1. Berlin Blockade - The Berlin Blockade was an attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of France, Great Britain and teh United States to travel to their sectors of Berlin, which lay within Russian- occupied East Germany. Eventually, the western powers instituted an airlift that lasted nearly a year and delivered much-needed supplies and relief to West Berlin. Coming just three years after the end of World War II, the blockade was the first major clash of the Cold War and foreshadowed future conflict over the city of Berlin.
2. Korean War - On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic Peoples's Republic of Korea to the north of the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. By July, American troops had entered the war on South Korea's behalf. As far as the American officials were concerned, it was a war against the forces of international communism itself. After some early back-and-forth across the 38th parallel, the fighting stalled and casualties mounted with nothing to show for them. Meanwhile, American officials worked anxiously to fashion some sort of armistice with the North Koreans. The alternative, they feared, would be a wider war with Russia and China- or even, as some warned, World War III. Finally, in July 1953, the Korean War came to an end. In all, some 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the war. The Korean peninsula is still divided today.
3. Sputnik -
4. Bay of Pigs - On January 1, 1959, a young Cuban nationalist named Fidel Castro (1926) drove his guerilla army into Havana and overthrew General Fulgencio Batista (1901- 1973), the nation's American-backed president. For the next two years, officials at the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) attempted to push Castro from power. Finally, in April 1961, the CIA launched what its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, the invasion did not go well: The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro's Troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting.
5. Cuban Missile Crisis - The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba that occurred in the early 1960s during the Cold War. The crisis ranks as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is often regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war.
6. Berlin Wall - Physical barrier which surrounded West Berlin, cutting it off from both East Berlin and the surrounding parts of East Germany. The wall was erected by the communist government of East Germany in 1961 to prevent disaffected people fleeing to the West and fell in 1989 after the collapse of Russian backing for the East German government and the opening of crossing points.
7. Vietnam War - The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American public's support for the war. Since the end of the war, the Vietnam War has become a benchmark for what not to do in all future U.S. foreign conflicts.
ALSO KNOWN AS: American War in Vietnam, Vietnam Conflict, Second Indochina War, War Against the Americans to Save the Nation
8.Iranian Hostage Crisis - On November 4, 1979, an angry mob of young Islamic revolutionaries overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran taking more than 60 Americans hostage. "From the moment the hostages were seized until they were released minutes after Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as president 444 days later," wrote historian Gaddis Smith, "the crisis absorbed more concentrated effort by American officials an had more extensive coverage on television and in the press than any other event since World war II."
9. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan - The Soviets invaded Afghanistan to ensure that a pro-Soviet regime would be in power in the country. The Soviet invasion shocked the West, as it was the first direct use of Soviet combat troops outside the region of the Warsaw Pact. In response to the invasion, the United States imposed a grain embargo on the Soviets. It also withdrew from the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. More importantly, the Soviet invasion resulted in increased defense spending in the United States. The Soviet invasion was vigorously opposed by the Afghan guerrillas (who were called Mujdeen). They were armed by the United States, and ultimately fought the Soviets to a standstill. The Soviets were forced to withdraw, as Afghanistan had become the equivalent of Vietnam in American foreign policy.
10. Star Wars-
11. Fall of Berlin Wall - The fall of the Berlin Wall happened nearly as suddenly as its rise. There had been signs that the Communist bloc was weakening, but the East German Communist leaders insisted that East Germany just needed a moderate change rather than a drastic revolution. East German citizens did not agree.As Communism began to falter in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia in 1988 and 1989, new exodus points were opened to East Germans who wanted to flee to the West. Then suddenly, on the evening of November 9, 1989, an announcement made by East German government official Günter Schabowski stated, "Permanent relocations can be done through all border checkpoints between the GDR (East Germany) into the FRG (West Germany) or West Berlin." People were in shock. Were the borders really open? East Germans tentatively approached the border and indeed found that the border guards were letting people cross. Very quickly, the Berlin Wall was inundated with people from both sides. Some began chipping at the Berlin Wall with hammers and chisels. There was an impromptu huge celebration along the Berlin Wall, with people hugging, kissing, singing, cheering, and crying. The Berlin Wall was eventually chipped away, into smaller pieces (some the size of a coin and others in big slabs). The pieces have become collectibles and are stored in both homes and museums. After the Berlin Wall came down, East and West Germany reunified into a single German state on October 3, 1990.
12. Soviet Union dissolves-
