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Major Events os the Cold War
Vienna, Austria falls to Soviet troops.
Soviet troops enter Berlin, beginning a street-by-street battle.
Italian guerrilla fighters capture and kill Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. German forces in Italy surrender.
The first atomic bomb for combat use is assembled on Tinian Island. Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9).
Japan surrenders (August 14). At least 100,000 people died in the atomic bombings. Japanese officials sign the surrender document on -
WWII Ended
Vienna, Austria falls to Soviet troops.
Soviet troops enter Berlin, beginning a street-by-street battle.
Italian guerrilla fighters capture and kill Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. German forces in Italy surrender.
The first atomic bomb for combat use is assembled on Tinian Island. Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9).
Japan surrenders (August 14). At least 100,000 people died in the atomic bombings. Japanese officials sign the surrender document on -
Korean War
On this day in 1968, a platoon of American soldiers brutally kill between 200 and 500 unarmed civilians at My Lai, one of a cluster of small villages located near the northern coast of South Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops frequently bombed and shelled the province of Quang Ngai, believing it to be a stronghold for forces of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, or Viet Cong (VC). In March 1968, a platoon of soldiers called Charlie Company received word that Viet Cong g -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
On Jan 20,1953 Dwight E. Eisenhower becomes President -
US Launches Worlds first Nuclear Submarine
21 January 1954 The United States launches the world's first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus. The nuclear submarine would become the ultimate nuclear deterrent. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war began in 1954 (though conflict in the region stretched back to the mid-1940s), after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact is a treaty of mutual defense; the military aid was signed on May 14, 1955 at Warsaw under the Soviet influence of the European countries. Later the Warsaw pact dissolved in 1991. -
Suez Crisis
On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, the joint British-French enterprise which had owned and operated the Suez Canal since its construction in 1869 -
U-2 Spy Incident
Print Cite An international diplomatic crisis erupted in May 1960 when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) shot down an American U-2 spy plane in Soviet air space and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers (1929-77). Confronted with the evidence of his nation’s espionage, President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) was forced to admit to the Soviets that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been flyi -
Bay of Pigs
April 1961, the CIA launched what its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, the invasion did not go well: The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem. After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent t -
China explodes its first atomic bomb.
On October 16, 1964, China successfully exploded its first atomic bomb. The Chinese people had finally developed their own nuclear technology. On the same day, the Chinese government made a solemn promise to the world that it developed nuclear weapons only for the purpose of self-defense and safeguarding national security. China would never at any time or under any circumstances be the first to use nuclear weapons. -
Tet Offensive
In late January, 1968, during the lunar new year (or “Tet”) holiday, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam. The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault. The Tet Offensive played an important role in weakening U.S. public support for the war in Vietnam. -
My Lai Incident
On this day in 1968, a platoon of American soldiers brutally kill between 200 and 500 unarmed civilians at My Lai, one of a cluster of small villages located near the northern coast of South Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops frequently bombed and shelled the province of Quang Ngai, believing it to be a stronghold for forces of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, or Viet Cong (VC). In March 1968, a platoon of soldiers called Charlie Company received word that Viet Cong g -
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
5 March 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, ratified by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States, among others, enters into force. -
U.S. and China establish diplomatic relations.
As of January 1, 1979, the United States of America recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. On the same date, the People's Republic of China accords similar recognition to the United States of America. The United States thereby establishes diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. -
Fall Of the Berlin Wall
When the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, its destruction was nearly as instantaneous as its creation. For 28 years, the Berlin Wall had been a symbol of the Cold War and thus when it fell it was celebrated around the world. -
Regan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was the foreign policy in the United States, enacted by Ronald Reagan during his presidency, to help eliminate the communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that were supported by the Soviet Union. Implementation of this plan provided both open and private support to guerrilla and resistance movements in Soviet-supported communist countries. This doctrine was the foreign policy of the United States from about 1980 to 1991. -
End of USSR
On Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time. A few days earlier, representatives from 11 Soviet republics (Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) met in the Kazakh city of Alma-Ata and announced that they would no longer be part of the Soviet Union. Instead, they declared they would establish a Commonwealth of Independent States. Because the three Baltic
