Category Archives: Cold War

UN troops recapture Seoul for second time during the Korean War 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 14 1951)

1950s, Cold War


Video: 'Korean War - PART 19, Hard fighting, 6.25' (UN forces recapture Seoul at 5:27)

(Wednesday, March 14, 1951, 2:40 a.m. Korea Standard Time; during Operation Ripper, part of the Korean War and the Cold War) — United Nations troops reoccupied Seoul today after the South Korean capital was abandoned without a fight by the Chinese and North Korean invaders now in full retreat all along the Korean front.
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Anti-Vietnam War radicals set off bomb on Senate side of U.S. Capitol 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 1 1971)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Weather Underground Bombs the Capitol, Pentagon, and State Department'

(Monday, March 1, 1971, 1:32 a.m. EST; part of the Opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam) — A bomb, apparently planted by a group or person protesting against the recent the recent invasion of Laos as part of the Vietnam War, exploded early this morning in the men’s room at the United States Capitol, causing extensive damage but no injuries.
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South Vietnamese units supported by U.S. military drive into Laos to strike enemy supply line 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 8 1971)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Vietnam The Ten Thousand Day War The Village War 10 13' (Operation Lam Son 719 at 32:22)

(Monday, February 8, 1971, 7:00 a.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — Operation Lam Son 719, an attack by the First Infantry Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) from South Vietnam into the Kingdom of Laos, was launched today in the Vietnam War against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces operating across the border.
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U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro’s Cuba 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 3 1961)

1960s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'U.S. breaks Relations with Cuba, 1961'

(Tuesday, January 3, 1961, 8:30 p.m. EST; during the Cold War) — The United States formally terminated diplomatic and consular relations with the government of Cuba tonight.
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Chinese, North Korean capture Seoul for second time during the Korean War 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 4 1951)

1950s, Cold War


Video: 'Korean War - PART 18, Retreat from the North, 6.25' (Chinese, North Korea forces recapture Seoul at 4:26)

(Thursday, January 4, 1951, the entire US IX Corps had left Seoul by 7:40 a.m. Korea Standard Time; during the Third Battle of Seoul, part of the Korean War, the Cold War and the Korean conflict) — Chinese and North Korean communist forces occupied the smoldering ghost city of Seoul, South Korea, this morning and smashed to the banks of the Han River, following hard on the heels of United Nations troops retreating southward.
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‘Viet Cong’ formed to oppose South Vietnamese government of President Ngo Dinh Diem 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 20 1960)

1960s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - America's Mandarin [2/11]' (NLF formed at 20:18)

(Tuesday, December 20, 1960; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The National Liberation Front (NLF) was created today as an armed communist political revolutionary organization in South Vietnam and Cambodia to oppose the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem, who gave the group the nickname “Viet Cong.”
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50 people killed when fire breaks out aboard USS Constellation at Brooklyn Navy Yard 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 19 1960)

1960s, Cold War


Video: 'Carrier Ablaze (1960)'

(Monday, December 19, 1960, 10:30 a.m. EST; during the Cold War) — Fifty shipyard workers were killed and more than 300 were injured today when fire broke out on the hangar deck of the nearly completed aircraft carrier USS Constellation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City.
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President Truman threatens to use atomic bomb to win Korean War 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 30 1950)

1950s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Korean War - PART 16, The Low Point, 6.25' (Nov. 30, 1950, at 5:24)

(Thursday, November 30, 1950, 10:30 a.m. EST; during the Second Phase Offensive, part of the Korean War and the Cold War) — As Chinese forces of the People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) pushed back United Nations forces from the Yalu River, U.S. President Harry S. Truman frightened the world today when he declared during a press conference that UN forces would “take whatever steps are necessary to meet the military situation in Korea,” including use of the atomic bomb.
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Chinese launch massive offensive against advancing UN forces in Korea 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 25 1950)

1950s, Cold War


Video: 'Korean War- PART 15, The Rout of the UN, 6.25' (Second Phase Offensive at 4:36)

(Saturday, November 25, 1950, 5:00 p.m. Korea Standard Time; during the Second Phase Offensive, part of the Korean War and the Cold War) — One day after United Nations Command (U.S./UN) forces launched the Home-by-Christmas Offensive to expel Chinese forces from Korea and to end the Korean War, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) launched it’s Second Phase Offensive today with the strength of between 300,000-390,000 soldiers. Continue reading Chinese launch massive offensive against advancing UN forces in Korea 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 25 1950) →

First American troops reach Yalu River that separates North Korea and China 70 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 21 1950)

1950s, Cold War


Video: 'Korean War- PART 15, The Rout of the UN, 6.25 ' (UN forces reach Yalu River at 1:54)

(Tuesday, November 21, 1950, as dusk fell at 5:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time; during the UN offensive into North Korea, part of  the Korean War and the Cold War) — Troops of the 7th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army’s X Corps today became the first American division to reach the Yalu River that separated North Korea and China, moving into the border city of Hyesan. Continue reading First American troops reach Yalu River that separates North Korea and China 70 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 21 1950) →