Operation provoked a massive expansion in international activity after the war. Chile organized its First Chilean Antarctic Expedition in 1947–48. Among other accomplishments, it brought the Chilean president Gabriel González Videla to personally inaugurate one of its bases, thereby becoming the first head of state to set foot on the continent. Signy Research Station (UK) was established in 1947, Australia's Mawson Station in 1954, Dumont d'Urville Station was the first French station in 1956. In that same year, the United States built McMurdo Station and Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, and the Soviet Union built Mirny Station.