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Korean War
The Korean War was a conflict fought between the Soviet back North and UN and US backed south vying for territory over the Korean peninsula. There were 1.4 million deaths, the majority being North and south Korean civilians. The back and forth nature of the conflict meant that many more were affected. Despite the fact the territory remained relatively the same the divide between the two halves only grew through the war. It was the first major conflict in the Cold War and only increased tensions. -
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War might be the most heated conflict of the whole Cold War and led to serious questions surrounding the American policy of containment. The chemical warfare utilised in the fighting has a huge impact to this day. Especially the substance known as Agent Orange which has caused disability and birth defects throughout generations and reduced the productivity of the land. Unexploded mines are pervasive and it took nearly 20 years before Vietnam was able to start properly rebuilding. -
U-2 Spy Plane Incident
This was a diplomatic crisis between the USSR and the USA. Francis Gary Powers was shot down in his U-2 spy plane 1st May 1960. It was originally covered up as a weather plane but the evidence made it clear it was a surveillance aircraft. This led Khrushchev walking out of the Paris Peace Conference hours after it began because he believed Eisenhower couldn’t be negotiated with. Powers was exchanged for Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy capture in 1957 on 10th February 1962. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was the name given to the attempted invasion of Cuba by US backed exiles. After Fidel Castro ousted the US backed leader Batista America attempted to take over Cuba and eradicate communism. This escalated to a full on invasion by 1400 American trained and assisted Cubans. They surrendered within 24 hours to Castro’s troops who had modern Soviet technology at their disposal. It was hugely embarrassing for America and meant that no further invasions would take place 114 died. -
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Berlin Wall
In order to stop East Berlin citizens defecting to the West as many had during the opening years of the Cold War the Berlin Wall was constructed by the communists. It was a physical manifestation of the conflict and led to many divided families. Over 100 people were killed trying to cross the wall. The demolition of the Berlin Wall is one of the most important events of the Cold War. It represented the end of hostilities and united two halves of a city for the first time in nearly 30 years. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day political conflict between the leaders of the USSR and the US. It is significant because it was the closest the war came to open thermonuclear conflict. Very few people were affected, a pilot was killed, but the ramifications of the conflict were much more interesting. The communication between the respective leaders was greatly improved, a direct hotline that ran from the Kremlin to the White House was set up, helping in the thawing of the Cold War. -
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 moon landing was the peak of the technological struggle between the USSR and the USA known as the space race. It was at its heart a game of one up man ship of who had the greatest engineers and thinkers. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon 20th July 1969 and Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon about six hours later 21st July. It had positive impacts across the globe; it was the height of human achievement and spawned the imaginations of many. -
Fall of Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union effectively ended the Cold War. Under President Gorbachev the Soviet Union went through a period of unsuccessful reform. He bowed out of the arms race with US and pursued peace. This along with the poor economy created a domino affect where many of the states in the USSR began to denounce communism and declare independence from Moscow. Gorbachev resigned and handed power to Boris Yeltsin. On Christmas 1991 day the Soviet flag was flown for the last time.
