-
Nuclear Stockpiles
-
Trinity Test
Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear device. -
Period: to
The Nuclear Arms Race
-
Bikini Atoll Tests
Bikini Atoll is one of the 29 atolls and five islands that compose the Marshall Islands. These atolls of the Marshalls are scattered over 357,000 square miles of a lonely part of the world located north of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. They help define a geographic area referred to as Micronesia. -
Truman Doctrine / Marshall Plan
Truman told Americans that it was America’s DUTY to interfere. His policy towards the Soviet Union was one of ‘containment’ – he did not try to destroy the USSR, but he wanted to stop it growing any more. -
H-Bomb Test (USA)
Following the successful Soviet detonation of an atomic device in September 1949, the United States accelerated its program to develop the next stage in atomic weaponry, a thermonuclear bomb. Popularly known as the hydrogen bomb, this new weapon was approximately 1,000 times more powerful than conventional nuclear devices. -
Soviet develop Atomic Bomb
The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb was a clandestine research and development program begun during and post-World War II, in the wake of the Soviet Union's discovery of the United States' nuclear project. -
1950-53 Korean War
The Korean "War" was not a war, it was a U.N.-sponsored action and is more properly called the Korean Conflict. -
H-Bomb Test (USR)
The first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", was tested at the Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands -
DEW (defense system)
Canada and United States made a defense systems in the Arctic skies. -
Salt Talks (Detente)
Détente was a permanent relaxation in international affairs during the Cold War rather than just a temporary relaxation. Detente is a term usually associated with the relations between America, Russia and China. -
Sputnik and the Soace Race
History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball -
ICBM (1981)
The world was introduced to the fear of a missile attack when Sputnik was launched. This was to lead to ICBM’s : Inter-continental ballistic missiles. As a result, America built the DEW line around the Artic - Defence and Early Warning system. By 1981, USA had 8,000 ICBM’s and USSR 7,000 ICBM’s -
MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)
The fear of Mutually Assured Destruction helped prevent direct conflict. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded.
