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The Allies are close to victory
As the allies get closer to winning World War II, the three leading powers meet in Yalta to make some agreements. The USA formalizes the future creation of the UN and obtains a commitment from the USSR to attack Japan within three months of the German defeat. The three also agree on some other issues regarding the division of territories. -
The San Francisco Conference
Germany surrender. The UN is then created with the purpose of maintaining international peace and security, bringing together 51 countries. -
The Potsdam Conference
The three leading Allies met again at Potsdam to negociate the post-war terms. Germany, Berlin, Austria and Vienna are officially divided into 4 zones of ocupation. But there appear the first signs of conflict between the countries, as they don't agree on how the country should be administered, or whether Germany should pay war reparations.
Truman, the president of the USA at the time, informs Stalin that his country possesses an extremely powerful weapon (the atomic bomb). -
Atomic bombing of Japan
The United States drops its first atomic bomb on Japan, first on Hiroshima and then, three days later, on Nagasaki. -
The invasion of Japan
The USSR keeps its promise and begins a military invasion of Manchuria, southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, all territories owned by Japan. -
The division of Korea
The United States negociated and obtained a "temporary" division of Korea, so it could occupy the south of the country (since the USSR had occupied the north). Now Korea, which had been formally occupied by Japan, was under the government of the USA and the USSR. -
The end of WWII
Japan surrenders, finally marking the end of WWII, with the Allies winning -
The aftermath of WWII
The United States and the USSR are now the strongest powers, since Europe was left ravaged and weak after the war. Still, France and the United Kingdom are concentrated on regaining their power over their colonies. Meanwhile, the USSR wants to secure its borders (meaning to expand) by imposing coalition governments on the territories that had been liberated from the former German yoke. Yugoslavia, being one of those territories, is now under control of Communist Tito who is allied with Stalin. -
Civil war in China
On one hand, the USSR supported the Communists in China, who were at war with the Nationalists, who, on the other hand, were supported by the United States -
The Iron Curtain
Communist Tito was supporting the Greek Communist in the civil war by supplying them with arms. However, Greek at the time was under British rule. Thus, since this affected the British negatively, they decided to turn to the Unites States for help.
As a result, Churchill, who was visiting the United States, makes a speech in which he declares that Europe is now divided by an iron curtain separating the Communist camp from the Western camp. -
The Truman Doctrine
Truman makes a speech in which he declares that the world is now divided between democracies and authoritarian regimes, and that his country will embark on a interventionist policy around the world to stop the spread of communism. -
The Marshall Plan and the creation of the CIA
In Western Europe, where the rise of Communist parties is a cause for concern, the Marshall Plan is promulgated by the USA. This is a plan designed to provide credit to speed up reconstruction, stabilize economies, and strengthen the influence of the Unites States over other countries.
At the same time, in their country communists are driven out of state, and a central intelligence agency, the CIA, is created to defend the country's interests around the world. -
The Cominform
Stalin reacts to the actions taken by the USA by founding the Cominform, an alliance of Communist countries dominates by the USSR.
But Stalin fails to impose some of his policies on Tito, leading to the first tensions between the two.
Also, the USSR invests massively to make up for its military and industrial lag with the USA, and to develop atomic bombs. -
The Zhdanov Doctrine
A representative of the Soviet Union makes a speech in which he confirms that the world is now divided in two camps: one imperialist, led by the United States, and one democratic, led by the Soviet Union (the first also called the Western bloc and the second, the Eastern bloc. -
Czechoslovak coup d’Etat
Czechoslovakia is still seen as a bridge between the two blocs, but the country remains a democracy with a strong Communist party.
Until February of 1948, when the Soviets support a coup d'état (a sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group) and the country falls entirely into the Eastern bloc. -
The Treaty of Brussels
In response to the Czechoslovak coup d’etat, the UK, France, and the Benelux countries form a military alliance to repel any attack from the East, whether Soviet or German. -
The coup d’force
In Germany, the four (the USA, the Unites Kingsom, the USSR and France) fail to reunify the country.
The United States and the United Kingdom then persuade France to unite their zones of occupation to create a federal, democratic German state to block the spread of communism.
Unhappy with this agreement, Stalin responds with a coup d'force, imposing a blockade on West Berlin, which is still under Western occupation and at the heart of his zone. -
The First IndoChina War
War still rages in Indochina between Communist forces and the French army, which is struggling to regain control of the territory. This has been ongoing from 1946 -
Stalin excludes Yugoslavia
Stalin formalizes the split from Tito, and excludes Yugoslavia from the Cominform. As a result, Yugoslavia stops supplying arms to the Communist camp in Greece. -
Federal Republic of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is officially created. -
The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance
As the Communists overcome the Nationalists who retreat, mainland China becomes Communist and allies itself with the Soviet Union. -
NATO
Western European countries form a military alliance with the USA and Canada to create NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). If one member of the alliance is attacked, all of the others agree to defend it.
