Timeline of the Cold War

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At its simplest, the Cold War is said to have begun in 1947.
However, roots of distrust and tension which are the underlying factors in causing the Cold War can be directly traced back to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The timeline also lists important dates in the origins of the Cold War, although this page attempts to give a brief explanation on how the events impacted the Cold War.

1910s

1914

1917

1918

1920s

1922

1924

1928

1930s

1933

  • November 7: The US recognizes the USSR.

1939

  • August 23: Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact also known as the Non-aggression Pact leaves the West insecure about the USSR and in particular how Stalin will react later in the war when he joins the US and UK in an anti-Nazi alliance.
  • September 1: Outbreak of World War II.
  • September 3: The UK and France declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland by the Wehrmacht.
  • September 10: Canada declares war on Germany.

1940s

1941

1944

  • June 6: The United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and Canada land in Normandy, France, in the D-Day landings. US, UK and other Allied forces have fought in the Mediterranean and Italy for the past 11 months, in order to draw German forces away from the main invasion area. The four years of war against Germany see 26.5 million Russian dead in contrast to 300,000 American in all theatres of war, and 390,000 British dead.
  • August 29: Soviet territory is fully liberated from Axis troops. Soviet troops enter Poland.

1945

  • February 4: The Yalta Conference occurs, deciding the post-war status of Germany. The Allies (the USA, the USSR, Great Britain and France) to divide Germany into four occupation zones. Also the nations agreed that free elections were to be held in all countries occupied by Nazi Germany. In addition the new United Nations would replace the failed League of Nations.
  • July 24: US President Harry S. Truman informs Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin that the United States has nuclear weapons.
  • August 2: The Potsdam Conference ends with the Potsdam Agreement that organizes the division and reconstruction of Europe after World War II. New boundaries of Poland were agreed. After the agreement to divide Germany into four zones [Yalta Conference], the four nations also decide to split Germany's capital, Berlin into four zones as well. They also agree to start legal trials at Nuremberg of the Nazi War criminals.
  • August 6: US President Truman gives permission for the world's first military use of an atomic weapon against the Japanese city of Hiroshima in an attempt to bring the only remaining theater of war from the Second World War in the Pacific to a swift close.
  • August 8: The USSR honors its agreement to declare war on Japan within three months of the victory in Europe, and in invades Manchuria. In accordance with the Yalta Conference agreements, the Soviet Union also invades Japanese Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
  • August 9: US President Truman gives permission for the world's second and last military use of an atomic weapon against the Japanese city of Nagasaki in order to try to secure a swift Japanese unconditional surrender in the end of the Second World War.
  • September 2: The Japanese surrender unconditionally to the US on board the USS Missouri to representative General Douglas MacArthur.
  • September 5: Igor Gouzenko, a clerk working in the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, Canada, defects and provides proof to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of a Soviet spy ring operating in Canada and other western countries. The Gouzenko affair helps change perceptions of the Soviet Union from an ally to a foe.

1946

1947

  • January 1: The American and British zones of control in Germany are united to form the Bizone also known as Bizonia.
  • March 12: United States President Harry Truman announces the Truman Doctrine. The Doctrine states that the USA will remain committed to "contain" further communist expansion. Truman cites the domino effect as a possibility.
  • May 22: US extends $400 million of military aid to Greece and Turkey, signalling its intent to contain communism in the Mediterranean.
  • June 5: Secretary of State George Marshall outlines plans for a comprehensive program of economic assistance for the war-ravaged countries of Western Europe. It would become known throughout the world as the Marshall Plan.
  • July 11: The US announces new occupation policies in Germany. The occupation directive JCS 1067, whose economic section had prohibited "steps looking toward the economic rehabilitation of Germany [or] designed to maintain or strengthen the German economy", is replaced by the new US occupation directive JCS 1779 which instead notes that "An orderly, prosperous Europe requires the economic contributions of a stable and productive Germany."
  • August 14: India and Pakistan are granted independence by the United Kingdom.
  • November 14: The United Nations passes a resolution calling for the withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Korea, free elections in each of the two administrations, and the creation of a UN commission dedicated to the unification of the peninsula.

