Cuban missile crisis

In the 1950s, communist Fidel Castro leads a revolution in Cuba. He promises the Cuban people freedom from American influence in the country, and from the strict and brutal regime of US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. But once in power, Castro uses many of the same tactics as his predecessor. Anyone who criticises him or his policies faces imprisonment or death. Thousands of anticommunists flee Cuba, many to the United States.

During this time, the United States is engaged in an ongoing conflict with the communist Soviet Union: the Cold War. Leaders in the United States do not want a communist, Soviet-friendly leader ruling Cuba. So they hatch a plan. First, they train some of the Cubans who have fled to the United States to fight. Then, in 1961, they send them to invade an area of Cuba called the Bay of Pigs.

The American leaders believe that local Cubans will support the invasion and that this will eventually lead the Cuban people to overthrow Castro themselves. But the invasion does not go well: The invaders are outnumbered by Castro’s troops and quickly surrender. Still, the attack makes Castro and his allies in the Soviet Union nervous. Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushcev, decides to send nuclear missiles to Cuba. This will level the playing field, he thinks, since the United States already has nuclear weapons targeted at the Soviets from sites in Western Europe and Turkey.

On 14 October 1962, an American spy plane flying over Cuba discovers the missiles. They are positioned less than 150 kilometres south of the US mainland. They could reach any part of the United States, causing mass destruction. US President, John F. Kennedy, calls his security advisors to an urgent meeting.

They consider their options: Should they try to solve the crisis through talks, or launch a full scale attack on Cuba? Kennedy is worried an attack will start an all-out nuclear war, so he decides on a two-step plan. First, he will use U.S. naval ships to establish a blockade, preventing the Soviets delivering any more weapons to Cuba by sea. Second, he will give an ultimatum that the Soviets begin removing existing missiles, or face a US attack.

In a television broadcast on 22 October, Kennedy announces the discovery of the missiles and presents his ultimatum. He writes to Khrushcev that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba will be regarded as an attack on the United States by the Soviet Union. Khrushcev responds that the Soviets will not back down. Many fear the two sides are on the brink of nuclear war. Their fears are about to increase further… On 24 October, a fleet of Soviet ships carrying military supplies nears the U.S.

blockade. If the Soviets break through, war is certain to erupt. Instead, the Soviet ships stop short of the blockade and eventually turn back. It is a positive sign that war can be avoided… but there is still the problem of the missiles already in Cuba. The standoff continues.

On 27 October, an American spy plane is shot down over Cuba. Kennedy’s advisors urge him to launch air strikes on Cuba, and destroy their weapons. But Kennedy holds off. He remains determined not to escalate the crisis. That night, the president sends Attorney General Robert Kennedy to meet with a Soviet ambassador and offer a top-secret deal to peacefully end the tensions.

The Soviets agree to remove their nuclear missiles from Cuba, while the Americans promise to withdraw their missiles in Turkey. The crisis is over… but the Cold War, and the race to build nuclear weapons, will continue.