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SALT 1 Treaties
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty limited the number of ABMs the USSR and USA could have to 100, slowing the nuclear arms race down and reducing the threat of nuclear war. Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms froze nuclear missiles for 5 years. -
Basic Treaty signed
East and West Germany recognised each other and pledged to peaceful co-operation, allowing for a thaw in relations and separate United Nations membership to become effective within a year. -
Paris Peace Accords signed
US stopped bombing Cambodia. -
US withdrawal from Vietnam
Last US combat troops leave South Vietnam, leaving only a small number of diplomatic personnel and an air force in Saigon. -
Chilean coup d'etat
Socialist Allende's presidency since 1970 had been marked by CIA intervention. His socialist policies of industrial nationalisation resulted in US blocking of $21m World Bank loan to Chile and all US economic aid. This in turn led to inflation, stagnation, unemployment and unrest. General Pinochet initiated a brutal military dictatorship. The US sought this undemocratic policy as part of its Operation Condor, invoking the Monroe Doctrine of keeping Latin America in line with US interests. -
Carnation Revolution
The repressive Estado Novo regime which had suppressed civil liberties and introduced conscription for the Portuguese Colonial Wars was overthrown by a left-leaning military faction. The previously internationally isolated Portugal now had a government which promised immediate independence to its colonies, specifically Angola, which was significant for the Cold War. -
Nixon resigns the presidency
Amidst the Watergate scandal of political espionage, in which Nixon lied about his knowing, he resigned on national television. Gerald Ford's first act upon ascending to the presidency was to pardon Nixon. -
Haile Selassie deposed in Marxist-Leninist military coup
After widespread popular unrest throughout the year calling for an amnesty of political prisoners, agrarian reform and human rights, the 'Derg' military collective overthrew Haile Selassie in Ethiopia. Colonel Mariam would lead the new Marxist Ethiopia. -
Vladivostok Summit
Two-day Meeting on Arms Control where the two superpowers agreed on a 10 year programme to reach equal levels of ICBM and SLBM launchers. -
Jackson-Vanik Amendment signed into law by President Ford
Concerned over the USSR's heavy taxes on, and anti-semitism towards emigrant workers, the US Congress passed an amendment to deny credit tax on trade relations with countries that had non-market economies. This led to a withdrawal by the USSR from talks with the US and a resurfacing of mutual distrust. -
Fall of Phnom Penh
An intensified effort by the Khmer Rouge on the capital resulted in US forces being evacuated and the Khmer Rouge overthrowing Lon Nol's government. -
Fall of Saigon
City of Saigon fell to Vietnamese communists, as the North had been intensifying its attacks on the South since the US withdrawal. Congress had, in March, refused to provide further aid to Thieu. This development led to a united, socialist Vietnam which continues to this day. A US trade embargo was placed on Vietnam, and 6 million acres of Vietnamese land had been poisoned. -
Helsinki Accords signed
Signed by 35 states including USA, USSR and all European states bar Albania.
Basket 1 guaranteed security in Europe, recognising the sovereignty of countries and Europeans' right to self-determination, and pledging to resolve conflicts peacefully.
Basket 2 pledged co-operation in areas such as economics, science, technology, environment, trade and industry.
Basket 3 recognised current European borders, pledged humanitarian co-operation and respect for freedoms and equal rights. -
Angolan Civil War begins
An interim coalition government consisting of the Marxist MPLA, nationalist FNLA and FNLA faction UNITA fell apart, descending into civil war. The MPLA received military resources from the USSR and China, and 36,000 troops from Cuba. The FNLA received $300,000 from the CIA and aid from Zaire and South Africa. USSR and China sought to support a Marxist-Leninist liberation movement, US refrained from overt intervention, China withdrew FNLA support once US and South Africa supported them. -
Death of Chairman Mao
Burn in hell you murderous psychopath.
After a brief power struggle, Deng Xiaoping assumed leadership and sought to improve China's economy rather than concentrate on the communist revolutionary movement. -
Jimmy Carter inaugurated as US President
A Democrat, Carter proposed a reduction in strategic systems, MIRV missile launchers, ICBMs and MIRVs. Heavy bombers should have air-launched cruise missiles with a range of 600-2500 kilometres. Seen as a step towards SALT II, Brezhnev rejected this as it required the USSR to disarm on a greater scale than the US. -
SEATO disbanded
After the Domino Theory was confirmed with the fall of Vietnam and Cambodia to communism, many member states of SEATO withdrew. US policy of containment in Southeast Asia had failed, with 58,000 Americans dying, US government spending $100 Bn and 100,000 fleeing to dodge the draft. Around 1.1 Million Vietcong, 200,000 ARVN and up to 9 million civilians died in Vietnam. -
Ogaden War begins
Previous Soviet ally Somalia, led by Barre, launched an invasion of Ethiopia to annex the Ogaden desert. The USSR switched its support to Ethiopia, sending 1,500 military advisors under Petrov to acompany Cuba's 12,000 soldiers. The Somalians were overrun, signing a ceasefire after they had been pushed out of the Ogaden. The US blamed the USSR and Cuba for extending communist influence in Africa, souring relations. -
Saur Revolution in Afghanistan
Disappointed by his secularism and failure to implement socialist reforms, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan overthrew and executed the government of Mohammad Daoud Khan, who had himself gained power in a coup d'etat in 1973. A civilian government of unity between the Parchamite and Khalqist factions with the Khalqist Taraki as Prime Minister was established. However, Hafizullah Amin executed Taraki and made himself leader by mid-1979. -
John Paul II elected Pope
A Pole, he sought to improve human rights in Poland and reconcile Europe more generally through open borders. He criticised the state atheism imposed by the USSR in its satellite states. -
US recognises the PRC as the legitimate Chinese government.
