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Yalta Conference
American president Franklin Roosevelt, Soviet leader Josef Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, meet at the Yalta Conference to make provisions for the post-war world order. Their contradictory agreements include a declaration to respect democracy throughout Europe, but also the recognition of a de facto Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. They also finalized plans to split Germany into separate zones of occupation. -
First Atomic Bomb
The bomb caused some concern among project engineers, so a test of the bomb was scheduled. On July 16, 1945, at Alamogordo, New Mexico, American scientists successfully test the first atomic bomb, ushering in the Atomic Age. -
Bombs on Japan
On the 6th of August an American bomber dropped an atomic bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The instant and heavy damage on Hiroshima shocked the world and ushers in the nuclear age. 2 days later an American plane drops an atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. -
Korea Divided
At the end of World War II, Korea is divided at the 38th Parallel, and two new states are established. North Korea, which is run by Communist Kim Il-Sung, while South Korea is run by anti-Communist autocrat Syngman Rhee. -
Truman Doctrine
In a speech now known as the "Truman Doctrine," President Harry S. Truman officially establishes the worldwide containment of Communism as a vital American national security interest by pledging American assistance to any nation in the world threatened by Communism. -
Czech Communists Win
Control is won over the national government by the Czechoslovakian Communists via a coup against liberal leaders Eduard Benes and Jan Masaryk. Jan is killed after falling out a window under suspicious circumstances. -
US Italians Against Communists
The US government undertakes a campaign as he is concerned about the possibility of a Communist victory in the upcoming Italian elections. This campaign was to get Italian-Americans to write letters telling their relatives in Italy to vote against the Communists. Italy's elections result in a huge victory for the anti-Communist Christian Democrats. -
NATO Formed
United States, Canada and Ten Western European nations join together to form the NATO. (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The NATO is an anti-Soviet military alliance of North American and European democracies that extends the deterrent threat of America's nuclear weapons to cover Western Europe. -
Warsaw Pact
A Communist military alliance is formed by the Soviet Union formed known, as the Warsaw Pact, their purpose is to counter the threat posed by the West's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). -
Soviets Develop Atomic Bomb
On this day the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic bomb, causing shock and fear in the United States. President Truman responded by calling for the United States to build up its nuclear weapons to stop the spread of Soviet influence around the globe, causing an arms race.