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Berlin Blockade
An attempt by the USSR to force the western Allied powers out of west Berlin. The Allies were cut off from all rail, road, and water communication between Berlin and the west. The U.S. and Britain began supplying the city by air. This blockade was eventually lifted after 11 months of the Allies using the "airlift". Ranked at #7 -
Korean War
A war where the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North) and the Republic of Korea (South) fought for control over the country. The UN wanted to keep the two nations separate in early 1948, but North and South Korea continued to fight. In 1948, the Republic of Korea was formed. North Korea struck across the 38th parallel on June 25th, 1950. Ranked at #8 -
Vietnam War
This was a protracted conflict against South Vietnam and its allies, the U.S., and North Vietnam. The conflict was part of a larger regional conflict, and a manifestation of the Cold War Era. The goal was to unify all of Vietnam under a single communist regime. South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by North Vietnam. Ranked at #1 -
Suez Canal Crisis
The crisis was provoked when America and Britain decided not to finance Egypt's construction of the Aswan High Dam. When diplomacy failed, Britain and France started to prepare their armies for war secretly. They found an ally in Israel, and in 1956, 10 Israel brigades invaded Egypt. Britain and France intervened to enforce a "cease-fire", but the UN disagreed with this motion. The troops were forced to evacuate, and Israel retreated. Ranked at #10 -
Space race
On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched the first artificial satellite into space. This started a competition between the USSR and the U.S. to see which could lead the frontier of space, and it ended when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. -
Space Race Ranking
Ranked at # -
Space Race Ranking
Ranked at #4 -
U-2 Incident
The Soviets shot down a U-2 reconnaissance plane that was over the Soviet Union. This caused a summit between the US, Soviets, Britain, and France to be put on hold. The Soviets asked that no more flights should be made over Soviet territory, that the US would apologize for those already made, and to punish the person responsible for them. Eisenhower promised to suspend all flights during his presidency, but that didn't satisfy the Soviets. The conference was adjourned on May 17. Ranked at #3 -
Cuban Missile Crisis
After the blockade on Cuba failed, the Soviets built a ballistic missile base on Cuba to help protect their shores from unwanted visitors. The U.S. saw this as a threat because most of the eastern states could be hit within a few minutes. The U.S. demanded that the Soviets remove the missiles, and the Soviet Union quickly got rid of the ballistics. Ranked at #5 -
Yom Kippur War
It was the fourth of the Arab-Israeli Wars. The Arab countries wanted to negotiate themselves more favorable terms, so they attacked Israel. Both the U.S. and USSR were indirectly at war both protecting and supplying their respectable allies. Ranked at #11 -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
Also called the Afghan War, it was an internal conflict that began when anticommunist Islamic guerrillas fought the Afghan communist government and overthrew the government in 1992. THe communists side was supplied with Soviet troops until 1989. Ranked at #9 -
Soviets Downing Korean Air Flight 007
A passenger jet set out from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seoul. As the plane flew, it strayed from its scheduled path by more than 200 miles into Soviet airspace. The plane crashed about 30 miles away from Sakhalin Island, Russia, and killed all 269 people on board. Ranked at #6 -
"Able Archer" Military Exercise
A "war game" where the U.S. did a mock exercise for if the Soviet Union invaded Europe. The realistic simulation, however, caused the Soviets to prepare for war. The Soviets sat, ready to counterstrike, until November 11 when the exercise ended. Ranked at #2