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Security Council
A new meeting is organised at Yalta in Crimea. The United States formalizes the future creation of the UN. The three powers, The United Kingdom, The United States and the USSR, along with China and France will play a major role becoming the five permanent members of the Security Council.
The UN is created in San Francisco, initially bringing together 51 countries.
On September 2, Japan signs its surrender, making the end of the World War II. -
The Truman Doctrine
Truman makes a speech in which he declares that the world is now divided between democracies and authoritarian regimes.
In Western Europe, the Marshall Plan is promulgated, designed to provide credit to speed up reconstruction, stabilize economies and strengthen United States influence.
Andrei Zhdanov, a Soviet representative, confirms the world is divided into two camps, one imperialist, led by the USA, and the other democratic, led by the Soviet Union. -
Czechoslovak coup d'État
The Soviets support a coup d'état and the country falls into the Eastern bloc.
The United States and The United Kingdom persuade France to unite their zones of occupation to create a federal, democratic German state to block the spreed of communism.
Stalin formalizes the split with Tito, and excludes Yugoslavia from the Cominform. -
Alliances
On April 4, 1949, Western European countries form a military alliance with the USA and Canada to create NATO.
The Federal Republic of Germany is created.
On the Soviet side, on August 29th, 1949, The USSR tests its first atomic bomb. -
Korean War (1950-1953)
On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army supported by the USSR, begins its invasion of South Korea across the 38th parallel.
The UN agrees to form army under US command to defend South Korea.
The United States fears having to intervene military elsewhere in the world, so forges new alliances with Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
A ceasefire is signed in Korea, and a demilitarized zone becomes the new border between the two Koreas. -
Interventionism
In the United States, the new President Eisenhower relies on the country's nuclear superiority and advocates for the installation of atomic weapons in Western Europe to discourage any attack.
In the USSR, Stalin dies without having prepared for succession. Nikita Khrushchev establishes as the country's new leader.
In Iran, the CIA 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. -
United Fruit Company
In Central America, in Guatemala, the left wing government introduces an agrarian reform that is unfavorable to the powerful US company, the "United Fruit Company". -
Bandung Conference
"Third World" countries meet in Bandung to condemn colonization and proclaim their neutrality. -
The Warsaw Pact.
In Europe, West Germany is finally integrated into NATO.
The USSR responds by creating the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance between the Eastern Bloc countries. -
The Hungarian revolution
In Hungary, anti-Soviet insurrection rages and gains momentum. The Soviet army intervenes to quell the rebellion. -
The Suez Crisis
In Egypt, the new president Nasser nationalizes the strategic Suez Canal, to the detriment of the French and the British, who were controlling it until then.
In response, The British 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 of the operation.
This maks the end of colonial domination by the United Kingdom and France. -
Sputnik 1
The USSR surprises and worries the USA by sending the first satellite into space. -
1959
Khrushchev is the first Soviet head of state to make a diplomatic visit to the United States. He does so to ease tensions, and to negotiate an agreement on West Berlin, which is under Western control.
Since Mao Zedong has launched his own reforms, the USSR is no longer helping China to develop atomic weapons.
The split between the two Communist powers is official. -
Cuba
In Cuba, Fidel Castro's new revolutionary government nationalizes US companies and draws closer diplomatically to the USSR.
Eisenhower commissions the CIA to organize his downfall -
Africa
In Africa, the Congo gains independence and, after elections, Patrice Lumumba is appointed Prime Minister.
But the rich uranium mining region of Katanga, independence movement break out, supported by the Belgian army.
On the other side, the USSR and Third World countries defend Lumumba.
The CIA intervenes to organize his downfall.
Colonel Mobutu seizes power and organizes Lumumba's arrest and execution. -
1961
In Cuba, counter-revolutionaries, armed by the CIA, land on the island, but the offensive is repulsed.
The USSR sends the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin.
Kennedy decides to invest heavily to make up for lost time in the space race, and to become the first country to set foot on the Moon.
The Soviets begin building a wall to divide the city, and halt migration from East to West. -
Kennedy
In the United States, Kennedy becomes the new president. He advocates for peaceful coexistance with the Soviet Union, while continuing to contain the spread of communism around the world. -
The Tsar Bomba
The Soviet Union is now testing an atomic bomb 3000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
At the same time, the Soviet Union takes advantage of the failure of the Cuban invasion to move closer to Cuba and obtains authorization to deploy nuclear missiles there, which pose a direct threat to United States soil. -
Possible Nuclear War.
Kennedy deploys his military fleets 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. But an agreement is finally reached.
Khrushchev undertakes 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. -
Détente
After coming close to nuclear war, the two superpowers begin a series of meetings to calm the situation.
An agreement is reached to limit nuclear testing, and a direct telephone is set up between the Kremlin and the White House to avoid future incidents. -
The Gulf of Tonkin incident.
In August of 1964, after a series of controversial incidents, the United States steps up its military involvement, massively bombing the North and deploying troops. -
General Suharto
In Indonesia, the United States supports General Suharto who, after overthrowing the Communist government, begins a bloody crackdown on his opponents. More than 500.000 Communists are massacred, and hundred of thousands more are imprisoned in camps.
The war in Vietnam intensifies, forcing the United States to deploy up to 500,000 trops. -
The Prague Spring.
In Czechoslovakia, the government begins a democratic transition.
The USSR invades the country, along with three other Warsaw Pact members, to re-establish a pro-Soviet government.
Brezhnev, now head of the USSR, hardens his foreign policy. -
The Tet Offensive.
North Vietnam and the Communists in the South organize a major counter-offensive.
In the United States, victory seems to be slipping away, and the war becomes unpopular. -
The first men walking on the moon.
On July 21, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin become the first men to walk on the moon -
Taiwan
The UN passes a resolution allowing the People's Republic of China to replace Taiwan as a permanent member of the Security Council. -
Salt I
Nixon makes his first trip to China to establish initial contact. Three months later, he goes to Moscow to sign an agreement to limit the arms race. -
The Yom Kippur War
Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack on Israel.
The USSR supports the offensive, while the USA sets up an air corridor to supply Israel.
In the end, a ceasefire is signed, but tensions have risen between the two superpowers. -
Augusto Pinochet
On September 11, 1973, following a military coup, Augusto Pinochet seizes power and establishes a violent military dictatorshop. -
The Paris Peace Accords
In 1973, the United States formalizes its total disengagement from Vietnam, after failing to find a lasting peace solution. -
Non-Aligned Movement
At the fourth meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Algiers, 75 countires are represented, including in Latin America, where the United States is determined to prevent any communist governments at all costs. -
1975
North Vietnamese forces invade the south of the country.
In the United States, Congress block any military intervention, and within a few months the Communists win and reunify the country, while Laos and Cambodia also fall to communist powers. -
The Euromissiles crisis
In Europe, the USSR installs new, more powerful nuclear missiles, which threaten Western Europe in particular, thus rekindling tensions. -
American's embassy.
The United States begins full deplomatic relations with China, establishing an embassy in Beijing.