Complementing Deng's vision of improved Sino-American relations, Carter recognised the PRC and terminated the US-Taiwan defence treaty. Both countries benefitted from economic agreements, with China developing factories and Deng personally making several visits to the US. -
Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia
After Pol Pot had killed 10% of Cambodians seeking to revert Cambodia to an agricultural society, border skirmishes with neighbouring Vietnam resulted in a full-scale invasion by the latter. The Khmer Rouge were defeated by January, with Heng Samrin installed as the new Cambodian leader. -
Thatcher elected Prime Minister of UK
Developed a 'special relationship' with Reagan during office, shared criticism of the Soviet Union and detente, preferring deterrence through superior force. Thatcher agreed to house US nuclear weapons in the UK, continued the British Nuclear Submarine Programme, but condemned Reagan's SDI. -
Vienna Summit
This summit finalised the SALT II agreements, dictating that:
- ICBM, SLBM launchers and heavy bombers were not to exceed 2,400.
- An overall reduction of strategic offensive arms to 2,250 by January 1981.
- Overall limit imposed on MIRVs, ASBMs, ICBMs and SLBMs. Despite this progression, by December Carter had persuaded 3 NATO member states to increase military expenditure. This prompted the USSR to deploy its own missile system in the Eastern Bloc. -
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Fearing that the unreliable, factionalised PDPA would not be able to address the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in Central Asia, Brezhnev ordered the invasion of Afghanistan. Brezhnev feared potential US support for Amin's faction, invoked his doctrine, and believed that the war would be brief and easily won. Carter and the UN denounced the invasion, which led to unrest in Muslim states and brought about the Carter Doctrine of Middle Eastern containment. The war significa weakened the USSR. -
Solidarity founded in Gdansk
At the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk, electrician Lech Walesa founded the trade union 'Solidarnosc' to assist the working class. Solidarity capitalised on feelings of popular discontent about Poland's economic recession and rationing of goods. It called for the Soviets to leave Poland, and protested against the government. It became the first independent trade union in a Warsaw Pact country to be recognised by the state. It was covertly funded by both the CIA and the Pope. -
Reagan supports Contras
Drifting away from president Carter's policy of aiding Ortega's FSLN government in Nicaragua, Reagan begins supplying the anti-communist Contras with illegal Iranian arms and military equipment and training. This led to the Sandinistas imposing censorship and conscription whilst limiting civil liberties in March 1982 -
Ronald Reagan inaugurated as US President
Elected on a landslide (489 electoral votes to Carter's 49) and over 8 million more popular votes than Carter, Reagan campaigned on American patriotism and anti-communism. He rejected summit diplomacy, detente and his early presidency marked a return to US brinkmanship. -
Martial law introduced in Poland
With Solidarity's membership peaking at 10 million in September, General Jaruzelski ordered martial law. This suppressed protests, introduced heavy censorship and curfews and arrested without trial many political prisoners. -
Death of Leonid Brezhnev
After suffering from poor health for many years, Brezhnev died following a heart attack. 12% of Soviet GNP had been spent on defence in the year 1982. He was immediately succeeded as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party by Yurin Andropov. -
Reagan makes 'Evil Empire' speech
He had convinced Congress to increase military expenditure by 13%, authorised the Strategic Defence Initiative and the neutron bomb, and deployed 700 nuclear weapons. -
KAL 007 shot down
A Korean Airlines scheduled flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Seoul, South Korea was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The pilots had mistakenly flown into Soviet airspace, and the Soviet technology could not differentiate between civilian and military flights, believing it was a US reconaissance plane. All 269 people on board died, with Reagan calling it a 'crime against humanity'. Having initially denied involvement, the Soviets later admitted the shooting but blamed it on the CIA. -
US-led invasion of Grenada
Following the leftist New Jewel movement's banning of political parties and ties with the USSR and Cuba, the US invaded Grenada. They were joined by a 'Caribbean Peace Force'. Their military occupation resulted in the installation of Bernard and then Austin as US-sympathetic leaders. The USSR saw this as imperialist, with Britain also condemning the developments in its former colony. US gave the official reason of protecting over 600 US medical students on the island. -
Able Archer exercise
A highly realistic NATO war readiness exercise was carried out, with Reagan raising a 'high' state of emergency and deploying Pershing II missiles. The tense international climate from KAL 007 and SDI prompted widespread fear of nuclear war. In response, the USSR ordered East German and Polish air units to alert and loaded nuclear warheads onto combat planes of the Soviet 4th Air Army. -
Lech Walesa awarded Nobel Peace Prize
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Death of Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko assumes leadership
Chernenko became General Secretary and Chairman of the presidium, but due to his poor health and lack of support, the USSR was led in practice by a troika including Ustinov and Gromyko -
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary
He inherits a stagnant Soviet Union, struggling with a declining economy using outdated equipment. Workers were not distributed properly, leading to poor productivity and a government deficit. Centralisation resulted in an outdated and out-of-touch system that could not gage consumer demand and prompted black markets. The forever war of Afghanistan drained military spending, and grain was imported due to poor harvests. Worker discontent spread to all areas of society.