COLD WAR TIMELINE OF EVENTS

1
COLD WAR TIMELINE OF EVENTS

• US vs. USSR

2
1945 Cold War Begins

• Soviet Union keeps control of Eastern Europe
  after WWII
• Creates buffer zone
• Churchill says Iron Curtain has descended upon
  Eastern Europe

3
1947 Truman Doctrine

• US aid to Greece and Turkey
• Trying to prevent spread of communism-containment

4
1947 Marshall Plan

• US attempt to help rebuild Europe after WWII
• Named for George Marshall-Sec. of State
• Helps keep some European countries from turning
  communist.
• Only Western European countries accepted the
  assistance. USSR was handling the Eastern
  European countries.

5
1948 Berlin Airlift

• East and West Germany East and West Berlin had
  been split between USSR(East) and Democratic
  Allies(West)
• USSR closes path to West Berlin.
• Results in airlifting of materials to West Berlin
  to keep it running.

6
1949 NATO Formed

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Formed to help each other if attacked by
  communist countries
• Led by United States
• Form of collective security

7
1950-1953 Korean War

• Communist North Korea invades Democratic South
  Korea
• United Nations comes to aid South Korea
• Led by General MacArthur tide turns at Inchon.
• China enters on Norths side.
• MacArthur fired.
• Stalemate at 38th parallel
• Eisenhower ends war with cease fire.

8
1951 ANZUS pledge signed

• US, Australia, New Zealand pledge to assist if
  attacked by communists
• Another example of collective security

9
1954 SEATO created

• South East Asia Treaty Organization
• Created to oppose communist expansion.
• Collective security
• Vietnam?

10
1957 Eisenhower Doctrine

• US promises to aid and defend Middle Eastern
  countries from communist attack
• Containment continued

11
1960 U2 Spy Plane Incident

• American Spy plane shot down over Soviet Union
• Gary Powers captured
• Prompts cancellation of US-Soviet summit

12
1961 Berlin Wall Built

• East Germany builds Berlin Wall
• Limits travel and exodus of East Berliners to
  West Berlin

13
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

• Soviets put missiles in Cuba
• US blockades Cubademands removal of missiles
• Kennedy makes private deal with Khruschev to
  remove our missiles from Turkey

14
1967 Six Day War

• Israel(US backed) fights Arab Nations(Soviet
  backed)
• Israel wins in decisive fashion.

15
1969 US Lands Man on Moon

• US wins space race
• Soviets had launched Sputnik in 1957
• First satellite to orbit earth
• Kennedy had pledged to put a man on the moon by
  the end of the decade-SUCCESS

16
1972 Nixons trip to China

• Recognize China and continue Détente.
• Hope to get Soviet Union to pursue diplomacy as
  well.

17
1972 SALT Agreement Signed

• Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty signed between
  US and Soviet Union.
• Limiting production of Nuclear weapons
• Continued Détente-a period of less tension
  between the two

18
1975 South Vietnam Falls

• South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam
• US had lost nearly 50,000 men trying to keep
  South Vietnam from falling to communism
• Had left after Nixons Vietnamization and Peace
  with Honor

19
1980 US defeats USSR Hockey

• Amateur hockey players from US defeat the worlds
  best, and very experienced, Soviet team in the
  1980 Olympics
• US wins Gold in next game
• PRIDE for US

20
1987 Reagan urges Gorbachev

• Reagan urges Gorbachev to tear down this wall
  in reference to the Berlin Wall
• Gorbachev had started perestoika and glasnost and
  was permitting more involvement in buffer states.

21
1989 Berlin Wall Falls

• East and West Berlin are free to move between
  each other
• Eastern European countries begin falling

22
1993 Soviet Union Falls

• Soviet Union dismantled
• Boris Yeltsin-democratically elected leader of
  Russia
• Ethnic regions begin fighting for control of once
  dominated areas.