Category Archives: Cold War

Vietnam War escalates with first U.S. air strikes near Hanoi and Haiphong 50 years ago #OTD this hour (June 29 1966)

(Wednesday, June 29, 1966, 1:50 p.m. local time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — U.S. aircraft bombed the major North Vietnamese population centers of Hanoi and Haiphong for the first time today, destroying oil depots located near the two cities.

Rioting bursts out in Poznan, Poland 60 years ago this hour (June 28 1956)


Video: '45 85 Part 6' (June 28, 1956, at 7:51)

(Thursday, June 28, 1956, 6:00 a.m. CET; during the Cold War) –The Poznan 1956 protests, the first of several massive protests against the government of the People’s Republic of Poland, began on today at Poznan’s Cegielski Factories and were met with violent repression. Continue reading Rioting bursts out in Poznan, Poland 60 years ago this hour (June 28 1956)

First hydrogen bomb to be dropped from a plane exploded 60 years ago this hour (May 21 1956)


Video: 'Bikini Atoll Nuclear Testing 1956 - the "H-Bomb" Test'

(Monday, May 21, 1956, 5:50:38.7 a.m. MHT/Sunday, May 20, 1956, 1:50:38.7 p.m. EDT; during the Cold War) — The United States today exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

China launches Cultural Revolution 50 years ago today (May 16 1966)


Video: 'Chairman Mao Documentary - The Cultural Revolution - Destruction Of China'

(Monday, May 16, 1966) — China today launched the Cultural Revolution, a radical, youth-driven reform movement aimed at bolstering Chairman Mao Zedong while purging the country of “counter-revolutionaries.” Continue reading China launches Cultural Revolution 50 years ago today (May 16 1966)

Communist forces occupy Da Nang 40 years ago today (Mar 30 1975)


Video: 'Vietnam a Television History Episode 11' (Mar. 30, 1975, at 31:50)

(Easter Sunday, March 30, 1975; during the The Hue–Da Nang Campaign of the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — A speedy North Vietnamese force moved into chaotic Da Nang today, sweeping across the vast air base where the first U.S. ground forces had landed in 1965.

Two Americans killed as bomb in Vietnam rips U.S. embassy 50 years ago this hour (Mar 30 1965)


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - LBJ Goes to War [3/11]' (Mar. 30, 1965, at 32:41)

(Tuesday, March 30, 1965, 10:55 a.m. ICT; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — A huge bomb exploded at the United States Embassy today in Saigon, South Vietnam, killing two Americans, one female CIA employee, Barbara Robbins and another American, as well as 19 Vietnamese and one Filipino serving in the U.S. Navy along with injuring 183 others.

Last American flight out of Da Nang captured on camera 40 years ago today (Mar 29 1975)


Video: 'Vietnam a Television History Episode 11' (Mar. 29, 1975, at 30:24)

(Saturday, March 29, 1975; during the The Hue–Da Nang Campaign of the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — Against official American advice, a World Airways jet with company president Ed Daley aboard made a perilous landing today at Da Nang for one last rescue mission.

Daley wanted to save women and children first, but desperate South Vietnamese soldiers jammed into the airplane. They scrambled into the baggage compartment and clung to the stairway as the plane took off.

100,000 refugees crowd Da Nang by 40 years ago today (Mar 21 1975)


Video: 'Vietnam a Television History Episode 11' (Mar. 21, 1975, at 29:21)

(Friday, March 21, 1975; during the The Hue–Da Nang Campaign of the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — 100,000 refugees, many of them troops and their families, had crowded into Da Nang by today as South Vietnam’s collapse intensified.

General to LBJ: Vietnam ‘could take five years and 500,000 men’ 50 years ago today (Mar 15 1965)


Video: 'American Experience Lyndon B Johnson PBS Documentary' (Mar. 15, 1965, at 30:56)

(Monday, March 15, 1965, during the the Vietnam War, the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson Johnson met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff today and General Harold K. Johnson made a prediction that sent a shock wave through the room: “To win the war,” he said, “it could take five years and 500,000 men.”

Thieu orders South Vietnamese forces to abandon northern, central provinces 40 years ago this hour (Mar 14 1975)


Video: 'Vietnam a Television History Episode 11' (Mar. 14, 1975, at 27:04)

(Friday, March 14, 1975, 11:00 a.m. ICT; during the Battle of Ban Me Thuot, part of the Vietnam War, the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu today ordered his forces to abandon the northern and central provinces and form a new line of defense further south.

But, hoping to avoid panic, he did not announce the withdrawal or reveal his plans. As the rumors flew, fear spread. Nobody knew what to believe and nobody wanted to be left behind.