Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense 13-day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union in October 1962. It happened when the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, close to the United States. This brought the world very close to a big war.

The crisis started because the U.S. had placed its own nuclear missiles near the Soviet Union, and the Soviets wanted to protect Cuba. When U.S. spy planes found these missiles, President John F. Kennedy decided to stop more missiles from arriving. He called this a "quarantine" instead of a blockade to avoid calling it a war.

After careful discussions, an agreement was reached. The Soviets agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba, and the United States promised not to invade Cuba again. This crisis showed how important it was for leaders to talk directly to avoid dangerous conflicts. It also led to the creation of a direct communication line, called the Moscow–Washington hotline, between the two countries.

Background

Cuba–Soviet relations

Main article: Escalante affair

In late 1961, Fidel Castro asked the Soviet Union for more SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles. The Soviet leaders did not act at first. During this time, Castro talked with China about getting help. In March 1962, Castro removed Anibal Escalante and his supporters from important positions in Cuba. This worried the Soviet leaders, who feared the United States might invade Cuba. Because of these concerns, the Soviet Union sent more SA-2 missiles and some troops to Cuba in April.

Cuba–US relations

Further information: Operation 40, Bay of Pigs Invasion, and Operation Mongoose

The Cuban government believed that US imperialism caused Cuba’s problems. Before 1958, the US government supported a leader named Fulgencio Batista, who was not popular. After World War II and during the Cold War, the United States worried about the spread of communism.

In 1959, soon after Cuba’s revolution, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under Eisenhower made plans to cause trouble in Cuba. In April 1961, the United States tried to invade Cuba with forces trained by the CIA, called the Bay of Pigs Invasion. This failed and embarrassed the United States. After this, the United States increased its efforts to cause trouble in Cuba. Because of these threats, Cuba felt it needed to protect itself.

US–Soviet relations

Main article: Missile gap

See also: Berlin Crisis of 1961

When John F. Kennedy was running for president in 1960, he talked about a “missile gap” where he thought the Soviets had more missiles. But in fact, the United States had more. By 1961, the Soviets had only four long-range missiles, while the United States had many more, including submarines that could launch missiles. The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, said the Soviets were making lots of missiles, but this was not true. The United States had more advanced weapons and more nuclear bombs. However, the Soviets had more traditional soldiers and tanks in Europe.

Khrushchev thought Kennedy was not very strong. He felt this way because of how Kennedy acted during the Berlin Crisis of 1961, especially when the Berlin Wall was built. Khrushchev believed Kennedy would make a lot of noise but then give in.

Prelude

Conception

In May 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. He wanted to balance the advantage the United States had in missiles. At that time, the Soviet Union had only 20 long-range missiles that could reach the United States, and they were not very reliable. The new, better missiles would not be ready until 1965.

Khrushchev also wanted to protect Cuba from possible attacks by the United States. There had been many tensions between the two countries, including attempts to invade Cuba and economic sanctions. By placing missiles in Cuba, Khrushchev hoped to make any attack on Cuba harder for the United States.

Another reason was to support Cuba, which saw the United States as a threat. The Soviet Union had become a close friend of Cuba after its revolution in 1959.

Soviet military deployments

In early 1962, Soviet military leaders met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. They agreed to secretly place nuclear missiles in Cuba to protect the island and to challenge the United States. The plan, called Operation Anadyr, was kept very secret. Soldiers were told they were going to a cold region and were given winter clothes, even though Cuba has a tropical climate.

American intelligence began to suspect that missile sites were being built in Cuba. Spy planes saw new military equipment and reported their findings. The crisis became a big issue in American politics before the upcoming elections.

The first Soviet missiles arrived in Cuba in September 1962. These missiles could carry huge explosions and were able to reach targets far away. The Soviet Union continued to deny that these were offensive weapons, but the United States grew more and more worried.

Missiles reported

The Soviet Union planned to put missiles in Cuba. These missiles could reach most of the United States. People in Cuba saw large trucks moving at night with long covered objects. This worried American intelligence workers.

Aerial confirmation

The United States used special planes called U-2s to watch Cuba from the sky. These flights stopped for a while because of worries about other planes being shot down. When the flights started again, a U-2 took pictures showing Soviet missiles being built in Cuba.

President notified

On October 15, 1962, experts looked at the U-2 pictures and saw what looked like missiles. The next day, President Kennedy was told about the missiles. He talked to his team and got ready to respond.

