The World Since 1917 By Halhuli47 Nov 11, 1918 World War I comes to an end Sep 1, 1939 Nazi Germany annexes Poland marking the beginning of the second World War Sep 2, 1945 World War II ends and the allies occupy Germany, Japan, and Italy Mar 12, 1947 The Cold War begins between the United States and the Soviet Union May 15, 1948 Establishment of the State of Israel Jun 25, 1950 The Korean War Nov 1, 1955 Vietnam War Oct 6, 1973 Yom Kippur War Feb 11, 1979 Iranian Revolution Dec 24, 1979 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Sep 22, 1980 Iraq-Iran War Nov 9, 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall Aug 2, 1990 Persian Gulf War begins Mar 1, 1991 Breakup of Yugoslav and start of Yugoslav wars Dec 26, 1991 Dissolution of the Soviet Union Sep 27, 1996 Taliban captures Afghanistan Sep 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks of 9/11 Oct 7, 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan as part of War on Terror Mar 20, 2003 Invasion of Iraq Dec 17, 2010 Arab Spring uprisings