There were many conflicts and crises during the Cold War.
1. Korean War- The Korean War was fought between June of 1950 and July of 1953. The Korean War officially began after North Korea invaded South Korea by crossing the boundaries of the two regions known as the 38th parallel. Beginning as a civil conflict between two provisional governments competing for control, the Korean War quickly escalated into a multi-national conflict.
2. Bikini Atoll- the site of the largest nuclear explosion ever performed by the United States.
3. U2 Incident-At the height of the cold war, as critics of the Eisenhower administration complained about the growing "missile gap," the United States secretly gathered data on Soviet missile capabilities through photographs obtained from U-2 reconnaissance plane overflights of the Soviet Union.
4. Fidel Castro- In December 1956, Castro attacked the Cuban Army in the east of the island. They were unsuccessful and the survivors fled inland to the relative safety of the Sierra Maestra. Here, Castro’s followers worked to help the peasants who lived in rural eastern Cuba. By taking this stance, Castro won over these people and his views began to spread out from the eastern enclave where he had his followers were.
5. Che- Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, one of the leading figures of the Cuban Revolution. During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union clashed in a series of proxy wars, especially in the developing nations of the Third World, including many decolonization struggles.
6. Bay of Pigs- The Bay of Pigs invasion took place on 17 April 1961. It was an attempt by the US government to overthrow Fidel Castro's government in Cuba. Since the Cuban revolution in 1959, relations between Cuba and the United States had become strained. Castro had seized many US assets and also had strong links with the Soviet Union.
7. Cuban Missile Crisis- The Cuban Missile Crisis was a critical event of the Cold War which many people cite as one of the most important events of this prolonged period of hostility between the United States and the then-Soviet Union. Had the Cuban Missile Crisis been poorly handled, it could have resulted in nuclear war, a turn of events which would have probably been catastrophic. Numerous historians have studied the complexities of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and as more documents about the crisis are declassified, more information about the event and the people involved has emerged.
8. Kennedy's Assassination- Kennedy was fatally shot while traveling with his wife in a presidential motorcade.
9. Gulf of Tonkin Incident- North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, off Vietnam, in a pair of assaults on August 2 and 4 1964. It was the basis for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which committed major American forces to the war in Vietnam. The resolution passed the House of Representatives unanimously, and passed in the Senate with only two dissenting votes.
10. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- Passed into law on 7 August 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was the measure that prompted the expansion of American involvement in the Vietnam War.
11. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan- The Soviet people were told that in fact this action was about the liberation of the Afghan communists. Soviet people were used to this type of reasoning from earlier actions in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Cuba and Eastern Europe. In fact many of these actions were a source of pride for Soviet citizens. Under Soviet ideology it was imperative to defend and proliferate any exsisting communist state. This reasoning worked well until the information of Soviet atrocites came to light even within USSR borders
12. Iran Hostage Crisis- The Iranian hostage crisis began 4 November 1979 under the administration of United States President Jimmy Carter when Islamic militants entered the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 66 Americans hostage. The Iranian hostage crisis was the culmination of the disintegration of relations between the United States and Iran prompted by U.S. support for Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi, after he was overthrown by Ayatollah Khomeini at the start of the Iranian Revolution. The hostages were held for a total of 444 days and released 20 January 1981, minutes after the inauguration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
13. Iran-Contra Affair- Involved dealings with both the Iranian government and a group of right-wing insurgents in Nicaragua known as the Contras. In actuality, the Iran-Contra affair linked two separate political scandals under one top-secret umbrella.
1. Korean War- The Korean War was fought between June of 1950 and July of 1953. The Korean War officially began after North Korea invaded South Korea by crossing the boundaries of the two regions known as the 38th parallel. Beginning as a civil conflict between two provisional governments competing for control, the Korean War quickly escalated into a multi-national conflict.
2. Bikini Atoll- the site of the largest nuclear explosion ever performed by the United States.
3. U2 Incident-At the height of the cold war, as critics of the Eisenhower administration complained about the growing "missile gap," the United States secretly gathered data on Soviet missile capabilities through photographs obtained from U-2 reconnaissance plane overflights of the Soviet Union.
4. Fidel Castro- In December 1956, Castro attacked the Cuban Army in the east of the island. They were unsuccessful and the survivors fled inland to the relative safety of the Sierra Maestra. Here, Castro’s followers worked to help the peasants who lived in rural eastern Cuba. By taking this stance, Castro won over these people and his views began to spread out from the eastern enclave where he had his followers were.
5. Che- Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, one of the leading figures of the Cuban Revolution. During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union clashed in a series of proxy wars, especially in the developing nations of the Third World, including many decolonization struggles.
6. Bay of Pigs- The Bay of Pigs invasion took place on 17 April 1961. It was an attempt by the US government to overthrow Fidel Castro's government in Cuba. Since the Cuban revolution in 1959, relations between Cuba and the United States had become strained. Castro had seized many US assets and also had strong links with the Soviet Union.
7. Cuban Missile Crisis- The Cuban Missile Crisis was a critical event of the Cold War which many people cite as one of the most important events of this prolonged period of hostility between the United States and the then-Soviet Union. Had the Cuban Missile Crisis been poorly handled, it could have resulted in nuclear war, a turn of events which would have probably been catastrophic. Numerous historians have studied the complexities of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and as more documents about the crisis are declassified, more information about the event and the people involved has emerged.
8. Kennedy's Assassination- Kennedy was fatally shot while traveling with his wife in a presidential motorcade.
9. Gulf of Tonkin Incident- North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, off Vietnam, in a pair of assaults on August 2 and 4 1964. It was the basis for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which committed major American forces to the war in Vietnam. The resolution passed the House of Representatives unanimously, and passed in the Senate with only two dissenting votes.
10. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- Passed into law on 7 August 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was the measure that prompted the expansion of American involvement in the Vietnam War.
11. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan- The Soviet people were told that in fact this action was about the liberation of the Afghan communists. Soviet people were used to this type of reasoning from earlier actions in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Cuba and Eastern Europe. In fact many of these actions were a source of pride for Soviet citizens. Under Soviet ideology it was imperative to defend and proliferate any exsisting communist state. This reasoning worked well until the information of Soviet atrocites came to light even within USSR borders
12. Iran Hostage Crisis- The Iranian hostage crisis began 4 November 1979 under the administration of United States President Jimmy Carter when Islamic militants entered the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 66 Americans hostage. The Iranian hostage crisis was the culmination of the disintegration of relations between the United States and Iran prompted by U.S. support for Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi, after he was overthrown by Ayatollah Khomeini at the start of the Iranian Revolution. The hostages were held for a total of 444 days and released 20 January 1981, minutes after the inauguration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
13. Iran-Contra Affair- Involved dealings with both the Iranian government and a group of right-wing insurgents in Nicaragua known as the Contras. In actuality, the Iran-Contra affair linked two separate political scandals under one top-secret umbrella.