It was a moment in time that almost ended it all for the human race, the ultimate game
of brinkmanship.
This is the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1962, Cuba.
The Soviet Union has been welcomed with open arms by the Fidel Castro regime.
Seen as a guarantor of Cuban independence from the United States, the Cuban-Soviet alliance
is vital for Castro, and a strategic coup for the Soviet Union.
With Miami only 80 miles away, Cuba gives the Soviets airbases and naval facilities
from which to do something no foreign power has been able to do in over 150 years- threaten
the American homeland.
But Nikita Kruschev, premier of the Soviet Union, has not taken full advantage of the
strategic importance offered by Cuba, much to Castro's chagrin.
Kruschev knows two things- first, the Soviet navy is unlikely to be able to support Soviet
forces so far from their own shores if facing down the American navy, and second, the presence
of large Soviet military forces eighty miles from the US would be an extreme provocation
that is unlikely to remain unanswered.
This is why it comes as such a surprise to many senior Soviet leaders when Kruschev approves
a plan to station nuclear weapons in Cuba.
If military forces would be a provocation, this was tantamount to a declaration of war.
The plan must be carried out in complete secrecy.
Kruschev's goal is to set up several dozen nuclear capable missiles on Cuba, and then
reveal their existence to American president John F. Kennedy.
He'll use the presence of the missiles as leverage to gain several concessions from
the US in return- chiefly the removal of American nuclear missiles in Turkey and possibly even
the evacuation of West Berlin by NATO forces.
If Kruschev can catch Kennedy by surprise, Kennedy will have no choice but to agree to
the demands- or face down the threat of nuclear missiles capable of reaching Washington in
ten minutes or less.
But American intelligence has kept an expansive spy ring alive and well in Cuba.
Many Cuban citizens may not have liked the Batista dictatorship supported by the US,
but they like Castro and communism even less.
Rumors circulate about a large influx of Soviet military personnel, disguised as agriculture
experts and civil engineers.
Movement of Soviet equipment across the island has been spotted and reported to American
field agents, who relay the information back to their handlers on the mainland.
The intelligence community is convinced- there are Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba.
But nobody else believes them, they must gather evidence.
October 14th, 1962.
A U-2 spy plane piloted by Major Richard Heyser takes off from an airfield in Florida and
heads for Cuba.
Flying at extreme heights, the plane is difficult to target with ground-based weapons, and Cuban
radar operators aren't as alert as they should be.
The plane takes thousands of photographs of suspected Soviet military sites on the island
before returning home.
The film roll, over 3 miles in length, is rushed to be analyzed by intelligence specialists.
The specialists have been cooperating with experts in Soviet nuclear missile sites, and
with their knowledge confirm the presence of several sites on Cuba which look exactly
like known nuclear sites in the USSR.
The greatest existential threat the United States has ever faced has just been confirmed.
As the news is rushed to President Kennedy, the Soviets continue their work.
They cover their launchers with camouflage netting during the day and work strictly at
night to avoid detection.
Kruschev monitors their progress carefully.
If the missiles can remain undetected, in just over a week they will be active and he'll
have achieved the greatest strategic victory in Russian history.
October 16th.
President John F. Kennedy has called an immediate meeting of Ex-Comm, a team of his most senior
advisors and Pentagon officials.
The photos are analyzed and scrutinized.
American intelligence confirms the locations of the missiles, brought to Cuba aboard Soviet
freighters and carefully hidden from public view during the transit.
Kennedy asks how long it'll take for the missiles to be active.
Estimates vary, but most agree it'll take just over a week.
The President needs options, and he needs them fast.
Air Force Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay, the legendary World War II bulldog bomber
commander, has an immediate answer.
“Bomb the sum' bitches”, he responds.
The United States has the largest strategic bomber fleet in the world, and LeMay's Air
Force can level the missile sites in a matter of hours.
The other military advisors in the room agree with LeMay, strongly favoring immediate military
action.
The US Marines, supported by the Navy and Army, can have a foothold in Cuba with just
a few days preparation time.
The missiles, Castro, and the Soviets could all be out of the Western Hemisphere by the
end of the week.
Kennedy's non-military advisors are horrified, and Kennedy shares their objections.
A military strike would kill thousands of Soviet personnel and risk escalating the conflict.
Kruschev would be likely to take retaliatory action in Germany- particularly against West
Berlin where 15,000 NATO forces are surrounded by over a hundred thousand eastern bloc forces.
The heated argument lasts for hours, and finally Kennedy is given three options: an air attack
and possible invasion of Cuba, diplomacy with Castro and Kruschev, or a naval quarantine
of the island.
Kennedy immediately takes to the quarantine idea, though is careful to phrase it as a
quarantine and not a blockade as that would technically be considered an act of war.
However, Kennedy needs more time to prepare the US navy and to consider how to execute
the quarantine.
