The Cuban Missile Crisis

By Hashbrown

  • President JFK's Actions

    On October 20, President Kennedy decided on a blockade of Cuba by the U.S. Navy to prevent further shipments of military supplies to the island. The president decided to use the word “quarantine” instead of the word “blockade” because international law considered a blockade to be an act of war. This option allowed the president to steer a middle course among ExComm’s varied options.

  • Kenndy's Speech

    On the evening of October 22, Kennedy announced in a televised speech to the American public that the Soviets were installing nuclear missiles in Cuba. He then informed the nation of his decision to enforce a quarantine of Cuba until the missiles were removed. At the time, the president expected that the quarantine would be only the first step in a long war of nerves with the Soviets. In his speech, Kennedy warned that “many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead, months in which both

  • Khrushchev's Reaction

    On October 23, he blasted the U.S. quarantine of Cuba as a violation of international law. Khrushchev maintained that the missiles in Cuba, regardless of their type, were meant “exclusively for defensive purposes, in order to secure the Cuban republic from an aggressor’s attack.” He also warned the United States that military aggression toward Cuba might lead to nuclear war.

  • American's Military Actions

    The U.S. naval quarantine went into effect October 24. Initially, Khrushchev ordered Soviet ships to race toward the quarantine line. The Soviets threatened to sink any U.S. vessel that tried to prevent their passage to Cuba. That same day, the government put U.S. nuclear forces on DEFCON 2 alert for the first and only time in history: bombers remained airborne, and missile silo covers were opened in preparation for launching.

  • Soviet Ships

    On October 25, at least a dozen Soviet ships en route to Cuba turned back, but preparations at the missile sites on the island accelerated. Soviets and Cubans started working around the clock to make the missiles operational.

  • Letters

    Two letters Khrushchev wrote to Kennedy marked a new stage in the crisis. The first letter, received October 26, was an emotional appeal apparently composed by Khrushchev himself, calling on Kennedy to avoid the catastrophe of nuclear war. Khrushchev indicated that the Soviet Union would take its missiles out of Cuba in return for a U.S. pledge not to invade the island.

  • Soviet's Military Actions

    War seemed even more likely when Soviet forces shot down a U.S. reconnaissance flight over Cuba on October 27, killing the pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson. The day before Castro had ordered Cuban air defense forces to fire on any U.S. aircraft that flew within range. Meanwhile, ExComm received reports that the missiles in Cuba were about to become operational.

  • Second Letter

    On October 27, a second letter arrived signed by Khrushchev. This letter took a much more hardline position, insisting that the United States remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey in return for a withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. Kennedy found the demands contained in the second letter unacceptable for two reasons. First, Turkey was not willing to have the Jupiter missiles removed. Turkey and other U.S. allies on the Mediterranean counted on U.S. medium-range nuclear missiles to deter a

  • Kenndy's Respond to the letters

    After hours of analyzing and discussing the two letters, Kennedy and his advisers decided to respond only to the first letter and to ignore the second one. On the evening of October 27, the president offered to “give assurances against the invasion of Cuba” and to “remove promptly” the quarantine measures that were in effect. In return, Kennedy expected the Soviets to remove the missiles from Cuba under international observation and supervision.

  • Khrushchev's response to the letters

    On October 27, Khrushchev received President Kennedy’s letter and Ambassador Dobrynin’s report of his meeting with Robert Kennedy. In addition, he received a cable from Castro. The Cuban leader expressed his belief that the United States would invade his island in the coming days and called on Khrushchev to launch nuclear missiles at the United States in response to the expected attack.

  • Castro's Crisis

    While Moscow, Washington, and the rest of the world breathed easier after October 28, Castro kept Cuba on a war footing. He had already ordered the mobilization of 270,000 Cuban soldiers on October 22 in anticipation of a U.S. invasion. Castro was convinced that the United States would not honor its pledge not to invade Cuba. He had believed all along that the Soviet missiles were needed to deter U.S. intervention and defend the Cuban revolution.

  • Peace

    In the weeks following the resolution of the missile crisis, Soviet diplomats pressed Castro to accept the Kennedy-Khrushchev agreement. Castro would not permit U.S. specialists to come to Cuba to verify the removal of the missiles, and he accused the Soviets of abandoning Cuba in the face of U.S. aggression. Verification had to take place in international waters. The Soviet-Cuban talks dragged on until November 19 before Castro reluctantly gave his assent to other aspects of the agreement.