1948

  • February 26: The Communist Party takes control in Czechoslovakia, after President Edvard Beneš accepts the resignation of all non-communist ministers.
  • April 3: Truman signs the Marshall Plan into effect. By the end of the programs, the United States has given $12.4bln in economic assistance to European countries.
  • May 10: A parliamentary vote in southern Korea sees the confirmation of Syngman Rhee as President of the Republic of Korea, after a left-wing boycott.
  • June 18: A communist insurgency in Malaya begins against British and Commonwealth forces.
  • June 21: In Germany, the Bizone and the French zone launch a common currency, the Deutsche Mark.
  • June 24: Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin orders the blockade of all land routes from West Germany to Berlin, in an attempt to starve out the French, British, and American forces from the city. In response, the three Western powers launch the Berlin Airlift to supply the citizens of Berlin by air.
  • June 28: Yugoslavia splits from the Soviet camp.
  • July 17: The constitution of the Republic of Korea is effected.
  • September 9: The Soviet Union declares the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, with Kim Il-sung as Prime Minister.

1949

  • April 4: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is founded by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States, in order to resist Communist expansion.
  • May 11: The Soviet blockade of Berlin ends with the re-opening of access routes to Berlin. The airlift continues until September, in case the Soviets re-establish the blockade.
  • May 23: In Germany, the Bizone merges with the French zone of control to form the Federal Republic of Germany, with Bonn as its capital.
  • June 8: The Red Scare reaches its peak, with the naming of numerous American celebrities as members of the Communist Party.
  • August 29: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb. The test, known to Americans as Joe 1, succeeds, as the Soviet Union becomes the world's second nuclear power.
  • September 13: The USSR vetoes the United Nations membership of Ceylon, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Jordan, and Portugal.
  • September 15: Konrad Adenauer becomes the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
  • October 1: Mao Zedong declares the foundation of the People's Republic of China - adding a quarter of the world's population to the communist camp.
  • October 7: The Soviets declare their zone of Germany to be the German Democratic Republic, with its capital at East Berlin.
  • October 16: Nikos Zachariadis, leader of the Communist Party of Greece, declares an end to the armed uprising. The declaration brings to a close the Greek Civil War, and the first successful containment of communism.

1950s

1950

  • January 6: The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom.
  • January 31: The last Kuomintang soldiers surrender on continental China.
  • February 14: The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a pact of mutual defense.
  • March 1: Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek moves his capital to Taipei, Taiwan, establishing a stand-off with the People's Republic of China.
  • April 14: United States State Department Director of Policy Planning Paul Nitze issues NSC-68, a classified brief, arguing for the adoption of containment as the cornerstone of United States foreign policy. It would dictate US policy for the next twenty years.
  • May 9: Robert Schuman describes his ambition of a united Europe. Known as the Schuman Declaration, it marks the beginning of the creation of the European Community.
  • June 25: North Korea invades South Korea, sparking the Korean War.
  • June 27: The United Nations votes to send forces to Korea to aid South Korea. The Soviet Union cannot veto, as it is boycotting the Security Council over the admission of People's Republic of China. Eventually, the number of countries operating under the UN aegis increases to 16: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
  • June 28: Seoul, the capital of South Korea, falls to North Korean forces.
  • July 5: United Nations forces engage North Korean forces for the first time, in Osan. They fail to halt the North Korean advance, and fall southwards, towards what would become the Pusan Perimeter.
  • September 15: United Nations forces land at Incheon. Defeating the North Korean forces, they press inland and re-capture Seoul.
  • October 7: United Nations forces cross the 38th parallel, into North Korea.
  • October 8: Forces from the People's Republic of China mobilize along the Yalu River.
  • October 19: Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, falls to United Nations forces.
  • October 25: China invades Korea with 300,000 soldiers, catching the United Nations by surprise. However, they withdraw after initial engagements.
  • November 26: United Nations forces approach the Yalu River. In response, China invades Korea again, but with a 500,000 strong army. This offensive forces the United Nations back towards South Korea.

1951

  • January 4: Chinese soldiers capture Seoul.
  • March 14: United Nations forces recapture Seoul during Operation Ripper. By the end of March, they have reached the 38th Parallel, and formed a defensive line across the Korean peninsula.
  • April 11: US President Harry S. Truman fires Douglas MacArthur from command of US forces in Korea.
  • April 18: The European Coal and Steel Community is formed by the Treaty of Paris.
  • September 1: Australia, New Zealand, and the United States sign the ANZUS Treaty. This compels the three countries to cooperate on matters of defense and security in the Pacific.
  • September 20: Greece and Turkey join NATO.
  • December 12: The International Authority for the Ruhr lifted part of the remaining restrictions on German industrial production and on production capacity.[1]

1952

1953

1954

  • May 7: The Viet Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu. France withdraws from Indochina, leaving four independent states: Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam (founded by the communist former Viet Minh) and South Vietnam (anti-communists). The Geneva Accords calls for free elections to unite Vietnam, but none of the major parties wish this to occur.
  • May: The Huk revolt in the Philippines is defeated.
  • June 18: The elected leftist Guatemalan government is overthrown in a CIA-backed coup. An unstable rightist regime installs itself. Opposition leads to a guerrilla war with Marxist rebels in which major human rights abuses are committed on all sides. Nevertheless, the regime survives until the end of the Cold War.
  • July 23: Nasser, an Egyptian nationalist, ousts the pro-British King Farouk and establishes a dictatorship. Soon he becomes an important Soviet ally.
  • August 11: The Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the Chinese Communist shelling of Taiwanese islands. The US backs Taiwan, and the crisis resolves itself as both sides decline to take action.
  • September 8: Foundation of the South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) by Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Like NATO, it is founded to resist Communist expansion, this time in the Philippines and Indochina.

1955

1956

  • February 25 : Nikita Khrushchev delivers the speech "On the Personality Cult and its Consequences" at the closed session of the Twentieth Party Congress of the CPSU. The speech marks the beginning of the De-Stalinization.
  • June 28: in Poznań, mass protest of workers against communists. Fights in town.
  • July 26: Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal.
  • October 23: Hungarian Revolution of 1956: Hungarians revolt against the Soviet dominated government. They are crushed by the Soviet military, which reinstates a Communist government.
  • October 29: Suez Crisis: France, Israel, and the United Kingdom attack Egypt with the goal of removing Nasser from power. International diplomatic pressures force the attackers to withdraw. Canadian Lester B. Pearson encourages the United Nations to send a Peacekeeping force -the first of its kind- to the disputed territory. Lester B. Pearson wins a Nobel Peace Prize for his actions, and soon after becomes Canadian Prime Minister.

1957

1958

  • July 14: A coup in Iraq, the 14 July Revolution, removes the pro-British monarch. Iraq begins to receive support from the Soviets. Iraq will maintain close ties with the Soviets throughout the Cold War.
  • August 23: Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins when China begins to bomb Quemoy.
  • August: Thor IRBM deployed to the UK, within striking distance of Moscow.

1959

  • January 1: Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro becomes the leader of a new Marxist Cuba. Cuban-inspired guerrilla movements spring up across Latin America.
  • March 24: New Republic government of Iraq leaves Central Treaty Organization
  • July 24: During the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow US Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev openly debate the capacities of each Superpower. This conversation is known as the Kitchen Debate.
  • September: Khrushchev visits U.S. for 13 days.
  • December: Formation of the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. It is a Communist insurgent movement that vows to overthrow the anti-communist South Vietnamese government. It is supplied extensively by North Vietnam.

1960s

1960

1961

1962

  • July 20: Neutralization of Laos is established by international agreement, but North Vietnam refuses to withdraw its personnel. [2]
  • September 8: Himalayan War: Chinese forces attack India, making claims on numerous border areas.
  • October 16: Cuban Missile Crisis: The Soviets have secretly been installing military bases, including nuclear weapons, on Cuba, some 90 miles from the US mainland. Kennedy orders a "quarantine" (a naval blockade) of the island that intensifies the crisis and brings the US and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war. In the end, the Soviets back down and agree to withdraw their nuclear missiles from Cuba, in exchange for a secret agreement by Kennedy pledging to withdraw similar American missiles from Turkey, and guaranteeing that the US will not move against the Castro regime.
  • November 21: End of the Himalayan War. China occupies a small strip of Indian land. The war will influence India, one of the leaders of the non-aligned movement, to indeed align itself with the Soviets in a decade.

1963

  • June 20: The United States agrees to set up a hotline with the USSR, so making direct communication possible.
  • August 5: The Partial Test Ban Treaty is signed by the USA, UK and USSR, prohibiting the testing of nuclear weapons anywhere except underground.
  • November 22: John F. Kennedy is shot and killed in Dallas. His vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President of the United States.

1964

1965

  • March 8: US military build up to defend South Vietnam. North Vietnam has also committed its forces in the war. US begins sustained bombing of North Vietnam.
  • April 28: US forces invade the Dominican Republic to prevent a similar communist takeover like that occurred in Cuba.
  • August 15: Second Indo-Pakistani War.
  • November 14: Battle of Ia Drang, the first major engagement between US Troops and regular Vietnamese forces.

1966

1967

  • April 25: 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries sign the Treaty of Tlatelolco in Mexico City, which sought the prohibition of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • May 23: Egypt blocks the Straits of Tiran, then expels UN peacekeepers and moves its army into the Sinai Peninsula in preparation for possible attack on Israel.
  • May 25: Uprising in Naxalbari, India marking the expansion of Maoism as a violent, anti-US and anti-Soviet, revolutionary movement across a number of developing countries.
  • June 5: In response to Egypt, Israel invades the Sinai Peninsula, beginning the Six-Day War.

1968

  • January 30: Tet Offensive in South Vietnam begins.
  • March 31: Johnson suspends bombings over North Vietnam and announces he is not running for reelection.
  • June 8: Tet Offensive ends in Communist psychological victory over the Americans.
  • July 1: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is opened for signature.
  • August 20: Prague Spring Reforms in Communist Czechoslovakia cause Warsaw Pact intervention to crush them.

1969

  • January 20: Richard Nixon becomes President of the United States.
  • March 2: Border clashes between the Soviet Union and China
  • March 17: The US begins bombing Communist sanctuaries in Cambodia.
  • July 20: The US accomplishes the first manned moon landing, Apollo 11.
  • July 25: ”Vietnamization” begins with US troop withdrawals from Vietnam and the burden of combat being placed on the South Vietnamese.
  • September 1: Muammar al-Gaddafi overthrows the Libyan monarchy and expels British and American personnel. Libya aligns itself with the Soviet Union.

1970s

1970

  • March 5: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, ratified by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States among others, enters into force.
  • March 18: Lon Nol takes power in Cambodia. Khmer Rouge Communists begin attacking the new regime, which wants to end foreign presence in Cambodia.
  • November 18: United States' aid to Cambodia to support the Lon Nol regime begins.

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

  • March 15: The Ogaden War ends with a Somali defeat.
  • December 25: A Communist regime is installed in Afghanistan

1979

1980s

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

  • March 11: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union.
  • August 6: Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the Soviet Union begins what it has announced is a 5-month unilateral moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons. The Reagan administration dismisses the dramatic move as nothing more than propaganda, and refuses to follow suit. Gorbachev declares several extensions, but the United States fails to reciprocate, and the moratorium comes to an end on February 5, 1987.
  • November 21: Reagan and Gorbachev meet for the first time at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, where they agree to two (later three) more summits.

1986

1987

1988

  • May 15: The Soviets begin withdrawing from Afghanistan.
  • December 22: South Africa withdraws from South West Africa (Namibia).
  • February 22: Incident: USS Yorktown (CG-48) and USS Caron (DD-970) are rammed off the Crimean peninsula after entering Soviet territorial waters.

1989

  • January 20: George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States.
  • February 2: Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
  • June 4: Tiananmen Square protests are crushed by the communist Chinese government.
  • August: Solidarity Movement elects new non-communist government in Poland.
  • November 9: Revolutions in Eastern Europe: Soviet reforms and their state of bankruptcy have allowed Eastern Europe to rise up against the Communist governments there. The Berlin Wall is torn down.
  • December 3 : At the end of the Malta Summit, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush declare that a long-lasting peaceful era has begun. Many observers regard this summit as the official beginning of the end of the Cold War.
  • December 14: Democracy is restored in Chile.
  • December 16-25: Romanian Revolution. Rioters overthrow the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu, executing him and his wife, Elena. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country to violently overthrow its Communist regime or to execute its leaders.

1990s

1990

1991

See also

Template:Cold War figures

References

  1. ^ a b Henig, Ruth The Origins of the First World War (2002) ISBN 0-415-26205-4
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