Soviet ships frequently travel to the island nation, and he needs to mull the decision
over.
He knows the Soviets may call his bluff, and American seamen may be forced to fire on Soviet
ships, with unknown repercussions.
To the rest of the world, the American government seems to be pursuing business as usual.
Soviet intelligence is confident that the US still doesn't know about the missiles.
Congressional elections are coming up shortly, and Kennedy goes on the campaign trail for
fellow Democrats, acting as if everything is perfectly fine.
Behind the scenes though, the US military is preparing for conflict.
America's silent service, its fleet of submarines, begin a hunt for Soviet ballistic missile
subs and then shadow them.
In the case of war, they'll be sunk before having a chance to fire.
American journalists however are beginning to grow suspicious.
Leaks from within the White House have led to rumors of imminent military action against
Cuba.
The rumors, completely unsubstantiated, then begin to hint at the presence of nuclear weapons
on the island.
A Washington correspondent spots a dinner meeting of senior military leadership and
Cuban policy experts and presses for answers, but the men refuse to answer.
One major editorial finally has enough evidence to go to press with a bombshell story about
Soviet weapons in Cuba, and President Kennedy himself personally asks the editor of the
paper to not publish the story.
The editor agrees, giving Kennedy more time to prepare his response.
Kennedy leaves the campaign trail in order to meet with senior advisors, and at a daily
press briefing reporters demand to know if rumors that the President returned to Washington
to discuss a military matter of great significance are true.
The White House press secretary assures the reporters that the President was simply suffering
from a worsening cold.
The Soviets however are growing suspicious that their weapons have been made by the Americans.
Their fears are confirmed when on the morning of October 22nd, the White House press secretary
announces that the president will address all Americans on a matter of vital national
importance that very evening.
As the sun sets across America, President John F. Kennedy addresses the United States
and the world over television and radio.
The President confirms the presence of Soviet nuclear weapons on Cuba, as well as the assembling
of Soviet strategic bombers and the creation of support air fields.
He lambasts the Soviet Union for lying about the defensive nature of the military buildup
on the island.
Kennedy then announces a naval quarantine of the island, stating that any ships discovered
to be carrying weapons will be turned back, and the quarantine will be strictly enforced.
He also makes it clear that any nuclear weapon launched against any target in the western
hemisphere will be considered as an act of war against the United States itself.
Thousands of miles away, Kruschev and his cabinet pay close attention to Kennedy's speech.
Kruschev is actually greatly relieved- he had expected, and been preparing for, military
action.
However, Kennedy's quarantine is a clear signal that he's willing to negotiate.
That night, Kruschev sends his own signal to Washington by attending the opera where
an American performer is currently headlining.
He meets with the American and together they discuss peace.
But the fate of the world may be out of the hands of the two men who's militaries are
preparing to go to war against each other, and in the hands of those very soldiers.
Back in the US, the American navy is steaming into position around Cuba and closing the
cordon.
With twenty ships already on their way from the Soviet Union, tensions are sky-high.
Standing orders are to issue radio warnings to turn back.
If any ship refuses, a single warning shot across the bow will be fired.
If the ship still refuses to turn back, American ships are authorized to fire in order to disable
the ship.
Still several hundred miles out, the Soviet ships however are not showing any signs of
stopping or turning around.
Further ratcheting tensions, the American secret SOSUS underwater surveillance program
confirms the presence of Soviet submarines moving into the Caribbean.
Back in Washington, an American reporter is getting a drink at a bar and chatting with
a friend.
He remarks that he's soon to be attached with a Marine landing force.
The bartender overhears the chatter, and moves down the bar to where a Soviet reporter is
drinking.
The bartender taunts the Soviet, telling him that soon the US will be invading Cuba.
The Soviet is not just a prominent reporter though, he's a KGB agent.
The next day, the Soviet ambassador meets with the American reporter, and over dinner
attempts to pump him for information about a possible invasion of Cuba.
The reporter simply warns the ambassador not to underestimate the resolve of the United
States.
October 25th, the eastern Caribbean.
Soviet freighters full of arms are approaching the quarantine zone.
They've ignored all warnings to turn back.
American ships sound battle stations- but at the last minute, the ships suddenly change
course and sail back for Europe.
The oil tanker Bucharest however refuses to turn back.
American captains are under orders to not fire without express authorization from the
President himself.
Kennedy is informed of the tanker's refusal.
His advisors warn him that if they allow the tanker through, it'll only encourage other
Soviet ships to break the quarantine as well.
Kennedy decides to risk it, and allows the tanker to dock in Cuba.
The next day, Fidel Castro sends a letter to Kruschev imploring him to launch a nuclear
first strike against the United States.
He's willing to sacrifice his island and his people for the cause of global revolution
if it means the US will also burn in flames.
