-
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the US naval base, Pearl Harbor, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 Airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. -
D-Day
D-Day brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibian invasion in military history. The invasion force included 7,000 ships manned by 195,000 naval personnel from eight allied countries. Almost 133,000 troops from the allies landed on D-Day. Casualties from these countries during the landing numbered 10,300. By June 30, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 vehicles landed. Led to the defeat of German Nazi forces -
Creation of the United Nations
Representatives of 50 nations met in San Francisco April-June 1945 to complete the Charter of the United Nations. Roosevelt sought to convince the public that an international organization was the best means to prevent future wars. The Senate approved the UN charter on July 28, 1945, by a vote 89 to 2. The United Nations came into existence on October 24, 1945 after 29 nations had ratified the charter. -
Period: to
Berlin Airlift
Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The US and UK responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. The crisis ended when Soviet forces lifted the blockade on land access to western Berlin. The crisis was a result of competing occupation polices and rising tensions between Western powers and the Soviet Union. -
NATO Created
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the US, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere. Although NATO was formed because of the tensions during the Cold War, it has lasted beyond that and has extended membership to former soviet states. It remains the largest peacetime military alliance in the world. -
China Becomes Communist
Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China (PCR). The announcement ended the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party, which broke out after WWII. The creation of PCR also completed the long process of government upheaval in China begun by the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The fall of mainland China to communism in 1949 led the United States to suspend diplomatic ties with the PCR for decades. -
Explorer I Launched
Explorer 1 became the first successfully launched satellite by the United States when it was sent to space on January 31, 1958. This was a quick response to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2. Explorer 1's success marked the beginning of the U.S Space Age. This also marked the beginning of the Cold War Space Race between eh US and the Soviet Union. -
Period: to
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The CIA organized an operation that trained and funded a force of exiled counter-revolutionary Cubans serving as the armed wing of the Democratic Revolutionary front known as Brigade 2506. Components of Brigade 2506 landed at the Bay of Pigs on April 17 and were defeated in 2 days by Cuban armed forces. The failed invasion strengthened the position of Castro's administration and led to a reassessment of Cuba policy by the Kennedy administration. This led to another covert operation in Cuba. -
Construction of the Berlin Wall Begins
Between 1949 and 1961 around 3 million citizens of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) travelled through Berlin to Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). For the GDR the failure of the economy by Moscow with the flight of its workers and trafficking of goods between East and west posed a threat. The decision was taken to build a wall. The Berlin Wall became the symbol of the Cold Wat and a tangible manifestation of the world's separation into two distinct ideological blocs. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Ratified
On August 5, 1963. the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. After Senate approval, the treaty went into affect on October 10, 1963, banned nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. This was caused by apprehension towards the possibility of a cumulative contamination of the environment and of resultant genetic damage.