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1945
The start of the cold war -
VE-day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the end of World War II in Europe. -
The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima
the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people. -
Russia declares war on Japan
The Soviet–Japanese War was a military conflict within the Second World War beginning soon after midnight on August 9, 1945, with the Soviet invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The Soviets and Mongolians ended Japanese control of Manchukuo, Mengjiang, northern Korea, Karafuto, and the Chishima Islands. -
Japanese surrender End of World War II
Nuclear weapons shocked Japan into surrendering at the end of World War II—except they didn't. Japan surrendered because the Soviet Union entered the war. Japanese leaders said the bomb forced them to surrender because it was less embarrassing to say they had been defeated by a miracle weapon. -
1946
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Stalin hostile speech - communism & capitalism were incompatible
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin delivered a speech to voters in a Moscow electoral district. He reflected on the Allied victory in World War II, the stability of the Soviet system and the performance of the Red Army. Most notably, he claimed that war was inevitable in any system where capitalism is dominant -
Truman demands Russia leave Iran
Truman decided that the Soviets were not to be trusted and were bent on expansion. ... The Soviet Union and Iran had reached an agreement that gave the Soviets an oil concession in Iran. -
America's Test Baker - underwater explosion
The bomb was known as Helen of Bikini and was detonated 90 feet underwater Radioactive sea spray caused extensive contamination. A third deep-water test named Charlie was planned for 1947 but was canceled primarily because of the United States Navy's inability to decontaminate the target ships after the Baker test. Only nine target ships were able to be scrapped rather than scuttled. Charlie was rescheduled as Operation Wigwam, a deep-water shot conducted in 1955 off the coast of Mexico. -
1947
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Truman declares active role in Greek Civil War
He argued that a Communist victory in the Greek Civil War would endanger the political stability of Turkey, which would undermine the political stability of the Middle East. -
Marshall Plan is announced setting a precedent for helping countries combat poverty, disease and malnutrition
The Marshall Plan was an American initiative passed in 1948 for foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $12 billion in economic recovery programs to Western European economies after the end of World War. They were very successful with this plan. -
1948
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Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
Benes (first Minister) tried desperately to hold his nation together, but by February 1948 the communists had forced the other coalition parties out of the government. On February 25, Benes gave in to communist demands and handed his cabinet over to the party. Rigged elections were held in May to validate the communist victory. -
Truman's Loyalty Program created to catch Cold War spies
President Harry S. Truman signed United States Executive Order 9835, on March 21, 1947. The order established the first general loyalty program in the United States, designed to root out communist influence in the U.S. federal government. -
Brussels Pact organized to protect Europe from communism
Brussels Treaty, (1948) agreement signed by Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, creating a collective defense alliance. A goal of the treaty was to show that western European states could cooperate, encouraging the United States to play a role in the security of western Europe. -
Berlin Blockade begins
Berlin blockade, international crisis that arose from an attempt by the Soviet Union, to force the Western Allied powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) to abandon their post-World War II jurisdictions in West Berlin. -
1949
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NATO ratified
representatives from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal joined the United States in signing the NATO agreement. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty by a wide margin in June 1949. -
Berlin Blockade ends
An early crisis of the Cold War comes to an end when the Soviet Union lifts its 11-month blockade against West Berlin. The blockade had been broken by a massive U.S.-British airlift of vital supplies to West Berlin's two million citizens. -
Russia tested its first atomic bomb
On 29 August 1949, the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test, code-named 'RDS-1', at the Semipalatinsk test site in modern-day Kazakhstan. The device had a yield of 22 kilotons. -
Communist Mao Zedong takes control of China and establishes the People's Republic of China
Socialist transformation. Following the Chinese Civil War and victory of Mao Zedong's Communist forces over the Kuomintang forces of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan, Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China -
Chiang Kai-shek moved to Formosa and created Nationalist government
Chiang’s government concentrated on battling Communism within China as well as confronting Japanese aggression. When the Allies declared war on Japan in 1941, China took its place among the Big Four. Civil war broke out in 1946, ending in a victory by Mao Zedong’s Communist forces and the creation of the People’s Republic of China. From 1949 until his death, Chiang led the KMT government in exile in Taiwan, which many countries continued to recognize as China’s legitimate government. -
1950
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Truman approved H-bomb development
U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announces his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. -
Joe McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt and loyalty tests
Senator Joseph McCarthy stepped into the spotlight of but as soon as the war ended the two superpowers began to struggle against Communists and the Soviet Union had tested an atomic bomb sweeping accusations of communist activity in the executive branch. -
Korean War begins. Stalin supports North Korea who invade South Korea equipped with Soviet weapons
The Korean War was a war between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with the support of the United Nations, principally from the United States). The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea Kim began seeking Stalin's support for an invasion. -
1951
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Federal Civil Defense Administration established
The Federal Civil Defense Administration was organized by Democratic president Harry S. Truman on December 1, 1950, and became an official government agency on January 12, 1951. The agency distributed posters, programs, and information about communism and the threat of communist attacks. -
Truman fires MacArthur
President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of command of the U.S. forces in Korea. The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a “limited war.” -
1952
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A-bombs developed by Britain
Britain's first atomic bomb was detonated on 3 October 1952. The mud-laden cauliflower explosion. Britain developed its own atom bomb to remain a great power and avoid complete dependence on the United States, which was refusing to share atomic information. -
1953
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Korean War ends
The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. -
1956
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USSR sent tanks into Poznan, Poland, to suppress demonstrations by workers
About 400 tanks and 10,000 soldiers of the Polish People's Army and the Internal Security Corps under the command of the Polish-Soviet general Stanislav Poplavsky were ordered to suppress the demonstration and during the pacification fired at the protesting civilians. -
USSR sent military aid to Afghanistan
The Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. -
Suez Crisis began with Israeli attack led by Moshe Dayan against Egyptian forces in the Sinai
An invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just nationalised the canal. After the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated the United Kingdom and France and strengthened Nasser -
1959
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Cuba taken over by Fidel Castro
In July 1953, they launched a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks, during which many militants were killed and Castro was arrested. Placed on trial, he defended his actions and provided his famous "History Will Absolve Me" speech, before being sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in the Model Prison on the Isla de Pinos. Renaming his group the "26th of July Movement". -
1960
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A-bombs developed by France
The “Blue Desert Rat” had a yield equivalent to four Hiroshima bombs. On 13 February 1960, France conducted its first nuclear test, code-named “Gerboise Bleue” -
Soviet Union reveals that U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory
A United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory. -
John F. Kennedy elected President of USA
The 1960 United States presidential election was the 44th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1960. In a closely contested election, Democratic United States Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon, the Republican Party nominee. -
Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies.
