1950s

#### February

* February 14 - The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.
* February 19 - Konrad Adenauer tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with East Germany, to begin unification.

#### March

* March 22 - Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops in the Suez Canal.

#### April

* April 24 - Jordan formally annexes the West Bank.

#### June

* June 24 - Korean War begins.
* June 27 - UN Security Council Resolution 83 adopted.
* June 28 - Korean War: North Korean forces capture Seoul, but do not win the war.

#### July

* July 7 - UN Security Council Resolution 84 adopted.
* July 14 - 21 - Korean War: Battle of Taejon: North Korean forces capture the city held by the U.S. 24th Infantry Division, but the delay allows establishment of the Pusan Perimeter.

#### August

* August 17 - Korean War: Hill 303 massacre: 39 U.S. soldiers are executed, after being captured in battle by North Korea.
* August 19 - Korean War: Pusan Perimeter complete.

#### September

* September 12 - Communist riots erupt in Berlin.
* September 19 - West Germany decides to purge communist officials.
* September 26 - Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.

#### October

* October 7 - Battle of Chamdo: The incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China, begins with the Chinese People's Liberation Army invading across the Jinsha River. By October 19 they will have taken the border town of Chamdo, and the Tibetan army will have surrendered.

#### November

* November 4 - The United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain.
* November 10 - Korean War: Battle of Inchon.
* November 12 - Korean War: Pusan Offensive launched.
* November 22 - Anti-British riots erupt in Egypt.

### **1951**

RNZAF takes delivery of 12 English Electric Canberra Bombers and 3 C-124C Globemaster II Multi-Purpose Transports.

RNZN decommissions 1 Loch Class Frigate, HMNZS Tutira.

#### January

* January 9 - Korean War: UN Offensive begins.
* January 12 - Korean War: UN troops reach and cross the 38th Parallel.

#### February

* February 15 - The 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute begins, lasting for 151 days.
* February 27 - The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.

#### March

* March 7 - 31 - Korean War: Siege of Pyongyang.
* March 14 - West Germany joins UNESCO.

#### April

* April 18 - The Treaty of Paris (1951) is adopted, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community.

#### May

* May 15 - A military coup occurs in Bolivia.
* May 23 - The Tibetan government signs the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, with the People's Republic of China.

#### July

* July 10 - A formal peace agreement between Canada and Germany is signed.

#### August

* August 22 - Korean War: China enters the war on the side of North Korea.
* August 25 - Korean War: Furthest advance north of UN forces.

#### September

* September 3 - Australia and New Zealand sign a mutual defense pact, the ANZD Treaty.
* September 8
	+ Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, 48 representatives out of 51 attending sign a peace treaty with Japan, formally ending the Pacific War; the delegations of the Soviet Union, Poland and Czechoslovakia do not sign the treaty, instead favoring separate treaties.
	+ The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which allows United States Armed Forces to be stationed in Japan after the occupation of Japan, is signed by Japan and the United States.
* September 9 - Chinese Communist forces move into Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
* September 20 - NATO accepts Greece and Turkey as members.
* September 29 - The United Nations General Assembly declares that China is an aggressor in the Korean War, in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 498.

#### October

* October 1 - 6 - Korean War: Battle of Maryang-san: United Nations (primarily Australian) forces drive back the Chinese.
* October 5 - Korean War: UN forces are pushed south of the 38th Parallel.
* October 19 - The state of war between the United States and Germany is officially ended.
* October 26 - Winston Churchill is re-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (a month before his 77th birthday) in a general election which sees the defeat of Clement Attlee's Labour government, after 6 years in power.

#### November

* November 2 - 6,000 British troops flown into Egypt to quell unrest in the Suez Canal zone.

#### December

* December 6 - A state of emergency is declared in Egypt, due to increasing riots.
* December 12 - Korean War: Siege of Pusan begins.
* December 24 - Libya becomes independent from Italy; Idris I is proclaimed King.
* December 31 - The Marshall Plan expires, after distributing more than $13.3 billion US in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

### **1952**

RNZN commissions 4 Bathurst Class Corvettes, HMNZS's Echuca, Inverell, Kiama, and Stawell, and 2 Rothesay Class Frigates, HMNZS's Otago, and Taranaki.

#### January

* January 8 - West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders.
* January 26 - Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.

#### February

* February 6 - George VI dies aged 56.
* February 7 - Elizabeth II proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom at St James's Palace, London, England.
* February 15 - The funeral of George VI takes place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
* February 26
	+ United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that the United Kingdom has an atomic bomb.

#### March

* March 5 - 10 - Korean War: Evacuation of Pusan.
* March 11 - Korean War: North Korean forces capture Pusan.
* March 12 - Korean War: South Korean Government formally capitulates.
* March 14 - Korean War ends.
* March 20 - The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.

#### April

* April 15 - The United States B-52 Stratofortress flies for the first time.
* April 28 - The Treaty of San Francisco goes into effect, formally ending the war between Japan and the Allies, and simultaneously ending the occupation of the four main Japanese islands by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

#### May

* May 1 - East Germany threatens to form its own army.

#### June

* June 15 - Anne Frank's *The Diary of a Young Girl* is published in English-language translation.

#### July

* July 13 - East Germany announces the formation of its National People's Army.
* July 25 - Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.

#### August

* August 5 - The Treaty of Taipei between Japan and the Republic of China goes into effect, to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
* August 27 - Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg: Germany will pay 3 billion Deutsche Marks.
* August 30 - The last Finnish war reparations are sent to the Soviet Union.

#### September

* September 15 - The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia.
* September 18 - The Soviet Union vetoes Japan's application for membership in the United Nations.

#### October

* October 3 - The first British nuclear weapon is detonated in Australia, making the United Kingdom the third nuclear weapons state.
* October 20 - Martial law is declared in Kenya, due to the Mau Mau uprising.

#### November

* November 1 - Nuclear testing and Operation Ivy: The United States successfully detonates the first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, with a yield of 10.4 megatons.
* November 4 - 1952 United States presidential election: Republican General Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Democratic Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson.

#### December

* December 4 - The Great Smog of London: A severe air-pollution event.

### **1954**

First year that New Zealand holds the non-permanent UN Security Council Commonwealth Seat.

### **1955**

RNZAF takes delivery of 2 C-133A Cargomaster Multi-Purpose Transports.

Second year that New Zealand holds the non-permanent UN Security Council Commonwealth Seat.

### **1956**

RNZN commissions 2 Leander Class Frigates, HMNZS's Waikato, and Canterbury, and 1 Dido Class Cruiser HMNZS Royalist.

RNZN decommissions 1 Dido Class Cruiser HMNZS Bellona.

### **1957**

RNZAF takes delivery of 10 F-100D Super Sabre multirole fighters.

### **1958**

RNZAF takes delivery of 35 A-4D Skyhawk close air support aircraft and 10 B-66 Destroyer bombers.

RNZN commissions 2 Leander Class Frigates, HMNZS's Wellington, and Southland.

### **1959**

RNZAF takes delivery of 2 HP.80 K2 Victor tankers.

RNZN commissions 1 Parry Class Cruiser, HMNZS Parry.