Responses considered

The team talked about different ways to respond. They thought about doing nothing, using diplomacy, attacking the missiles, or blocking ships. They worried about how this would affect relations with the Soviet Union and global power.

The military leaders wanted to attack, but President Kennedy thought this might cause bigger problems. He was concerned about how it would look to allies and the world.

Experts talked about whether the missiles would change the balance of power. Some thought it would not make a big difference, while others worried about the political impact.

On October 18, 1962, Kennedy spoke with a Soviet official who said the weapons were for defense only, though Kennedy already knew this was not true.

Operational plans

There were two big plans to handle the situation. The first plan, called OPLAN 316, was about invading Cuba using soldiers from the Army and Marines, with help from ships and airplanes. But this plan had problems, like not enough special vehicles or ships to carry the soldiers.

The second plan, OPLAN 312, was mostly for the Air Force and Navy ships. This plan could be used in different ways, from attacking specific missile spots to helping the first plan’s ground forces.

Blockade

Kennedy spoke with his advisers and considered two options: an air strike against Cuban missile bases or a naval blockade of Cuba. A full invasion was not the first choice. McNamara liked the naval blockade because it was strong but limited, keeping control with the US. The word "blockade" was tricky because international law sees it as an act of war, but the Kennedy team thought the Soviets wouldn’t attack over just a blockade. Legal experts from the State Department and Justice Department said they could avoid war by using the Rio Treaty for defending the Western Hemisphere, needing a two-thirds vote from the Organization of American States.

On October 19, a group of advisers looked at both the air strike and blockade plans. By October 21, most supported the blockade. But there was worry that once the blockade started, the Soviets might finish setting up missiles.

Speech to the nation

At 3:00 pm EDT on October 22, 1962, President Kennedy set up a special committee with a special order. At 5:00 pm, he spoke with leaders of Congress. In Moscow, the US Ambassador told Soviet leader Khrushchev about the coming blockade and Kennedy’s speech. Ambassadors worldwide told leaders not in the Eastern Bloc about it. Before the speech, US teams talked to leaders like the Prime Minister of Canada, the Prime Minister of Britain, the Leader of West Germany, the President of France, and the head of the Organization of American States. They all supported the US.

Just before speaking, Kennedy called former President Dwight Eisenhower. The two talked about how they thought Khrushchev might react.

At 7:00 pm EDT on October 22, Kennedy spoke on TV to the nation, telling them about finding missiles in Cuba. He said:

Kennedy explained the plan:

To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated.

During the speech, US forces around the world were put on higher alert. The heavy cruiser USS Newport News was the main ship for the blockade, with the USS Leary as its escort.

Crisis deepens

On October 23, 1962, US Air Force and Navy planes started very low flights over Cuba to take photos.

At 11:24 am EDT on October 24, a message from a US official to ambassadors in Turkey and NATO said they were thinking about offering to remove missiles from Italy and Turkey if the Soviets removed theirs from Cuba.

International response

In Britain, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan supported Kennedy’s action.

In West Germany, newspapers supported the US action. The West German government supported the blockade.

In France on October 23, the crisis was on the front page of all newspapers. French President Charles de Gaulle fully supported Kennedy.

On October 24, Pope John XXIII sent a message to the Soviet embassy in Rome, asking for peace.

Three days after Kennedy’s speech, a Chinese newspaper said that 650 million Chinese people supported Cuba.

The Organization of American States supported the US naval blockade, said the Soviet missiles in Cuba were wrong, and voted to stop more attack weapons from reaching Cuba.

Soviet broadcast and communications

The crisis kept getting worse. On the evening of October 24, 1962, the Soviet news agency broadcast a message from Khrushchev to Kennedy. Later that night, Khrushchev sent another message to Kennedy. The Soviet Union called the blockade an “act of aggression” and said their ships would ignore it.

US alert level raised

The US asked for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on October 25. The US ambassador to the United Nations talked to the Soviet ambassador and asked him to say if the missiles were there. The Soviet ambassador would not answer. At 10:00 pm EDT the next day, the US put its Strategic Air Command forces on higher alert.

Blockade challenged

At 7:15 am EDT on October 25, the USS Essex and USS Gearing tried to stop the Bucharest but could not. Later that day at 5:43 pm, the blockade commander told the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. to stop and check the Lebanese ship Marucla. This happened the next day, and after checking the goods, Marucla was allowed to pass.

