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US Atomic Bombs on Japan
On August 6 and 9, 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese cities Nagasaki and Hiroshima, in an attempt to end WWII. -
Airlift and Berlin Blockade
When control of Germany was split between the Western allies and the Soviet Union, The USSR tried to take control of the country's capital Berlin. They cut off all surface traffic, and the United States responded by sending them airlifts with supplies. -
USSR Tests Nuclear Weapon
The Soviet Union started research to make an atomic bomb in 1943, and spies from the Manhattan Project were able to give them enough information, that they had a successful test of one in August of 1949. -
US First Test Hydrogen Bomb
The US tested the first thermonuclear device, or hydrogen bomb, on November 1, 1952, at 7:15 am, the explosion was more than 700 times bigger than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. -
Germany Divided by Berlin Walls
Many East Berliners were fleeing to West Berlin, and construction of a wall began on August 13, and a basic concrete wall with barbed wire was built in two weeks, and, eventually, it was a 13-foot wall. -
Titan II ICBMS Deployed
The Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile was the largest land-based missile that was ever deployed by the US. 54 of them in groups of 18 were deployed onto three Airforce bases in early 1963. -
War Scare and the Able Archer
The Able Archer was an exercise that was meant to turn normal conventional war into nuclear war. But, the Soviet Union interpreted it as a prelude to a first strike. -
Last Titan II goes offline
On May 5, 1987, the last Titan II was officially considered offline, meaning that the US would not be launching any more of those missiles. -
Berlin Wall comes down
In June 1989, US President Ronald Reagan was standing at Brandenburg Gate, which was part of the Berlin wall, saying "Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall!" Then a bit less than 18 months later the wall was torn down. -
USSR Collapses - Cold War over
When the Berlin wall was torn down many leaders of every Eastern European Nation except Bulgaria were overthrown. By December 8, 1991, The Soviet Union finally collapsed ending the Cold War.