Cold war flag

Origins of Cold War Timeline

  • Tenran Conference

    B/w Churchill and USSR: Absorption of Poland b/w USSR and Britain
  • Morgenthaun Plan by Roosevelt

    De-indistrialisation and pastoralisation of Germany
  • Percentages Agreement

    B/w Churchill and USSR: Britain's 90% influence in Greece; USSR's 90% influence in Romania and 75% in Bulgaria
  • USSR $6 billion loan from US

    US immediately imposed conditions of opening of Eastern Europe markets to US products
  • Yalta Conference

    Attended by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin - the Big Three
  • Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • Truman came into power

  • US Termination of Lend-Lease

  • Potsdam Conference

    Germany officially divided into 4 occupation zones.
    Attended by Stalin, Truman, Clement Attlee and Churchill
  • Soviet request for $1 billion from US

  • Atomic bombing of Hiroshima

    US atomic superiority
  • USSR declared war on Japan; Soviet troops advanced in NK, Sovietisation in Romania and Bulgaria perceived to be aggression in the eyes of Truman.

    US responded with defining of US occupation zone of the Korean peninsula - the 38th Parallel
  • Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

    Only 3 days after the Hiroshima bombing - many questioned the US decision to bomb Nagasaki as Japan was already considering the option of surrendering
  • Japanese surrender of WWII

  • 50000 Marines sent to north China

    In response to Soviet involvement in China's CCP and KMT conflict.
  • Soviet failure to join the IMF and World bank

  • Truman's New Year's Resolution

    Speech: 'to stop babying the Soviets'
  • Stalin's Bolshio Theatre Speech

  • Kennan's Long Telegramme

    Kennan's analysis of Soviet foreign policy and seeing Soviet leadership as suspicious and aggressive. Impacted US policy makers, changed to a policy of firmness against the USSR
  • Soviets refused to observe deadline for withdrawal of troops from Iran

  • Winston Churhill's Iron Curtain Speech

    Hardened the attitude of the American public
  • General Clay stopped reparations to Soviet zones

  • All negotiations b/w USSR and US over loans ended

  • The Clifford-Elsey Report

    Highlighted Soviet aggression in Iran and Manchuria
  • US plans for Germany: Destruction to Construction

    Realised the recovery of Germany is important
  • Reshuffling of Truman's cabinet

  • Baruch Plan

    Rejected by USSR
  • US and British united ocupation zones into Bizonia

  • Truman Doctrine

    Accelerated by Greek Civil War and Soviet demands on Turkey (Straits of Bosphurus and Dardenelles)
  • Czech Coup by communists

    Red Amry amassed outside Czech borders as support for Czech communists; perceived by US as Soviet aggression
  • Congress passed the Marshall Plan

  • Formation of the Brussels Pact

    Military alliance including Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg
  • Introduction of the Deutsche Mark

    Met with Soviet resistance
  • Berlin Blockade

    USSR blocked roads and rail roads into Berlin
  • Berlin Airlift

    US/British planes delivered vital supplies of food and coal to 2.2 million west Berliners
  • Formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

  • Successful atomic testing by USSR, completion of atomic programme

  • West Germany's entry into NATO

  • Creation of the Warsaw Pact