Timeline of the Cold War
1945
February 4: Yalta Conference meeting of FDR, Churchill, Stalin - the 'Big Three' Soviet Union has control of Eastern Europe. The Cold War Begins
May 8: VE Day - Victory in Europe. Germany surrenders to the Red Army in Berlin
July: Potsdam Conference - Germany was officially partitioned into four zones of occupation.
August 6: The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (20 kiloton bomb 'Little Boy' kills 80,000)
August 8: Russia declares war on Japan
August 9: The United States drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki (22 kiloton 'Fat Man' kills 70,000)
August 14 : Japanese surrender End of World War II
August 15: Emperor surrender broadcast - VJ Day
1946
February 9: Stalin hostile speech - communism & capitalism were incompatible
March 10: Truman demands Russia leave Iran
March 16 : "Sinews of Peace" Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill - "an "iron curtain" has descended on Europe" July 1: Operation Crossroads with Test Able was the first public demonstration of America's atomic arsenal
July 25: America's Test Baker - underwater explosion
1947 Containment
March 12 : Truman Doctrine - Truman declares active role in Greek Civil War
June : Marshall Plan is announced setting a precedent for helping countries combat poverty, disease and malnutrition
September 2: Rio Pact - U.S. meet 19 Latin American countries and created a security zone around the hemisphere
1948 Containment
February 25 : Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
March 2: Truman's Loyalty Program created to catch Cold War spies March 17: Brussels Pact organized to protect Europe from communism June 24 : Berlin Blockade begins lasting 11 months
1949 Containment
April 4 : NATO ratified
May 12 : Berlin Blockade ends
29 August : Russia tested its first atomic bomb
October 1 : Communist Mao Zedong takes control of China and establishes the People's Republic of China
December 1 - Chiang Kai-shek moved to Formosa and created Nationalist government
1950
January 30 - Truman approved H-bomb development
February : Joe McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt and loyalty tests
June 24: Korean War begins. Stalin supports North Korea who invade South Korea equipped with Soviet weapons
June 30th: U.S troops enter into the Korean conflict.
1951
January 12: Federal Civil Defense Administration established
April 11 : Truman fires MacArthur
1952
A-bombs developed by Britain
1953
March 17-June 4 Nuclear Arms Race atomic test series of 11 explosions at Nevada Test Site April 15: RAND report on the "Vulnerability of U. S. Strategic Air Power" July : Korean War ends
December 8: Ike's Atoms for Peace speech
1954
March 1: H-bomb Castle-Bravo test
March : KGB established
CIA helps overthrow unfriendly regimes in Iran and Guatemala
July : Vietnam split at 17th parallel
1955
May : Warsaw Pact formed
1956
June 29: USSR sent tanks into Poznan, Poland, to suppress demonstrations by workers September 4: USSR sent military aid to Afghanistan
October - November : Rebellion put down in Communist Hungary.
October 29: Suez Crisis began with Israeli attack led by Moshe Dayan against Egyptian forces in the Sinai
Egypt took control of Suez Canal
1957
August 26: Vostok rocket launched 1st ICBM
October 4 : Sputnik launched into orbit
November 3: Sputnik II launched - Laika died in space
1958
January 31: Explorer I launched
July : NASA began Mercury project using Atlas rocket
November : Khrushchev demands withdrawal of troops from Berlin
1959
January : Cuba taken over by Fidel Castro
September : Khrushchev visits United States; The Kitchen Debate
1960
A-bombs developed by France
May : Soviet Union reveals that U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory
November : John F. Kennedy elected President of USA
December 19: Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies.
1961
April : Bay of Pigs invasion see Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline
August 13 : Berlin border is closed
August 17 : Construction of Berlin Wall begins
1962
U.S. involvement in Vietnam increases
October : Cuban Missile Crisis
1963
July : Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified
November 22: President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas
1964
August : Gulf of Tonkin incident
October: A-bombs developed by China
1965
April : U.S. Marines sent to Dominican Republic to fight Communism
July : Announcement of dispatching of 200,000 U.S. troops to Vietnam
1966
B-52s Bomb North Vietnam
1967
The US Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara admits that the US bombing raids had failed to meet their objectives
1968
January : North Korea captured U.S.S. Pueblo
President Johnson does not run for the presidency and Richard Nixon Elected President of the USA August : Soviet Red Army crush Czechoslovakian revolt
1969
July 20 : Apollo 11 lands on the moon
1945
February 4: Yalta Conference meeting of FDR, Churchill, Stalin - the 'Big Three' Soviet Union has control of Eastern Europe. The Cold War Begins
May 8: VE Day - Victory in Europe. Germany surrenders to the Red Army in Berlin
July: Potsdam Conference - Germany was officially partitioned into four zones of occupation.