Kruschev ignores the letter, and writes one of his own to Kennedy, penning a strong emotional
appeal for both sides to find a peaceful resolution and not “doom the world to the catastrophe
of thermonuclear war.”
Kennedy receives the letter and considers it.
It poses great political risk for both sides.
If the letter is leaked, Kruschev could appear weak to the Soviet people and his allies.
If Kennedy takes the letter at face value and it turns out to be nothing more than a
manipulative ploy, Kennedy could appear extremely naive.
Back in Cuba, the Americans are now keeping tabs on the progress of the missile buildup
with the use of U-2 spy planes.
The planes are detected by Cuban radar, but the anti-air missiles are under the command
of Soviet units.
Soviet forces are under strict orders to not fire without Kremlin authorization.
October 27th, high in the sky over Cuba, an American U-2 is flying a reconnaissance mission.
Major Rudolf Anderson has been detected and tracked by Cuban radar.
Soviet missiles have a good lock on the American plane.
Inexplicably, the Soviet ground commander gives the order to fire.
A telephone-pole sized missile streaks up into the sky.
In minutes it explodes under the belly of the U-2, tearing it into pieces.
Shrapnel from the explosion rips through the cockpit, fatally wounding Major Anderson.
The first shot of World War III may have just been fired.
Unknown to the Soviets, the White House had already decided even before the U-2 took flight
that if it was shot down, they wouldn't even meet- a military response would be immediately
launched.
What the Americans don't know however is that Soviet strategic nuclear weapons are already
operational, and more than capable of annihilating an American invasion force.
Luckily for the world, the White House goes back on their original plan and decides to
meet and discuss the incident instead of launching a military strike.
As the Americans debate their response however, yet another provocation is about to launch
global thermonuclear war.
Soviet submarines have been tracked by the Americans across the Caribbean, and now one
has been detected loitering near the quarantine zone.
Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine B-59 has been running deep and silent in order to avoid
the American navy, but its batteries are nearly exhausted.
It's now loitering on the surface and running its diesel engines in order to recharge onboard
batteries when the crew spot two American destroyers steaming directly at them.
The captain calls for an emergency crash dive, and the sub gets under the waves just a minute
before the Americans arrive.
The two destroyers begin dropping practice depth charges around the submarine's location.
These charges are used in training and contain little explosive charge, and are meant to
signal to the submarine that it must surface.
However, the Soviet crew don't know that the US is dropping training charges, and to make
matters worse they have been out of radio contact with Moscow for days due to their
need to run deep and silent.
When they surfaced they'd been monitoring US civilian radio for signs of how the crisis
was playing out- the submariners fear that war has already broken out.
Unknown to the Americans above, the B-59 is equipped with a nuclear-tipped torpedo, and
believing that they are under attack and war has broken out, Captain Valetin Savitsky and
political officer Ivan Semyonovish Maslennikov both approve launch of the nuclear torpedo.
However, Vasily Arkhipov, commander of the submarine flotilla B-59 is a part of, does
not give his consent.
On any other Soviet submarine, only two officers must give consent, but with Arkhipov aboard,
all three must agree.
The launch is aborted, and the B-59 surfaces to re-establish contact with Moscow.
Nuclear war is once more, just barely avoided.
On October 28th, Kruschev concedes to Kennedy's demand that the missiles be withdrawn.
The American ambassador has already informed him that American missiles in Turkey were
going to be removed anyways, but the plan couldn't be made public.
Kennedy and Kruschev have come to an agreement- the missiles in Cuba will be removed and America
will remove its own missiles from Turkey.
The apparent 'concession' by the US gives Kruschev just enough to save face in front
of the Politburo.
But there still doesn't exist a direct line between Moscow and Washington, and sending
a telegraph could take hours.
Meanwhile, US and Soviet forces are still playing an extremely dangerous cat and mouse
game in the Caribbean.
Any minute now yet another trigger happy soldier could inadvertently launch the end of the
world.
Kruschev orders that news of his agreement be broadcast over public radio, as that will
be the fastest way to get word to the Americans and immediately stand down all forces.
An official staff vehicle speeds across Moscow to reach a broadcast center before another
accident triggers war.
All traffic lights on the route are switched to green as the car roars through the streets,
finally arriving at its destination.
However, on the elevator ride up to the broadcast booth, the elevator becomes stuck.
To the horror of the Kremlin staffer clutching Kruschev's letter to Kennedy, the elevator
may take hours to be repaired.
In despair, he manages to force the letter through a gap in the elevator doors and into
the hands of a messenger boy, who holds the very fate of the world in his hands.
The message is at last, successfully broadcast and picked up by radios all across the world.
The Cuban missile crisis is officially over, and the US closely monitors the removal of
Soviet weapons from Cuba.
Eight months later, as promised, US missiles are removed from Turkey.
Against all odds, the world has narrowly avoided nuclear catastrophe.
Now go watch How Did The Cold War Happen?
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