The countries of Western Europe thus find themselves under the protection of the United States, which is still the only country to possess atomic weapons. -
The first Soviet atomic bomb
The USSR successfully tests its first atomic bomb. -
China intervenes in the Korean war
The UN agrees to form an army under US command to defend South Korea.
The front line is pushed back to the Chinese border. But China in turn intervenes, sending its army to support the North Koreans. -
The Korean War
As tensions mount in Korea, no agreements are reached on reunification. And on June 25, 1950, the North Korean army, supported by the USSR, begins its invasion of South Korea.
The United States turns to the UN to organize the defense of South Korea. But on the Security Council, China is still represented by the Republic of China (the Nationalists) provoking the displeasure of Stalin, who boycotts the meetings. -
Germany joins NATO
Since the US also fears a Soviet offensive against West Germany, which is not allowed to rearm, they applied political pressure to give the authorization for the country to rearm, and to join NATO. -
Korean ceasefire
A ceasefire is signed in Korea, and a demilitarized zone becomes the new border between the two Koreas. However, this zone is constantly guarded by over a million soldiers. -
Stalin dies
Stalin dies without having prepared for succession. A period of instability follows, and Nikita Khrushchev establishes himself as the country's new leader. -
Operation Ajax
In Iran, the CIA secretly organizes a coup d'état to overthrow the Prime Minister, who has nationalized oil. The Shah of Iran returns to the throne, and embarks on a pro-Western policy.
This marks the beginning of a series of coup d'état organized by the USA, everytime they considered that a country's government threatened their interests (including Cuba, Guatemala, Congo, and many more). -
The Warsaw Pact
The USSR responds to the integration of Germany to NATO by creating the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance between the Eastern Bloc countries. -
Bandung Conference
29 so-called “Third World” countries, most of which have recently gained their independence, meet in Bandung to condemn colonization and proclaim their neutrality. -
Mutual assured destruction (MAD)
Mutual assured destruction is principle of deterrence founded on the notion that a nuclear attack by one superpower would be met with an overwhelming nuclear counterattack such that both the attacker and the defender would be annihilated.
At this point in the Cold War, both the USA and the USSR had developed large nuclear arsenals, and knew that war would have devastating consequences for both. Thus, the challenge now was to gain superiority in other areas. -
The conflicts over the Suez Canal
In Egypt, the new president Nasser nationalizes the strategic Suez Canal, to the detriment of the French and British, who were controlling it until then. In response, the latter ally themselves with Israel and launch a military offensive to regain control of the canal. The USSR, allied with Egypt, threatens to retaliate with nuclear weapons, forcing the United States to call off the operation.
This event marks the end of colonial domination by the United Kingdom and France. -
Sputnik 1
The USSR surprises the USA by sending the first satellite into space, marking the beginning of the so called space race. -
The Great Leap Forward
China begins bombing islands that are controlled by Taiwan. The United States counterattacks and puts an end to the offensive. But the Soviet Union didn’t intervene on behalf of its Chinese ally, which irritates Mao Zedong. As a result, the latter distances himself from the Soviet Union, and launches his own development programs. -
Negotiations on West Berlin and the resulting separation of China and the USSR
Khrushchev is the first Soviet head of state to make a diplomatic visit to the United States. He does so in order to ease tensions, and to negotiate an agreement on West Berlin, which is still under Western control.
In China, Khrushchev is now perceived as too conciliatory with the West. What's more, since Mao Zedong has launched his own reforms, the USSR is no longer helping China to develop atomic weapons. This marks the official split between the two powers. -
The ongoing space race
The USSR sends the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin. But now, Kennedy decides to invest heavily to make up for lost time in the space race, and the USA becomes the first country to set foot on the Moon. -
The Berlin Wall
Although no agreement has been reached on West Berlin, the Soviets begin building a wall to divide the city, and halt migration from East to West. -
The USSR allies with Cuba
The Soviet Union takes advantage of the failure of the Cuban invasion (by the United States) to move closer to Cuba, and obtains authorization to deploy nuclear missiles there, which pose a direct threat to United States soil.
Realizing this, Kennedy deploys his military fleet and imposes a total quarantine on the island, blocking the arrival of Soviet ships. Tensions reach a climax, and the two powers are on the brink of nuclear war. -
Détente
Although the possibility of a nuclear war was at its peak, an agreement is finally reached and Khrushchev promises to withdraw his nuclear missiles, in exchange for which Kennedy promises not to invade the island, and also to withdraw US nuclear missiles which are situated in Turkey and Italy.
Thus, the two superpowers begin a series of meetings to calm the situation. An agreement is reached to limit nuclear testing, and direct communication is assured to avoid future incidents. -
General Suharto's massacre
In Indonesia, the United States supports General Suharto who, after overthrowing the Communist government, begins a bloody attack on his opponents. More than 500,000 Communists are massacred, and hundreds of thousands more are imprisoned in camps.