August 6: The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (20 kiloton bomb 'Little Boy' kills 80,000)
August 8: Russia declares war on Japan
August 9: The United States drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki (22 kiloton 'Fat Man' kills 70,000)
August 14 : Japanese surrender End of World War II
August 15: Emperor surrender broadcast - VJ Day
1946
February 9: Stalin hostile speech - communism & capitalism were incompatible
March 10: Truman demands Russia leave Iran
March 16 : "Sinews of Peace" Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill - "an "iron curtain" has descended on Europe" July 1: Operation Crossroads with Test Able was the first public demonstration of America's atomic arsenal
July 25: America's Test Baker - underwater explosion
1947 Containment
March 12 : Truman Doctrine - Truman declares active role in Greek Civil War
June : Marshall Plan is announced setting a precedent for helping countries combat poverty, disease and malnutrition
September 2: Rio Pact - U.S. meet 19 Latin American countries and created a security zone around the hemisphere
1948 Containment
February 25 : Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
March 2: Truman's Loyalty Program created to catch Cold War spies March 17: Brussels Pact organized to protect Europe from communism June 24 : Berlin Blockade begins lasting 11 months
1949 Containment
April 4 : NATO ratified
May 12 : Berlin Blockade ends
29 August : Russia tested its first atomic bomb
October 1 : Communist Mao Zedong takes control of China and establishes the People's Republic of China
December 1 - Chiang Kai-shek moved to Formosa and created Nationalist government
1950
January 30 - Truman approved H-bomb development
February : Joe McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt and loyalty tests
June 24: Korean War begins. Stalin supports North Korea who invade South Korea equipped with Soviet weapons
June 30th: U.S troops enter into the Korean conflict.
1951
January 12: Federal Civil Defense Administration established
April 11 : Truman fires MacArthur
1952
A-bombs developed by Britain
1953
March 17-June 4 Nuclear Arms Race atomic test series of 11 explosions at Nevada Test Site April 15: RAND report on the "Vulnerability of U. S. Strategic Air Power" July : Korean War ends
December 8: Ike's Atoms for Peace speech
1954
March 1: H-bomb Castle-Bravo test
March : KGB established
CIA helps overthrow unfriendly regimes in Iran and Guatemala
July : Vietnam split at 17th parallel
1955
May : Warsaw Pact formed
1956
June 29: USSR sent tanks into Poznan, Poland, to suppress demonstrations by workers September 4: USSR sent military aid to Afghanistan
October - November : Rebellion put down in Communist Hungary.
October 29: Suez Crisis began with Israeli attack led by Moshe Dayan against Egyptian forces in the Sinai
Egypt took control of Suez Canal
1957
August 26: Vostok rocket launched 1st ICBM
October 4 : Sputnik launched into orbit
November 3: Sputnik II launched - Laika died in space
1958
January 31: Explorer I launched
July : NASA began Mercury project using Atlas rocket
November : Khrushchev demands withdrawal of troops from Berlin
1959
January : Cuba taken over by Fidel Castro
September : Khrushchev visits United States; The Kitchen Debate
1960
A-bombs developed by France
May : Soviet Union reveals that U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory
November : John F. Kennedy elected President of USA
December 19: Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies.
1961
April : Bay of Pigs invasion see Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline
August 13 : Berlin border is closed
August 17 : Construction of Berlin Wall begins
1962
U.S. involvement in Vietnam increases
October : Cuban Missile Crisis
1963
July : Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified
November 22: President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas
1964
August : Gulf of Tonkin incident
October: A-bombs developed by China
1965
April : U.S. Marines sent to Dominican Republic to fight Communism
July : Announcement of dispatching of 200,000 U.S. troops to Vietnam
1966
B-52s Bomb North Vietnam
1967
The US Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara admits that the US bombing raids had failed to meet their objectives
1968
January : North Korea captured U.S.S. Pueblo
President Johnson does not run for the presidency and Richard Nixon Elected President of the USA August : Soviet Red Army crush Czechoslovakian revolt
1969
July 20 : Apollo 11 lands on the moon