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BERLIN- 1948 In 1948, a crisis developed in Berlin, Germany’s largest city. After the war, the Allies had divided Germany into four zones. American, British, French, and Soviet troops each occupied a zone. Berlin, too, was divided among the four Allies, even though it lay inside the Soviet zone. By 1948, the United States, Britain, and France wanted to reunite their zones. Stalin opposed that plan. A reunited Germany, he felt, would again be a threat to the Soviet Union. To show his determination to prevent a united Western Germany, Stalin closed all roads, railway lines, and river routes connecting Berlin with West Germany. The blockade cut of f West Berlin from the rest of the world. If the United States or other Allied powers tried to force their way through Eastern Germany to get to Berlin, the Soviet Union would have declared war. BERLIN AIRLIFT Instead, President Truman approved a huge airlift. During the Berlin Airlift, hundreds of American and British planes carried tons of food, fuel, and other supplies to the two million West Berliners every day. The airlift lasted for almost a year. Stalin finally saw that the West would not abandon West Berlin. In May 1949, he lifted the blockade. After the blockade, the United States, Great Britain, and France merged their zones into the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany. KOREA- 1950 Korea is a peninsula in East Asia. Russia and China border it to the north and the west. Japan lies across the Sea of Japan to the east. In the past, these powerful neighbors often competed to control Korea. As World War II ended, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a temporary division of Korea at the 38 th parallel (a line of latitude). Both nations agreed that Korea would soon be reunited. As the Cold War deepened, however, Korea remained divided. The United States backed a noncommunist government in South Korea. The Soviet Union supported the communist government of North Korea. There was no agreement on when, or how, to reunite Korea. KOREAN WAR In June 1950, North Korean troops swept across the 38 th parallel into South Korea. The South Korean army was quickly overwhelmed. Within days, North Korean forces occupied Seoul, the capital of South Korea. President Truman responded forcefully to the attack. He asked the United Nations to send a military force to Korea. Sixteen countries joined the UN action in Korea, but most of the troops were American. The UN forces pushed the invading army back into North Korea to try and reunite the country, but then the Chinese entered the war to help the North Koreans. The fighting turned into a bloody deadlock, with neither side winning. After three years, a peace agreement was signed that kept Korea divided at the 38 th parallel—where it had been before the war! CUBA- 1962 In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolution that set up a communist government in Cuba. The Soviet Union began supplying Cuba with large amounts of aid. The growing ties between the Soviet Union and Castro’s Cuba worried American of ficials. Cuba lies just 90 miles of f the coast of Florida. In 1961 , President John F. Kennedy approved a plan for Cuban exiles (people who have been forced to leave their own country) to overthrow Castro. This invasion was badly planned, and its failure only made Castro stronger. Afterwards, the Soviet Union gave Cuba more weapons. In October 1962, President Kennedy learned that the Soviets were secretly building missile bases on Cuba. If the bases were completed, atomic missiles could reach American cities within minutes. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS Kennedy announced that American warships would stop any Soviet ship carrying missiles. The world waited tensely as Soviet ships steamed toward Cuba. At the last minute, the Soviet ships turned back. “We’re eyeball to eyeball,” said Secretary of State Dean Rusk, “and I think the other fellow just blinked.” Kennedy’s strong stand led the Soviets to compromise. The Soviets agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba. In return, the US promised not to invade the island. In all the years of the Cold War, the world never came closer to a full -scale nuclear war. VIETNAM- 196? Vietnam is a narrow country that stretches about 1 ,000 miles along the South China Sea. In 1954, Vietnam won its independence from France and was divided into communist North Vietnam and democratic South Vietnam. But many people in South Vietnam felt that their leader was corrupt, so they began to join the Vietcong, a group of guerrilla fighters who supported communism (guerrilla fighters use hit -and-run attacks on the enemy and don’t wear uniforms). Vietcong influence quickly spread throughout South Vietnam, especially in villages, and this worried American leaders. VIETNAM WAR In August 1964, President Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked an American ship of f the coast of North Vietnam. Because of this, the US began to actively fight in Vietnam. Fighting in Vietnam was dif ficult, because the guerrilla fighters could disappear into the jungle or into villages. In January 1968, the Vietcong launched surprise attacks on cities across South Vietnam, including the American embassy. As the war dragged on, public support for the war faded. Under pressure from the American people, President Nixon began to withdraw troops from Vietnam. In 1973, a cease-fire agreement was reached and all American troops left Vietnam. However, in April 1975, North Vietnamese troops captured South Vietnam’s capital city. Soon after, Vietnam was united under a communist government.