the cuban missile crisis

leading up to the crisis

1. the bay of pigs invasion had failed miserably in April 1961

2. USA had imposed sanctions on sugar and raw materials on Cuba

3. Nikita Khrushchev and Castro had become trading buddies after the humiliation of the bay of pigs trading sugar, food, weapons and advisers

4. this put a communist state in the USAs backyard

why were there missiles in Cuba?

political reasons

1. some within the USSR say that Khrushchev wasn’t aggressive towards America. that he was too weak and in the past had appeased them.

2. and so a message needed to be sent out and since Cuba and the USSR were buddies putting missiles there would act as a deterrent against another attack like the bay of pigs

military reasons

1. USSR didn’t have a base close enough to America to strike from

2. Cuba was only 90 lies away it would be a great advantage as its would put the USA and the USSR on equal terms since America had placed missiles in turkey

the crisis starts

1. In August 1962 ,30 soviet ships with mystery cargos arrive in Cuba

2. in September 1962 America became worried about the military bases in Cuba. and Kennedy had warned Khrushchev not to put any nukes in Cuba. but Khrushchev said he had no intention of doing so

3. America was sceptical and sent U2 plains over cuban skies which took pics of the sites under construction which were revealed as nuke sites

4. these missiles were aimed at the most important state capitals in the USA stretching just as far as salt lake city. leaving out only LA, san Fransisco and Seattle

what could Kennedy do about Russia exporting missiles to Cuba??

❌option 1

1. he could do nothing

2. this allowed them to at least by time

3. however it was very unpopular

4. it would be a major success to the USSR

5. makes Khrushchev look strong

6. is a threat to US security

❌option 2

1. attack Cuba with nukes

2. strike first before the USSR strikes

3. could lead to a full scale nuclear war

❌option 3

1. and air strike on cuban missile bases

2. destroy the missiles and the sites in Cuba

3. war with Cuba and maybe the USSR

4. not guaranteed that all of them would be destroyed

5. US casualties

✅option 4

1. blockade Cuba with the US navy

2. limited pressure {could increase later}

3. the USSR would be forced to fire first to break the blockade

4. missile sites in Cuba wouldn’t be affected

5. conflict with USSR and not Cuba

6. USSR might do the same again to West Berlin

❌option 5

1. invade with the US army

2. destroy the missiles and the sites

3. war with the USSR and maybe Cuba

4. US casualties estimated about 25,000

5. soviets might try and invade West Berlin

what America did

1. in 22 October Kennedy announced that he would start the blockade on the 24 October

2. Cuba was surrounded by 100 American ships

3. plans for invasion were drawn up {52 bombers armed with nukes that flew patrols}

4. America did get support for the EU allies

how did the soviets react?

1. the soviet thought that the Americans were bluffing and so they just carried on and were escorted by submarines

2. this led to a game of brinkmanship {pushing eachother to the brink of war a very deadly game}

the screws tighten

1. the USSR had pulled back from direct conflict

2. U2 pics showed that the missile sights were nearly done being built

3. and within 80 days millions of Americans could be killed

4. on Friday 26 October Kennedy got a letter from Khrushchev and offered to remove the missiles from Cuba if Kennedy promised to not invade Cuba and to end the blockade

5. however the next morning another letter arrived from Khrushchev wanting the US to remove the missiles in turkey and the USSR would remove the missiles from Cuba

6. the second one was probably from operators in the USSR that had pressured Khrushchev into doing this and from then on out a “hotline” was developed that allowed direct contact between the USA and USSR

crisis point

1. Kennedy was confused about the letters as he didn’t know which one to answer and because turkey was a NATO {North Atlantic treaty org} ally they refused to be traded off

2. so Kennedy answered to the first letter. and if the USSR hadn’t answered by the 29 October then the USA would invade Cuba

3. on the 28 October Khrushchev accepted his offer and within 2 months there were no traces of the missiles on Cuba

lessons of Cuba

1. alongside their power both countries had responsibilities towards the rest of the world

2. brinkmanship

3. Moscow and Washington should be in closer contact in 1963 a hotline was developed

4. nuclear arms talks should begin in august 1963 a test ban treaty was signed between the two countries

5. the direct conflict of both powers should be avoided anywhere

6. Kennedy gained respect Khrushchev lost respect

7. americas alls were not happy about not being consulted before making the decisions everyone else ecepted that there wasn’t enough time to consult except France and left NATO

8. the Chinese openly condemned the withdraw of the missiles and their relationship with the USSR crumbled