Cuban Missile Crisis
This began on October 14, 1962 when U2 spy plane took its first photos of missiles being assembled in Cuba. 1. October 15, 1962 Analysis of the photos indicates MRBM'S is being assembled 2. October 16 & 17th, 1962 Kennedy is informed of the photographic evidence and dictates the members for ExComm for the first time 3. October 18 & 19th, 1962 Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko, who claims no offensive Soviet weapons in Cuba 4. October 20th and 21st, 1962 Members of ExComm push for a blockade 5. October 22, 1962 Kennedy announces Soviet placement of missiles in Cuba; orders a quarantine of Soviet weapons shipments 6. October 23, 1962 Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, seen at a news conference at the Pentagon, October 23, 1962, announced he had ordered all Navy and Marine Corps enlistments and duty tours extended for up to one year to support the arms blockade of Cuba. He said hardship cases would be considered individually. 7. October 24, 1962 Soviet ships either reverse course or stop in the water 8. October 25, 1962 UN Ambassador Alai Stevenson presents evidence of missile sites to UN
9. October 26, 1962 Khrushchev originally sends a private letter to Kennedy stating his willingness to remove the nuclear missiles from Cuba in exchange America pledges to never to invade Cuba October 27, 1962 Publicly Khrushchev demands America to pledge not to invade Cuba and remove missiles in Turkey in exchange for the removal of missiles in Cuba. • "Black Saturday"→ o Major Rudolph Anderson is shot down while taking photos over Cuba o Charles W. Maultsby apart of Project Star Dust set out to analyze Novaya Zemlya where the Soviets test of nuclear bombs and flew into USSR by mistake and is nearly shot down • America nearly emits nuclear warhead if confrontation began as an interceptor states, "But to fail to respond to an attack by a Soviet fighter went against a pilot's basic survival instincts." o Soviets point nuclear missiles at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba October 28, 1962 The Soviet government publically announces its removal of missiles in Cuba for Americas pledge to never invade Cuba (making them appear weak to the world)
The main results of the Cuban Missile Crisis was: Results • Soviet Union's prestige and power changed. • Nikita Khrushchev losing his prestige and his role as leader in 1964 • Only one death in Crisis Major Rudolph Anderson o Oleg Penkovsky sentenced to death and died on May 16, 1963 This led to multiple actions to prevent another nuclear incident.
As this was the closest the world has ever come to Nuclear War the U.S and the Soviet Union decided to put sanctions in place to prevent another Crisis. June 20, 1963 • American and Soviet governments install a hotline between Moscow and Washington D.C due to negotiations during the Crisis August 5, 1963 • The United States and Soviet Union agreed to stop testing nuclear weapons except underground. October 14, 1964 • Premier Khrushchev was forced to resign (perceived failures during the Cuban missile crisis) March 5, 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) • The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union form an international treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
Although the United States and the Soviet Union have been political enemies since the end of WWII due to their different beliefs in government; events had been leading them to the inevitable crisis of nuclear war. These were: • May 1, 1960 o Gary Powers' U2 plane shot down over USSR • December 19, 1960 o Cuba openly aligns with U.S.S.R. • April 17, 1961 o Failed Bay of Pigs Invasion
June 4, 1961 o Vienna meeting of Khrushchev and Kennedy • August 13, 1961 o Berlin Wall Construction begins • June 1, 1961 o Jupiter Missiles placed in Turkey • January 21-31, 1962 o Organization of America States expels Cuba (OAS) • September 15, 1962 o Poltava, reportedly the first ship to carry Soviet missiles to docks in Cuba
These events were the spark to the Cuban Missile Crisis as they were leading to a confrentation between the Soviet Union. Unaware to President Kennedy; Nikita Khrushchev primary reason for installing weapons in Cuba was not only because of his strong ties to Castro as he was a communist, but also because he sought to have a nuclear missile pointing at America since they did in Turkey. Khrushchev states, "It was high time America learned what it feels like to have her own land and her own people threatened."
These upcoming 13 days were the most tense and stressful in history as the future of the world lay in peril.
The year is 1962 and after being inaugurated as President of the United States and avenging the Bay of Pigs Invasion by refusing to backdown to the Communist leader of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev JFK was beginning his tours for re-election. However, they were approaching the most tense and dangerous 13 days in history that had the power to change the world forever. While the Cuban Missile Crisis is often overlooked due to the decision to conceal the majority of its information to the public and the fact that it didn't involve a war; it had the capability to be the most destructive.
Thesis: After being fully engaged in the Cold War for over a decade, the U.S and the Soviet Union reached the breaking point in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.