockade
The first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. -
Berlin Airlift
In response to the Soviet blockade of all land routes into West Berlin, the United States started a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city. For nearly a year, supplies from American planes sustained the over 2 million people in West Berlin. -
Formation of NATO
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty. It was to stop further Communist expansion and the US and 11 other Western nations to formed NATO. -
National Security Council Report NSC-68
National Security Council Report 68 (NSC-68) was a 58-page top secret policy paper by the United States National Security Council presented to President Harry S. Truman on April 14, 1950. It was one of the most important statements of American policy that launched the Cold War. -
Korean War
The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance to the North. -
President Truman fires General MacArthur
U.S. President Harry S. Truman relieved General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his commands after MacArthur made public statements which contradicted the administration's policies. He replaced him with replaced him with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
This was the Communist counteraction to NATO. The Warsaw Pact came to be seen as quite a potential militaristic threat, as a sign of Communist dominance, and a definite opponent to American capitalism. The signing of the pact became a symbol of Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe. -
Launching of Sputnik
The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball, weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was known as the Caribbean Crisis, or the Missile Scare. It was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile
