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Hiroshima and Nagasaki:Part 1
The conflict in the pacific during the second world war, the Japanese Empire was in open conflict with the Americans and the Australian forces. After the battles at the Coral sea and the battle of Midway, the forces of Japan began to fall back to their mainland. From there, it was only a matter of time before the Americans would win the war, but at the cost of so many lives. There was also the threat that the Russians would move troops into Japan after Germany had been defeated. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Part 2
in an effort to reduce the casualties and time, for the invasion of Japan, the Americans decided to drop the first Atomic bomb on a populated city which was Hiroshima. When the leaders of Japan refused to surrender out of the sheer doubt that the bomb was real, the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on the 9th of August. This was the first real time the Arms race would begin due to the fact that Soviet Russia, would later achieve their won version in 1949. -
The Berlin Blockade: Part 1
After the Second world war, Germany was divided between the victors. This included the western half of Berlin to the Americans, French and British and the Russians controlled the east. In 1949, under the pretense of the USSR defending their sovereignty, they blockaded the west half of Berlin which was surrounded by the USSR territory. This meant that unless the western allies went in by force, the Germans in their sector of Berlin, would starve to death. -
The Berlin Blockade: Part 2
So a plan was devised to ship food and resources into the western half of Berlin, by constant shipments flown over the Soviet lines. This went on to being known as the Berlin Airlift, which was several nations taking part in this massive scale operation. These nations were; America, Australia, Britain, Norway, Canada and many other who were dedicated to flying constant relief missions into hostile territory. Through this operation, Berlin was saved and the blockade was lifted the following year. -
China becomes Communist
After the Second World War concluded, China had just been oppressed by the Japanese and the people wanted change. Mao Zedong who was the leader of the Chinese Communist party, changed the usual concept of communism from equality with the workers party to rather the peasants. Although this was the major difference to Soviet Russia's Communist state, it meant that there was a second Communist nation in the east Asia region. -
The Korean War
After World War 2, Korea was divided into the North and South which lasted until 1950 where the Northern Communists went against the South in a civil war. This event was the first time the Russians went against their once allied force the Americans in a indirect conflict where the Russians supported the communist state of the north and the Americans the south. -
Dien Bien Phu: Part 1
Dien Bein Phu was the turning point for the Vietnamese in the north, as it formally removed the once occupying forces of France. As the Viet Minh were financed by the Chinese and the Russian Communist states, the French and Americans backed the democratic south. When the Viet Minh won against the French in 1954, it set the way for the pursing war in Vietnam. -
The U2 Spy plane incident: Part 1
The U2 spy plane was designed by the American army, to take reconnaissance flights over the USSR and determine what level of militaristic expansion they have achieved. The plane was able to reach an altitude of 70 thousand feet high and essentially remain undetected from hostile sensors. It only was in 1960, that the USSR shot down a U2 plane flying over their territory that the issue was raised. Pilot Gary Powers was unable to destroy the crashing plane before being sucked out of the plane. -
The U2 Spy plane: Part 2
This forced the Americans to admit that the plane belonged to them as the evidence was to great to dismiss. As for Gary Powers, under Soviet law, he was sent to prison for ten years under the pretense of espionage. Gary was only there for one year and nine months due to the prisoner exchange by the Americans where they would have Powers returned for Rudolf Abel. -
The Berlin Wall: Part 1
The Berlin Wall separated the eastern sector of Berlin,from the western capitalist sector. After the Second World War, the allied forces divided Germany between Britain, France, America and Russia being that the Russians controlled all of the eastern sector of Germany, except for the western half of Berlin, which was divided between the other three nations. As for the Western part of Germany, all land was given to the French, British and Americans which was later joined under one territory. -
The Berlin Wall:Part 2
As a result, the USSR became more defensive of their territory and seeing that many fled the eastern sector that was under their rule, they had to come up with a solution. On the night of August 13th 1961, the German Workers were tasked to defend and build a wall that cut of the two sectors off from direct contact. It was the first sign that the eastern powers were a part from the west half of Europe. The wall stood until the 9th of November, 1989 and Berlin was reunited with the eastern half. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis: Part 1
The Cuban Missile Crisis was where the USSR and the USA were locked in a blockade which decided the fate of the world. For the event initially took thirteen days to resolve the issue, both parties had caused through their efforts to out do the other side. The event was that the Americans learned that the USSR were building nuclear launching sites in Cuba and set up a blockade around the island of Cuba. The USSR had sent submarines, which carried nuclear missiles towards the blockade line. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis: Part 2
The Americans were ordered to destroy the submarines if they crossed the blockade line, which as a result, caused the stand still. The USSR, lead by Khrushchev threatened hostile action unless negotiations proved successful. The terms were to remove the Nuclear missiles controlled by the US government in Turkey, Italy and Britain. It was also said that the Americans were to sign a non-invasion treaty with Cuba and if all proved well, the USSR would remove their missiles from communist Cuba.
