the Arctic 1949: North Atlantic Treaty

World War II left the United States and the Soviet Union as the dominant powers in Europe. Relations between the two began to deteriorate almost immediately, especially after US concerns over the Soviet installment of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe prompted President Truman to embark on a policy of "containment" by aiding the non-Communist regimes which surrounded the Soviet bloc. As this new "Cold War" heated up, the US and its European allies signed the North Atlantic Treaty, formally creating the NATO alliance to counter any potential Soviet attack.

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Main Events

18 Aug–4 Sep 1945 Kuril Landing Operation ▲

A small detachment of Soviet forces, carried by two mine trawlers from Petropavlovsk, landed on Iturup—largest of the southern islands in the Japanese territory of the Kuril Islands. Urup and the northern islands were then occupied from 22 to 28 August, with the islands south of Iturup falling in early September. On 23 August, the Japanese garrison on the islands was ordered to surrender, although resistance continued in some areas until 4 September. in wikipedia

28 Aug 1945–28 Apr 1952 Occupation of Japan ▲

In Operation Blacklist, United States forces led by Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, occupied Japan with support from the British Commonwealth—the only time in Japanese history that it had been occupied by a foreign power. The occupation transformed Japan into a parliamentary democracy with the Emperor as a figurehead and was effective until the restoration of Japanese sovereignty in 1952. in wikipedia

4 Sep 1945 German surrender on Svalbard ▲

German soldiers garrisoned at Haudegen meteorological station on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, surrendered to a Norwegian sealing vessel after losing radio contact in May. These men were the last German troops involved in World War II to surrender. in wikipedia

? ?? 1946 US bid to buy Greenland ▲

The US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes made an offer to purchase Greenland for the United States for $100,000,000 to Danish Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen during a United Nations meeting in New York. Denmark declined the offer but ultimately accepted US bases on the island. in wikipedia

31 Mar 1949 Newfoundland Act ▲

After a 1948 referendum in Newfoundland narrowly supported union with Canada, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the British North America Act 1949—later renamed the Newfoundland Act—on 23 March 1949. Eight days later, at midnight on 31 March, Newfoundland and its dependency of Labrador joined Canada as its tenth province, Newfoundland. In return, Canada took over much of Newfoundland’s infrastructure and assumed responsibility for its debt. in wikipedia

4 Apr 1949 North Atlantic Treaty ▲

The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington DC, creating a formal alliance—the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO—between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and the United States. The treaty, primarily directed against the Soviet Union, committed each member state to consider any armed attack against another member state, in Europe or North America, to be an attack against them all. in wikipedia