Timeline of Events

The Cold War Timeline
Significant Events 1945-1989

1945-1950

• The Marshall Plan
• The Truman Doctrine-policy of containment
• Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia
• Berlin Blockade-Airlift
• Korean Conflict

1951-1955

• Eisenhower-doctrine of Massive Retaliation
• 3AD activated
• West Germany enters NATO-doctrine of Forward Defense
• Formation of the Warsaw Pact

1956-1960

• 3AD deploys to West Germany
• Hungarian revolution crushed
• Suez Crisis Alert
• Lebanon crisis
• Krushchev demands U.S. troops leave Berlin
• Castro takes over in Cuba

1961-1965

• Bay of Pigs
• Kennedy increases military budgets-presses for doctrine of Flexible Response
• Berlin border closed-construction of Berlin Wall
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• JFK Assassination
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution-Vietnam War

1966-1970

• Vietnam War strips resources from USAREUR
• Warsaw Pact troops crush Czech revolt
• NATO adopts Flexible Response Doctrine
• Willi Brandt’s Ostpolitik-Detente

1971-1975

• SALT I
• Nixon resigns
• Vietnam War ends

1976-1989

• SALT II
• Iranian Hostage Crisis
• Ronald Reagan initiates massive build-up of U.S. Forces
• Mikhail Gorbachev launches policy of openness in Soviet Union
• Soviet empire collapses
• Berlin Wall falls
• CFE Treaty initiated-planning starts for reduction of conventional forces in Europe