Cold War timeline - The Cold War is referred to as "cold" because although the United States and Soviet Union caused many conflicts and downright hated the other, they never physically went to battle against each other.
By skylerpaigey
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Postwar Occupation or Division of Germany
After Germany's defeat in World War II, the four major allies - the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France - participated in a joint occupation of Germany. Each ally took responsibility for a certain portion or zone in this nation. This arrangement eventually evolved into the division of East and West Germany, therefore contributing to the Cold War division in Europe. -
Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
Winston Churchill delivered his famous "Iron Curtain" speech on March 5th, 1946. Famous words from this speech are "from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." His metaphor would become a symbol throughout the Cold War. -
Chinese Communist Revolution and the Great Leap Forward
The Chinese Civil War, like most conflicts during the Cold War, broke out due to differences in government thinking. The Great Leap Forward was a push by Mao Zedong to change China from a mainly agrarian society, into a modern, industrial society. This impossible goal forced the world's largest society to change. -
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The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine came from a speech delivered by President Truman which established that the United States was going to provide political, military, and economic assistance to every democratic nation under the threat of communism. Truman argued that the United States was compelled to aid "free peoples" in their struggle against "totalitarian regimes." Because the spread of authoritarianism would "undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States." -
Enactment of the Marshall Plan
Also known as the European Recovery Program, the Marshall Plan was a U.S. program that provided aid to Western Europe following the devastation of World War II. Once enacted, the Marshall Plan provided more than $15 billion to finance rebuilding efforts. The four year plan was designed to reconstruct cities, industries and infrastructure to heavily damaged areas during the war and to remove trade barriers between European nations, as well as to foster commerce. -
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Peace Treaty Organization was created in order for collected security against the Soviet Union. This was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered outside of the Western Hemisphere. An economically string, rearmed, and integrated Europe was viewed by NATO as vital to the prevention of communism spreading. -
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Korean War
The Korean War began as North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union and South Korea was backed by the United States. North Korea invaded South Korea, and following a series of conflicts along the border, Korea was split into two states. One side supported communism, and the other side supported democracy. -
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Cuban Revolution
This armed uprising against the communist Cuban government, was led by democratic Fidel Castro. After the Cuban President Batista seized government power, closing the elections by which Castro marginally would have won. After Castro overthrew the government, many people celebrated as the dictator's regime was over. -
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Formation of the Warsaw Pact
This treaty was a mutual defense organization between the Soviet Union and seven other satellite countries. The treaty wanted the member states to come to the aid and defense of any member that is attacked by an outside force, and this treaty organized a unified military under the command of the Soviet Union. -
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was long and costly, and the divided conflict that pitted communist North Vietnam against South Vietnam, and their main ally the United States. The Vietnam War was intensified by the Cold War. More than 3 million people died in the Vietnam War. -
Sputnik Space Race
Space exploration became another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. After the Soviet Union launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957, the Space Race took off. The United States and Soviet Union continued to compete with each other to be the next best thing up in space. -
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Bay of Pigs Invasion
1,400 Cuban exiles attempted an ill fated invasion of Cuba in the Bay of Pigs. The CIA mission was trying to overthrow Fidel Castro's revolution movement. But ultimately, Castro gained control of the Cuban government after the thwarted attempt. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
The communist government of East Germany built a wall overnight that completely encircled West Berlin. The wall permanently shut off access to the West, and was heavily guarded and fortified. For 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of the Cold War - a literal "iron curtain" that divided Europe. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Leaders of the U.S. and Soviet Union faced a tense 13 day political and military standoff, after the installation of nuclear Soviet missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the shores of the States. President Kennedy made the decision to enforce a naval blockade around Cuba. Nuclear war was avoided as the U.S. agreed to the Soviet's offer to remove the missiles as long as Cuba was not invaded. -
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Soviet - Afghan War
The Soviet Union intervened in this conflict, supporting the Afghan communist government against the anti-communist Muslim guerilla's. A long term impact of the war was that the Soviet's never quite recovered from the public relations and financial losses. This ultimately contributed to the fall of the Soviet empire in 1991. -
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Tiananmen Square Massacre
Students gathered in the Tiananmen Square to protest their discontent with China's communist government. Chinese troops then stormed into the square, killing and arresting thousands of democracy protesters. The death toll of this massacre tallied at least 10,000. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 9, 1989, East Germany announced their ease on travel restrictions to the west. German guards soon allowed people to cross over the wall, and then the Berlin Wall came down. The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolizes the end of the Cold War and victorious liberal democratic values. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
Two policies were introduced after the major downfall so that the Soviet Union could become more prosperous. The first was Glasnost, which was a policy to reduce all traces of Stalinist repression. The second policy was Perestroika, which helped to restructure the economy.