Raising the stakes

The next morning, October 26, Kennedy told his advisers that he thought only an invasion would remove the missiles from Cuba. He was convinced to wait and keep up military and diplomatic pressure. He agreed and ordered more low-level flights over the island.

The growing danger also made Khrushchev stop plans to possibly attack Albania with the Warsaw Pact.

Secret negotiations

On October 26, 1962, a reporter named John Scali met with a Soviet official named Aleksandr Fomin. Fomin warned that war might be coming. He asked Scali to speak with important US leaders. He suggested that if the United States promised not to invade Cuba, the Soviet Union would remove its weapons from the island.

Later that day, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev sent a letter to US President John F. Kennedy. In the letter, Khrushchev proposed that the Soviet Union would remove its weapons from Cuba if the United States removed weapons from Turkey and promised not to invade Cuba.

The next day, October 27, another message arrived from Khrushchev. This time, he offered to remove the weapons from Cuba if the United States removed weapons from Italy and Turkey. US officials debated this offer, as they were worried about trading weapons with the Soviet Union.

During this tense time, there were several close calls that could have led to more conflict. Leaders on both sides worked to calm the situation and avoid war. Through careful negotiation and communication, they reached a resolution that prevented a major conflict.

Resolution

On October 27, leaders made an agreement. The United States agreed to remove missiles from Turkey. The Soviet Union agreed to remove missiles from Cuba. This helped avoid a big war.

The leader of the Soviet Union agreed to the United States' demands. On October 28, he announced that the Soviet Union would remove their missiles from Cuba. The United States agreed to remove missiles from Turkey. The leader of the United States accepted this to prevent fighting.

The United States kept watching Cuba to make sure the missiles were being removed. Over the next few weeks, ships carried the missiles away. The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to set up a direct communication line to help avoid future crises.

Nuclear forces

In October 1962, the United States had many nuclear weapons, and the Soviet Union had some too. The U.S. planned to use many of these weapons to attack the Soviet Union. The Soviets had moved some weapons to Cuba.

The United States had many types of nuclear missiles and bombers ready to use. The Soviet Union also had missiles and bombers ready. The United Kingdom had bombers and missiles as part of its forces.

Aftermath

Cuban leadership

After the crisis, Cuba felt let down by the Soviet Union. Fidel Castro was upset because important issues were not discussed. This led to cooler relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Romanian leadership

During the crisis, Romania's leader, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, sent a message to the American president. He said Romania did not support the Soviet actions. This showed Romania wanted to be more independent.

Soviet leadership

After the crisis, Soviet leader Khrushchev wanted to reduce tensions with the United States. He suggested ideas to avoid future nuclear crises. These ideas led to the creation of the Moscow–Washington hotline and a treaty to stop testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere.

US leadership

After the crisis, the United States returned to a less urgent state of readiness. Some American leaders thought the outcome was not ideal. The crisis influenced future American foreign policy.

Chinese leadership

China was angry about how the Soviet Union and the United States solved the crisis. They criticized the Soviet Union for giving in to the Americans.

Human casualties

A U.S. pilot, Anderson, was honored after his death. Several other military crew members died in plane crashes during the crisis.

Later revelations

Submarine close call

Many years after the event, people learned about a scary moment during the Cuban Missile Crisis. On October 27, 1962, American ships found a Soviet submarine near Cuba. The submarine carried a nuclear weapon, but the people on it could not receive messages. The American ships tried to get the submarine to come up by dropping charges into the water. The captain thought this meant war had started and wanted to use the weapon. But one officer disagreed, and because all senior officers had to agree, the weapon was not used. The submarine finally came to the surface.

Possibility of nuclear launch

We now know that during the crisis, Soviet forces in Cuba had nuclear weapons. If the United States had invaded, the leader of Cuba said he would have recommended using these weapons.

In popular culture

American TV and media often talked about the Cuban Missile Crisis in shows and documentaries. Many people think this event was very important in American history. Over time, some wrong ideas and stories about what happened appeared.

Historian William Cohn said that TV was a main way Americans learned about past events. According to Cold War historian Andrei Kozovoi, Soviet media had a hard time telling a clear story. Leader Khrushchev lost his position and was removed from the story, and Cuba was no longer shown as a brave underdog fighting against powerful America. There were also different Soviet messages about peace and getting ready for war against America.