Cold War
By theme
Nuclear weapons development, 1945-1989
Civil Defence planning, 1945-1989
National Service, 1948-1963
The arms and defence industry, 1945- 1991
Détente & Diplomacy
Espionage; 1945-1989
The Berlin Wall
Colonialism & Independence
NATO
Key Events Timeline:
1940s: The Beginning of the Cold War
1945 – Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1946 – "Iron Curtain"
1947 – Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan
1948 – Berlin Blockade and Airlift
1949 – NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) formed
1950s: Escalation and Confrontation
1950–1953 – Korean War
1953 – Stalin dies; Nikita Khrushchev rises to power.
1955 – Warsaw Pact is formed as the Soviet response to NATO.
1956 – Hungarian Uprising against Soviet rule is crushed by the USSR.
1957 – USSR launches Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, starting the Space Race.
1960s: Height of the Cold War
1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion
1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis
1965–1973 – U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War escalates.
1968 – Prague Spring: Czechoslovakia’s attempt at reform is crushed by Soviet troops.
1970s: Détente and Arms Control
1972 – SALT I signed between U.S. and USSR
1975 – U.S. withdraws from Vietnam
1979 – Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, sparking U.S. support for Afghan resistance.
1980s: The Decline of Soviet Power
1980 – U.S. boycotts Moscow Olympics over Afghanistan invasion
1983 – U.S. President Reagan calls the USSR an "Evil Empire"; tensions rise.
1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader, introduces reforms (Glasnost & Perestroika).
1987 – INF Treaty signed, reducing nuclear weapons.
1989 – Fall of the Berlin Wall; Eastern European communist governments collapse.
The Cold War: A Global Conflict
Berlin Blockade, 1948-1949
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1948-
Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960
Yangtze Incident, 1949
Korean War 1950-1953
Kenyan Emergency, 1952-1960
Cyprus Emergency, 1955-1959
Vietnam War, 1955
Hungarian Revolution, 1956
Suez Crisis, 1956
Brunei Revolt, 1962-1963
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Indonesian Confrontation, 1963-1966
Aden Emergency, 1963-1967
Northern Ireland, 1969-1997
Falklands Conflict, 1982
By Abstraction
Borders and Division
Displacement and Exile
Fear and Paranoia
Propaganda and Perception
Resistance and Dissent
Sacrifice
Shifts in Power
Surveillance and Espionage