the bay of pigs invasion had failed miserably in April 1961
USA had imposed sanctions on sugar and raw materials on Cuba
Nikita Khrushchev and Castro had become trading buddies after the humiliation of the bay of pigs trading sugar, food, weapons and advisers
this put a communist state in the USAs backyard
some within the USSR say that Khrushchev wasnāt aggressive towards America. that he was too weak and in the past had appeased them.
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
USSR didnāt have a base close enough to America to strike from
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
In August 1962 ,30 soviet ships with mystery cargos arrive in Cuba
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
America was sceptical and sent U2 plains over cuban skies which took pics of the sites under construction which were revealed as nuke sites
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
he could do nothing
this allowed them to at least by time
however it was very unpopular
it would be a major success to the USSR
makes Khrushchev look strong
is a threat to US security
attack Cuba with nukes
strike first before the USSR strikes
could lead to a full scale nuclear war
and air strike on cuban missile bases
destroy the missiles and the sites in Cuba
war with Cuba and maybe the USSR
not guaranteed that all of them would be destroyed
US casualties
blockade Cuba with the US navy
limited pressure {could increase later}
the USSR would be forced to fire first to break the blockade
missile sites in Cuba wouldnāt be affected
conflict with USSR and not Cuba
USSR might do the same again to West Berlin
invade with the US army
destroy the missiles and the sites
war with the USSR and maybe Cuba
US casualties estimated about 25,000
soviets might try and invade West Berlin
in 22 October Kennedy announced that he would start the blockade on the 24 October
Cuba was surrounded by 100 American ships
plans for invasion were drawn up {52 bombers armed with nukes that flew patrols}
America did get support for the EU allies
the soviet thought that the Americans were bluffing and so they just carried on and were escorted by submarines
this led to a game of brinkmanship {pushing eachother to the brink of war a very deadly game}
the USSR had pulled back from direct conflict
U2 pics showed that the missile sights were nearly done being built
and within 80 days millions of Americans could be killed
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
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
the second one was probably from operators in the USSR that had pressured Khrushchev into doing this and from then on out a āhotlineā was developed that allowed direct contact between the USA and USSR
Kennedy was confused about the letters as he didnāt know which one to answer and because turkey was a NATO {North Atlantic treaty org} ally they refused to be traded off
so Kennedy answered to the first letter. and if the USSR hadnāt answered by the 29 October then the USA would invade Cuba
on the 28 October Khrushchev accepted his offer and within 2 months there were no traces of the missiles on Cuba
alongside their power both countries had responsibilities towards the rest of the world
brinkmanship
Moscow and Washington should be in closer contact in 1963 a hotline was developed
nuclear arms talks should begin in august 1963 a test ban treaty was signed between the two countries
the direct conflict of both powers should be avoided anywhere
Kennedy gained respect Khrushchev lost respect
americas alls were not happy about not being consulted before making the decisions everyone else ecepted that there wasnāt enough time to consult except France and left NATO
the Chinese openly condemned the withdraw of the missiles and their relationship with the USSR crumbled