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Chinese Civil War
In many respects, China had been in a state of civil war since the Shanghai Massacre and the collapse of the First United Front in 1927. -
Berlin Blockade
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 allied control. This was one of the biggest crises of the world. -
Berlin Airlift
Western Allies organised the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. -
Formation of Nato
NATO was created to defend the western world from a Soviet attack. An attack on one NATO member would have been considered an attack on all NATO members. -
Korean War
The Korean War began as a civil war between North and South Korea, but the conflict soon became international when, under U.S. leadership, the United Nations joined to support South Korea and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) entered to aid North Korea. The war left Korea divided and brought the Cold War to Asia. -
National Security Council Report NSC-68
Was a 58-paged top secret policy paper issued by the United States National Security Council -
President Truman fires General MacArthur
In April 1951, President Truman fired MacArthur and replaced him with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway. -
Formation of Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. -
Launching of Sputnik
The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball and weighed only 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the presence of missile sites in Cuba; one of the “hottest” periods of the cold war.
