cold war timeline

U-2 shot down

Feb 4, 1933

A United States Spy plane was shot down overhead the Soviet union, and exposed our surveillance operations. President Eisenhower admitted to spying, and tensions again rose.

Yalta conferenance

Feb 1, 1945

Conference held in Feb. of 1945. leaders agreed to divide Germany, and give the soviets control of the east. tensions rose.

Truman doctrine

Mar 1, 1947

pledged and supported countries threatened by communist expansion. aimed at turkey and Greece where it was growing. marked beginning of us efforts against communism

Berlin blockade

Jun 1, 1948

soviets blockaded all routes into west Berlin. this was in effort to force all allies out of the cities. eventually, they lifted the blockade, but these really increased tensions.

NATO formation

Apr 1, 1949

NATO was founded in April of 1949. designed to counter soviets expansion. heightened soviets tensions with not only the US, but others.

Soviets begin to test bombs

Aug 1, 1949

Soviets began the testing of nuclear weapons in August of 1949. This severely increased tensions between the soviets and the United States. Both countries had nuclear capabilities.

Chinese revolution

Sep 1, 1949

The Chinese revolution happened in 1949, and was led by Mae Zedong, who ended up actually winning the Chinese civil war. Communism gained control in China.

Korean War

Jan 1, 1950

This war began in North Korea, involving the Soviet union, as well as china. They invaded South Korea, which lead to a brutal conflict. War caused division in south and north, and capitalist and communism.

Joseph Stalin Dies

Mar 5, 1953

Stalin lead the Soviet division, and he ultimately passed away in 1953. His death slowly caused a slight reform in the Soviet union, and very slowly eased some tensions between the soviets and the U.S.

Hungarian Revolution

Apr 4, 1956

A act against Soviet powers broke out in Hungary. The soviets took fierce military action, and crushed the revolution.

Launch of Sputnik

May 2, 1957

Sputnik was launched by the Soviets, and it was the first artificial satellite. Ultimately, this basically marked the beginning of the space race between the soviets and the us.

Bay of pigs

Apr 17, 1961

the CIA backed a invasion led by Cuban exiles, to overthrow the communist regime in Cuba. It failed extremely bad, and pushed Cuba closer to the soviets.

Berlin Wall

Jun 22, 1961

in the middle of 1961, Eastern Germany expanded the Berlin Wall to keep refugees from fleeing. This was backed by the soviets, and showed the extent of which communism had control.

Cuban missile crisis

Oct 16, 1962

The Cuban missile crisis was a big one. The Cuban missile crisis is widely known as one of the biggest events of the cold war. The United States discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba, extremely close to the US. This was the closest the world ever came to full scale nuclear war.

Nuclear test ban treaty

Oct 7, 1963

This treaty in 1963 banned the testing of nuclear bombs between The UK, the US, and the soviets. It marked a rare moment of cooperation between the two superpower of countries.

Vietnam war

Jun 7, 1965

The Vietnam war began in 1965, and the United States really escalated their military involvement in Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism. it ended all the way in 1975, with Vietnam under communist rule.

detente

Mar 14, 1970

Détente refers to the period of eased Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the 1970s. both of the sides talked through weapons ceases and agreements, but tensions flared up again after the soviets invaded Afghanistan.

Nixon visits china

May 19, 1972

President Nixon visited china in 1972, beginning signs of cooperation between china and the us. This shifted and changed the shape of the cold war, because of the US looking to work with china against the soviets. Thawed cold war tensions.

fall of Berlin wall

Nov 9, 1989

The Berlin Wall, a symbol of Cold War division, is brought down. East Germany opens its borders, as crowds tear down remains of the wall. This event is a clear lead up to the end of the cold war.

Dismantle of the Soviet Union

Dec 25, 1991

The Soviet union officially dissolved in 1991. After years of communism, economic hardships, and more. All these hardships ultimately never could stop a communist fall, and helped the US emerge as the worlds sole leader at the time.