After the establishment of diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Cuba became increasingly dependent on Soviet markets and military aid, becoming an ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. -
1961
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Bay of Pigs invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. -
Berlin border is closed
Two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities begin building a wall the Berlin Wall to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe. -
Construction of Berlin Wall begins
The Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin. -
1963
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President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. -
1964
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A-bombs developed by China
China made remarkable progress in the 1960s in developing nuclear weapons. In a thirty-two-month period, China successfully exploded its first atomic bomb (October 16, 1964), launched its first nuclear missile (October 25, 1966), and detonated its first hydrogen bomb (June 14, 1967. -
President Johnson does not run for the presidency and Richard Nixon Elected President of the USA
Johnson did not run for a second full term in the 1968 presidential election, he was succeeded by Republican Richard Nixon. His presidency marked the high tide of modern liberalism in the United States. -
1970
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President Nixon extends Vietnam War to Cambodia
He announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia with the special objective of capturing COSVN, "the headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam." -
1974
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President Nixon resigns
By late 1973, the Watergate scandal escalated, costing Nixon much of his political support. On August 9, 1974, facing almost certain impeachment and removal from office, he became the first American president to resign. After his resignation, he was issued a controversial pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford. -
1979
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Soviet forces invade Afghanistan
In December 1979, in the midst of the Cold War, the Soviet 40th Army invaded Afghanistan in order to prop up the communist government of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan against a growing insurgency. The Soviet Union feared the loss of its communist proxy in Afghanistan. -
1986
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President Reagan and Gorbachev resolve to remove all intermediate nuclear missiles from Europe
A series of meetings in August and September 1986 culminated in the Reykjavík Summit between Reagan and Gorbachev on 11 and 12 October 1986. Both agreed in principle to remove INF systems from Europe and to equal global limits of 100 INF missile warheads. The treaty text was finally agreed in September 1987. -
1989
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Communist governments fall in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia quietly and peacefully transferred rule to Havel and the Czechoslovak reformers in what was later dubbed the “Velvet Revolution.” In Romania, the Communist regime of hardliner Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown by popular protest and force of arms in December 1989. -
Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan
Despite having failed to implement a sympathetic regime in Afghanistan, in 1988 the Soviet Union signed an accord with the United States, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and agreed to withdraw its troops. The Soviet withdrawal was completed on February 15, 1989, and Afghanistan returned to nonaligned status. -
Poland becomes independent and Hungary becomes independent
With a new democratic government after the 1989 elections, Poland regained full sovereignty, and what was the Soviet Union, became 15 newly independent states, including the Russian Federation. Relations between modern Poland and Russia suffer from constant ups and downs. After the Austrian uprising was suppressed, a new emperor Franz Joseph. Franz Joseph rejected all reforms and started to arm against Hungary. An independent government of Hungary was established. -
Berlin Wall is demolished and East Germany allows unrestricted migration to West Germany
It was on 9 November 1989, five days after half a million people gathered in East Berlin in a mass protest, that the Berlin Wall dividing communist East Germany from West Germany crumbled -
1990
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Lithuania becomes independent
Lithuania declared that it was an independent nation, the first of the Soviet republics to do so. It had, however, overestimated Gorbachev's intentions.In December 1991, 11 of the Soviet Socialist Republics proclaimed their independence and established the Commonwealth of Independent States. -
Boris Yeltsin elected as President of Russia
Yeltsin was elected as the first President of the Russian Federation, received 45,552,041 votes, representing 57.30 percent of the number who took part in the vote, and well ahead of Nikolai Ryzhkov, who, despite the support of the federal authorities, received only 16.85%. -
Germany reunited
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic became part of the Federal Republic of Germany to form the reunited nation of Germany, as provided by the original Article 23 of the federal Constitution. -
1991
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End of Soviet Union and the Cold War Ends
During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end.
