Cold War Key Events and Timeline: A Concise History

Posted on Mar 26, 2025 in History

The Cold War: A Timeline of Key Events

Containment (1947-1953)

In March 1947, US President Harry S. Truman asked Congress to support the Greek Government against the communists in the Greek Civil War. Truman justified the intervention on the grounds that American national security depended on the containment of communism. This became known as Containment or the Truman Doctrine. That year, the USA created the European Recovery Programme for Europe, nicknamed the Marshall Plan, to revitalize the economy and roll back communism. Stalin established the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform). The members of the Eastern Bloc were forbidden from applying for Marshall aid.

Key Events During Containment:

  1. The Greek Civil War (1946–1949): This was the first intervention resulting from the Truman Doctrine.
  2. Korean War (1950–1953): At the end of WWII, North Korea and South Korea were separated near the 38th parallel. On 25 June 1950, troops from communist North Korea crossed into South Korea. The Soviets supported the North Korean Government, while the USA and the UN supported South Korea. Today, the border remains a place of international tension.

Peaceful Coexistence (1953–1960)

In 1953, Joseph Stalin died, and Nikita Khrushchev came to power in the Soviet Union. During this period, the leaders of the USSR, the USA, UK, and France met at the Geneva Conference in 1955 to discuss ending the Cold War. In 1959, Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit the United States.

Key Events During Peaceful Coexistence:

  1. Hungarian Uprising (1956): In October, students and workers marched peacefully into the city. When the Hungarian leader, Nagy, announced they wanted to leave the Warsaw Pact, tanks were deployed by the Soviet Union to suppress the uprising on 4 November. The West did nothing to help the Hungarians. This was the only armed conflict that occurred on European soil.
  2. Suez Crisis (1956): The Egyptian President, Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal. Great Britain, France, and Israel attacked Egypt. However, the USA intervened to avoid a conflict with the USSR, which was providing aid to Egypt.
  3. U-2 Spy Plane Incident (1960): An American spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, marking the end of peaceful coexistence.

End of Peaceful Coexistence (1960–1962)

Relations became tense again in 1960 when the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union. Tensions heightened further in 1962 when the USA discovered missile bases in Cuba, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Key Events Marking the End of Peaceful Coexistence:

  1. Berlin Wall (1961): Faced with large numbers of people moving from East Germany to West Berlin for economic reasons, on 13 August, the Soviets decided to stop this movement by building a wall around Berlin.
  2. Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba (1961): On 17 April, an attempt was made to remove Fidel Castro from power. An army of Cuban exiles opposed to Castro landed at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion was organized and financed by the CIA. The plan was a complete failure and quickly ended.
  3. Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): The USA discovered Soviet missile sites in Cuba, which were very close to the American coast. President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba. After massive tension, Khrushchev ordered the removal of the missile bases in Cuba. Kennedy also had the missile bases in Turkey removed.

Détente (1962–1979)

Tensions eased between the two superpowers, and there was more cooperation in trade. This period became known as détente. In 1972 and 1979, the two Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty agreements (SALT), which limited the number of nuclear missiles produced, were signed.

Key Events During Détente:

  1. Vietnam War (1955–1975): After WWII, Vietnam was divided into North and South. An armed communist group from North Vietnam, the Vietcong, invaded the south and attacked American bases. The USA sent military aid to the south. The war ended in 1975 when American troops withdrew, and Vietnam was unified under a communist regime. The war was very unpopular in the USA.

Freeze in Relations (1979–1986)

When Jimmy Carter became president of the USA, he demanded more human rights in the USSR. When the USSR invaded Afghanistan, détente ended.

The End of the Cold War (1991)

The Cold War ended with the fall of the communist bloc.