Major Events of the Cold War: A Timeline
EVENT | WHEN? | WHERE? | WHAT HAPPENED? WHY? | PARTICIPANTS | HOW DID IT FINISH? | SIGNIFICANCE |
Greek Civil War | 1946-1949 | Greece | The USA and Great Britain wanted to support the Greek government against the communist insurgents that wanted power. | Communists (supported by the Soviet alliance, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania) vs. Greek Anti-Communists (supported by the USA and Great Britain) | It ended with a victory for Greek Anti-Communists. The country was devastated and there were many deaths. |
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Berlin Blockade | 1948-1949 (321 days) | Berlin | After WWII, Germany was divided into West Germany (occupied by the USA, Great Britain, and France) and East Germany (occupied by the Soviet Union). The same was done to the capital, Berlin. Thanks to the Marshall Plan, US financial aid flowed to Western Europe and the non-Soviet area or the western part of Berlin. Stalin did not like the influence of the USA in Berlin, so in 1947 he decided to block the western part of the city. | West Berlin (helped by the USA, France, and Great Britain) vs. East Berlin (helped by the Soviet Union) | In May 1949, after ten months, the Soviets agreed to end the blockade. |
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The Nuclear Arms Race | 1949-1991 | USA and USSR | In July 1945, the USA tested its first atomic bomb in Alamogordo, New Mexico. In August 1949, the USSR detonated its first atomic bomb in Kazakhstan. The two superpowers began an endless arms race, to have superior and more nuclear arms than the other. | USA vs. USSR | In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev (President of the USSR) and Ronald Reagan (President of the United States) signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), which consisted of the elimination of an entire class of nuclear weapons. | It was dangerous for the whole world to have so many powerful nuclear arms. |
Korean War | 1950-1953 | Korea | From 1910 to 1945 Korea had been governed by Japan. After World War II, the northern half of the nation was liberated by Soviet troops, while South Korea was liberated by Americans. | North Korea (communists, helped by China and USSR) vs. South Korea (helped by the USA, Great Britain, and France) | After two years of talks, the two sides arrived at a stalemate in July 1953, and the country continued to be divided. Because an official peace treaty was never signed, the conflict is still formally active. |
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The Hungarian Uprising | 1956 (23 October – 4 November) | Hungary | Hungary was part of the Soviet alliance, but after the death of Stalin, nationalists in Hungary saw the possibility of freeing the territory from Soviet control. However, Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet Union) was not going to allow this. The USA made it known that they would not support the uprising (they did not participate in “internal matters”), so the Soviet alliance sent its battalions to crush the uprising. | Hungarian Nationalists vs. Hungarian Communists (helped by the Soviet Union) | Brutal suppression of Hungarian nationalists. | The USA’s refusal to support the Hungarian uprising made it clear that they were not going to participate in “internal” matters of the Soviet bloc. |
The Berlin Wall | 1961-1989 | Center of Berlin city | Since the end of the Berlin Blockade in 1949, two new states were formed: West Germany (democratic) and East Germany (communist). Many East Germans fled to live in the west. Between 1949-1961, 2.5 million individuals left East Germany for the West, half of them skilled workers and young people. The communist regime could not afford to lose these valuable citizens, so, on the night of August 12 to 13, 1961, they built a 46-kilometer barrier in the city of Berlin and the outskirts, physically dividing East and West Berlin. | East Berlin (helped by the Soviet Union) vs. West Berlin (helped by the USA and western countries) | The wall was torn down in 1989 with the permission of the Soviets. | It was the symbol of the Cold War and the division of Europe. The tearing down of the wall became a symbol of the end of the Cold War. |
The Cuban Missile Crisis | 1962 | Cuba | In 1962, the USA discovered that numerous nuclear missile bases were being built in Cuba and that the Soviets were transporting nuclear missiles there on ships. Khrushchev had done this because the Americans had built a nuclear base in Turkey, near the Soviet border. The USA initiated a naval blockade of Cuba, and demanded that the missile bases be dismantled. Russia continued to send ships, and many feared that a nuclear war would begin. | Cuba (and USSR) vs. USA | Finally, the Soviets decided the ships with the nuclear missiles would turn around and the USA promised to withdraw its missile bases from Turkey. The confrontation ended on 28th October 1962. |
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The Vietnam War | 1955-1975 | Vietnam | Vietnam was part of the French empire in Indochina, however in 1954 after decolonization, it was separated into two countries: North Vietnam (communist) and South Vietnam (capitalist). The USA was determined to keep South Vietnam independent of communists, and sent US troops to help them. | North Vietnam + Viet Cong (with the help of the Soviet Union) vs. South Vietnam (with the help of the USA) | In 1975 the USA was defeated and withdrew from Vietnam. The country was reunited under communist leadership. | It is a prime example of the Domino Theory, as the USA did not want communism to spread through Southeast Asia. |
Invasion of Czechoslovakia | 1968, August | Czechoslovakia | In 1968, Alexander Dubček was appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He initiated a period of liberalization known as the “Prague Spring”. The USSR suspected these changes and feared that they would also extend to other states of the Warsaw Pact. To stop this, the USSR and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968. | Czechoslovakia vs. Warsaw Pact members (except Albania and Romania, who refused to take part) | The Czech government did not put up any resistance, the country was invaded and it was again under Soviet control. | This war is another example that shows that the Soviet Union was not going to permit any of the countries under its “protection” to change their policies. |
The Soviet-Afghan War | 1979-1989 | Afghanistan | At the end of the 1970s, the Afghan communist regime was under serious threat from anti-communist guerrillas known as the Mujahideen. To defend the communist system, the USSR sent forces to Afghanistan in 1979. | Afghanistan Communists (with the help of the Soviet Union) vs. Mujahideen (with the help of the USA, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and others) | By the end of 1980, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev realized that the USSR would not win the war, and in 1988 he signed an accord in which he agreed to withdraw Soviet troops. The withdrawal was completed in 1989. |
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