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TheYalta Conference
The Yalta conference is what initiated the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met to decide an outcome for the postwar. The Soviets would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria, which is what got them involved in the first place. -
NATO Ratified
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a mutual defense pact aimed at containing possible Soviet aggression against Western Europe, established by The United States and 11 other nations. NATO was he main military alliance against the Soviet Union throughout the duration of the Cold War. -
U.S. Drops Atomic Bomb
Although the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan ended the second world war many believe it also had a great deal in helpng initiate the Cold War. The U.S. not only intended to end WWII, but to show how powerful and feared their weapons should be, specifically to the Soviet Union. -
Russia Enters War With Japan
The Soviets declare war on Japan and send over 1 million soldiers to invade Manchuria and to take on the 700,000-strong Japanese army. The Japanese were not expecting this attack from the Soviets, they had the element of suprise. -
Japan Surrenders
On August 15, a military coup was attempted, led by Major Kenji Hatanaka. The rebels seized control of the imperial palace and burned Prime Minister Suzuki’s residence, but a little after dawn the coup was crushed completely. Emperor Hirohito went on national radio for the first time to announce the Japanese surrender around noon. He said “we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable.” -
The Iron Curtain is established
The Iron Curtain was the physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas. It symbolized he Soviet Union to blocking itself and its satellite states from open contact with the west and non-Soviet-controlled areas. On the east side of the Iron Curtain the countries were connected to or influenced by the Soviet Union. On either side of the Iron Curtain, states developed their own international alliances. -
Iron Curtain Speech Delivered
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” Churchill's speech is a huge opening to the Cold War. In it he adresses and warns about the Soviet Union's iron curtain they've layed out across Europe and the communism taking place within the Soviets. -
The Marshall Plan
Announced by Secretary of State George C. Marshall this plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, gave over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe. The Marshall Plan successfully sparked economic recovery, meeting its objective of ‘restoring the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole. -
Communists Take Power
In Czechoslovakia a Communist Party is formed under pressure, President Eduard Benes allows a communist-dominated government to be organized. A huge istake as we'll see. This was seen as Soviet Expansion in Europe. The U.S reated by terminating certain allies with the Czechoslovakians. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was an attempt by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of France, Great Britain and the United States to travel to Berlin, which lay within Russian-occupied East Germany. Their goal was to cut off Berlin's resources, allies and supplies. -
Berlin Blockade Ends
The Soviet Union lifts its blockade against West Berlin after 11 months when a massive U.S.-British airlift of vital supplies to West Berlin’s two million citizens thathad been cut off from these needs. This destroyed the purpose of th blockade and determined it's ending as the Soviets ailed to keep resources out. -
Soviets Atomic Bomb
The USSR successfully detonates “First Lightning.” The atomic explosion, at 20 kilotons equal to “Trinity,” the first U.S. atomic explosion, destroyed structures and incinerated animals. The Soviets got the information from the physicist ho helped build the bomb in the U.S. This showed the Soviet's capabilities in war technology. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was signed in Warsaw and included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. The treated established that in case of any attack, these countries had eachothes backs and would support their allies. -
The Space Race
The Soviet Union launched the first satelite into space on this day, launching what would also start the space race. Already in the mist of the Cold War this was another added competition between The Soviet Union and the U.S. This led to many succesful missions both on the Soviets part and the U.S's part, without the cold war tension the Space Race may not have been as succesful in terms of expanding our technology for space. -
The Cold War ends
The cold war finally ends after many attempts to create a communist and supreme power of the The Soviet union were defeated. Mikhail Gorbachev took power in the Soviet Union in 1985, he brought a new revolution A dedicated reformer, Gorbachev introduced the policies of glasnost and perestroika to the USSR. -
Citations
The cold war timeline - Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2016, from https://www.google.com/search?q=the cold war timeline Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2016, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima
