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The US Bombs Japan
America dropped the little boy bomb on Hiroshima on August 6. When Japan didn't concede, America dropped the fat man bomb on Nagasaki. Those cities were decemated and Japan gave up. -
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The Berlin Airlift
Starting in 1948 the USSR blockaded railways, roads and canal access to West Berlin and was 1 of the 1st major issues of the Cold War. The USSR offered to drop the blockade if the Allies withdrew the new Deutsche mark, but instead of withdrawing or sending in troops the Allies set up a system to airlift West Berlin suppies. By May it became clear that the airlift was working and only 1 year later the blockade was lifted an served to highlight the competing visions of the postwar world. -
NATO Founded
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was created as a way to combat the growing threat of the Soviet Union. Its notable member states include the US, Britain, Germany, and other European nations. NATO commonly cooperates with the UN. NATO still exists to this day. -
China becomes communist
On this date, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China. This officially made China a communist country. The creation of a communist China effectively increased the power of the growing communism spread. China thus begun to help out in communist wars like Korea and Vietnam. This event also increased the Red Scare in America. -
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Korean War
On June 25, 1950 the country of North Korea attacked and invaded its neighbor South Korea. The support of the United Nations and theUnited States was given to South Korea, while North Korea received support from the Soviet Union and China. During the war over 2 million people were killed and there were over 1.5 million wounded. The North Koreans were on the brink of victory when, UN forces launched a counter attack on North Korean forces at Inchon. The counter attack pushed North Korea back. -
Stalin's Death
When Stalin died on March 5th, 1953 the Soviet Union lost its most influential leader. His death caused an uproar in the political elite deciding on who should lead next. Even though Stalin’s death would rock the USSR it would go on to survive another 37 years. -
Warsaw Pact Founded
The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet/Eastern Bloc equivalent to NATO. It was founded as a response to NATO, and served to tie the Satellite nations to the Soviet Union. It was dissolved on 1 July 1991. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite. Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union. It marked the beginning of the Space Race. Sputnik was followed up by America's satellite Explorer, which was launched on January 31, 1958. -
The U-2 Incident
On May 1st, 1960 an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet airspace, while on a reconnaissance mission for the CIA. The pilot, Francs Gary Powers, was improsined for international espionage, when the US Governent admitted to spying after the Soviet Union salvaged the plane, spying technology and several photos. Although Powers was freed 2 years later at a prisoner exchange, the U-2 incident was still a huge embarrassment to the US government and made relatons with the USSR even worse. -
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First Men in Space
In the heat of the space race Yuri Gagarin of Russia became the first man to orbit earth on April 12, 1961. This gave Russia an edge in the Space Race. America followed close behind when ten months later they sent their own Astronaut into orbit, John Glenn. These men gained fame quickly and their successes fueled the competition between The Soviot Union and America. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 12 day crisis between the US, the USSR and Cuba involving nuclear arms. The CIA discovered secret Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, only 90 miles away, able to target the capitol. President Kennedy, Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev, and Fidel Castro had several heated discussions, but eventually found an agreement. This led to Soviet nuclear warheads being moved out of Cuba, US warheads out of Turkey and is considered the closest we have been to total nuclear war. -
U.S. in Vietnam
America was involved in Vietnam from March 8, 1965, until March 29, 1973. The U.S. already had military advisers in place before March to try and stop the spread of communism. Vietnam was a war between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States. America lost in Vietnam allowing communism to spread to all of Vietnam. -
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6 Day War
Following Israeli counterattacks against Palestinian groups in the then Jordanian west bank, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria formed an alliance against Israel, and moved troops into the Sinai. Israel launched a preemptive air strike against Egyptian, and Syrian air bases. The Israelis quickly overwhelmed the Arab forces, and within 6 days of the first strike Israel had taken the Golan heights, the West Bank, Gaza, and part of the Sinai Peninsula. The war was an overwhelming Israeli victory. -
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Apollo 11
On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took off in a Saturn Rocket to reach the moon. They reached the moon on July 20, becoming the first people to step foot on the moon. This boosted American morale and put America ahead in the space race. They landed back on Earth on July 24. -
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission to the moon initiated by the US. The spacecraft took off from Florida on April 11, 1970. About five minutes after launch, the craft began to shake as one of the engines failed. The crew on the craft had a great number of struggled but were able to work past the malfunctions and return home safely on April 17. -
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Yom Kippur War
The war began with Egyptian forces crossing the Suez Canal, and pushing deep into the Sinai Peninsula. The Israelis countered and technically won. The war pulled both the Soviet Union and America in, as they supplied their respective allies, nearly entering the fight themselves. The war was settled on by a UN ceasefire order. The war resulted in the Camp David Accords in 1978. -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were peace conferences that took place between President Carter and Anwar Sadat at Camp David. These conferences were about the Israeli-Egyptian disputes and would attempt to resolve them. The treaty was finally signed Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to end the disputes. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
This event lasted from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. In 1979, Iranian fundamentalists seized the American embassy in Tehran and held fifty-three American diplomats hostage for over a year. The Iranian hostage crisis weakened the Carter presidency. The hostages were finally released on January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan became president. -
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Soviets in Afghanistan
Beginning in 1979 the USSR began to send in troops to Afghanstian to neutralize the rebels in the mountains, trying to overthrow the communist government. This Soviet occupation is known as the Soviet-Afghan War and lasted for 10 years, up until the collapse of the USSR. The US Government helped the Mujahideen by sending them financial aid and top grade military gear and weapons, and by publically supporting them. This war was a major blow to the USSR and is 1 of the reasons for its collapse. -
U.S. invades Grenada
Ronald Reagan dispatched a heavy fire power invasion force to Grenada, where a military coup had killed the prime minister and brought Marxists to power. The US was quickly able to crushed the rebels. This successfully pushed back the spread of communism. This event also demonstrated Reagan's determination to assert the dominance of the US in the Carribbean and America's tolerence to communism. -
The Challenger Explosion
On January 28,1986 the Space Shuttle the Challenger exploded 73 seconds after it launched for its tenth mission. Seven Astronauts died when a rubber ring failed in the booster. This loss came as a shock to America and certainly made NASA more cautious with its future missions. -
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Tiananmen square
In June of 1989 Pro-Democracy supporters protested against the communist government in an attempt to gain Democracy. In response the Communist leadership sent tanks and troops to quell the protest. The casualties of this range from 180-2600 civilians. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
On November 9th, 1989 the Berlin Wall, the wall separating the communist East Berlin and the democratic West Berlin. The wall went up in mid 1961 and stayed up for more than 20 years as a symbol of the Soviet Union. When the wall went down it was a symbol of not just the fall of the Soviet Union, but the fall of communism as well. -
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Operation Desert Storm/ Gulf War 1
Saddam Hussein ordered the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, as a way to seize oil reserves in pursuit of financial gain. The UN Security Council delivered an ultimatum to Hussein, withdraw from Kuwait by January of 1991, or be dealt with by force. Hussein refused to remove his armies, and the UN deployed an American-led coalition to remove them. In a total of two weeks, the Iraqis had been pushed back to Iraq, and coalition forces occupied Baghdad, and Hussein surrendered. -
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US intervention in the Former Yugoslavia (Note Days/Months are random)
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia consisted of nearly autonomous provinces/states. These states quarreled among themselves. In 1991, Slovenia seceded from the republic, and from there the other states plunged into war. NATO stepped in to attempt to stop the violence, and stabilize the region. NATO forces conducted strikes from 1992-1995, and again in Kosovo in '98 and 99'. Many criticized the intervention, citing high numbers of civilian casualties, in instances like the bombing of Novi Sad. -
Oklahoma City Bombing
On April 19, 1995 Timothy Mcveigh and Terry Nichols carried out a truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murray Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They used a fertilizer truck as a bomb that killed 168-169 people and injured more than 680. The attack was in response of the ruby Ridge siege in Naples, Idaho and the Waco Siege at the Mount Carmel Center in Texas. This attack is the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in the United States history. -
9/11
On September 11, 2001 three airliner jets full of passengers were purposely crashed in to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. These attacks left 2,996 people dead and wounded 6,000 other individuals. This was the largest attack on United States soil since Pearl Harbor in 1941. However this was not the first time the World Trade Center had been attack. On February 26, 1993 a car bomb was detonated under the North Tower killing 6 individuals. -
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Invasion of Iraq
The U.S. led coalition invaded Iraq on the accusations that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. This invasion ended up in Saddam being disposed of power and the coalition staying in the nation for years. This war has many mixed reactions by the public even to the present day. -
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Fallujah
In the Battle of Fallujah American, Iraqi, and British Forces engaged in combat lasting 1 month, 2 weeks, and 2 days. This battle which was lead by the Marine Corps featured some of the most intense fighting since Hue City. This engagement was fought to clear the city of insurgents and take control of the city. -
Osama Bin Laden's Death
On May 2, 2011 Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda and mastermind behind 9/11, was killed in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. At 1:00 am PKT United States Navy Seal Team Six infiltrated Bin Laden's compound. They shot and killed Osama Bin Laden, Khalid Bin Laden, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, Abrar Bushra, and Abrar's Wife. The operation was called Operation Neptune Spear, and it was lead by the CIA and JSOC. -
Attack on U.S. Embassy in Benghazi
On September 11, 2012 an Islamic Militant group, Ansar al-Sharia, attacked a U.S. Diplomatic Compound and a CIA Annex in Benghazi, Libya.The attack killed 4 Americans, Including Ambassador to Libya Cristopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty. There were no known international terrorist organizations involved with the attack. CIA contractors fought long and hard, and were not given any type of support by the state department.