Cold War- Received the name because of no direct military action between the United States and the Soviet Union; there was no physical fighting, just threats and intimidation tactics
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Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, or the Communist Bloc, was a group of communist states in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America which had the same ideals as the Soviets during the Cold War. This group of states together came to be due to Stalin's desire to take advantage of the less wealthy and powerful countries in which he wanted to expand his influence and power. The Eastern Bloc was directly against NATO, or the Western Bloc. -
Postwar occupation and division of Germany
Following the Potsdam Conference after WW2, Germany was split up into 4 zones occupied by different countries. These countries included Great Britain, France, The United States, and The Soviet Union. Its purpose was to ensure Germany wouldn't rise to power in the sense it had twice before, and peace was solidified for the time being in Europe. Not only was the country split up, but Germany's capital city Berlin was split into 4 zones. -
Greek Civil War
Occurring shortly after the end of WW2, the Greek Civil War happened due to a communist revolt against the current Kingdom Of Greece. The group revolting wanted a "People's Republic" which would then be governed by Communists. This revolt was supported not surprisingly by The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
Officially being named the Economic Recovery Act of 1948, was the agreement that the United States provide assistance to Europe, and to improve their economies. Due to this plan, The United States provided approximately $13 billion in foreign aid for states in Western Europe. An Anti-Communist backbone was also embedded in the agreement, as it was also one of the main goals to prevent the spread of communism with this monetary aid to European countries who primarily were not Communist. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Berlin Blockade occurred when the Soviet Union restricted access from the Allied Powers to their sections of Berlin. This cut off access to food and supplies to the entire portion of Western Berlin. Thankfully, Allied forces dropped airlifts to provide for West Berlin. This was one of the first crises during the Cold War. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Revolution was when former Communist ruler of China Mao Zedong declared the very beginning of the People's Republic of China. It took military effort for Zedong to claim the mainland China and spread his Communist influence. This was a huge victory for Zedong, as he had just created the first official unified state within China, and had one the Civil War with multiple military campaigns. -
Korean War
The Korean War was fought between the separate states of North and South Korea. It started when North Korea, supported by Communist China and Soviet Union, invaded South Korea who was supported by the United States and UN countries. Both countries neglected the 38th parallel, the actual border between the two, the actual border. Instead, each proclaimed themselves to be the sovereign governments for the entire nation of Korea. The war ended in a stalemate with tension still between the two. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an attempt through military and political action to rid of the then current Cuban Government. This began with a failed attempt at a militaristic assault on Cuban military barracks. The end of the revolution was marked by the former ruler Fulgencio Batista, who was overthrown and then Cuba was officially a Communist state. -
Vietnam War
Being a major conflict/crises during the Cold War, it came with large tensions and military action between Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The war initially was fought between the communist-supported Northern side, and the anti-communist Southern side, but as tensions grew more countries were involved. The Soviet Union and United States supported and fought for opposing sides of the Vietnam War, and the outcome caused all 3 previously mentioned states to become communist in the end. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion started with an attack from Guatemala, and there was tension between the previous Cuban Government and Fidel Castro's communist government. This invasion was directed by the U.S. government, who opposed Castro, and military attacks were placed on the Southwestern coast of Cuba. The invasion terribly failed due to improper support by the U.S. , and the fact that Castro already knew the attacks were going to happen before they did. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built by the communist side of Germany, in order to prevent citizens of East Berlin to escape into the non-communist West Berlin. The cost of construction was approximately $3.6 million U.S. dollars at the time. More than 30 feet of barbed-wire was placed by East German soldiers throughout Berlin. The wall had many levels to prevent escape-attempts, although this often did not stop people, and some attempts were successful. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
As the Soviet Union began to secretly place missiles in Cuba to plan out attacks on the U.S, conflict occurred which caused the two nations to almost get into physical warfare. The United States had also had nuclear missiles placed in Turkey, which was a main reason there was tension between the two nations to fight. A withdrawal was agreed upon as the U.S. military began to block Soviet access to Cuba. -
Rise of the Palestine Liberation Organization
During the Palestinian National Council meeting in Cairo, Yasser Arafat became leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The organization claimed to represent the entire world's Palestinian population. It was rooted in nationalism, and had intense desires for liberation and for the riddance of "Zhionism" in Middle-Eastern countries. -
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a political revolt which occurred in protest of Socialism in Czechoslovakia. The main goal of these protests were to gain the citizens of the country more freedoms without restriction to speech and travel. Unfortunately for them, Western powers didn't do anything to help the revolt, as they had accepted that it was inevitable that the Soviets would want to expand their communist influence in Central and Eastern Europe. -
Overthrow of the Allende Government in Chile
A group of military officers in Chile launched a coup against the Allende Government in Chile. The Allende government was rooted in Socialism. As the attack on the Allende Government was occurring, Allende held on with desperation and pleaded this would not be the end of Socialism in Chile. -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
In support of the Afghan communist government, the Soviets occupied the country to overthrow the anti-communist Muslims. While they occupied Afghanistan, they made pivotal mistakes in their treatment of the people which turned them against the Soviets. This ended in the Soviets unable to deal with the flood of anti-communist Muslims and Pakistanis in their opposition, and caused their military withdrawal from the country. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
With rising worry of China's future, and the death of Communist General Secretary Hu Yaobang, protests arose in the Tiananmen Square, in Beijing China. Many unsuccessful attempts between the protestors and Chinese Government occurred to find peace. To end the protests and violence, military action had to be taken in order to control the mob behavior. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
During the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Berlin's restrictions on travel were withdrawn. A press conference had occurred in East Berlin, where the discussion had been quickly arranged and the decision to rid of the wall occurred. Following the fall, over 2 million East Germans eagerly fled to the Western portion of the city. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The former Communist leader of The Soviet Union, Gorbachev, had allowed elections within the country with a multi-party system, which slowly directed the nation towards democracy. Over time, the USSR slowly dissolved meeting its final demise in the end of 1991. The dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in the creation of 15 UN recognized sovereign states, -
9/11 Attacks
19 terrorists from the terrorist organization in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, hijacked 4 different airplanes. Two of them deliberately crashed right into both the twin towers in New York City. The attacks caused 2,996 deaths with all 4 hits. This event is one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in the history of The United States.