The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement overthrows the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Castro establishes a socialist government and begins nationalizing US-owned businesses, leading to a rapid deterioration of US-Cuba relations and Cuba's alignment with the Soviet Union.

A CIA-trained force of approximately 1,400 Cuban exiles lands at the Bay of Pigs in an attempt to overthrow Castro. The invasion is crushed within three days, embarrassing the Kennedy administration and reinforcing Khrushchev's perception that Kennedy was indecisive and could be pressured.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev decides to deploy nuclear missiles to Cuba, codenamed Operation Anadyr. The stated objectives: to protect Cuba from a US invasion (following the Bay of Pigs), to counter US Jupiter missiles deployed in Turkey (which could strike Moscow), and to strengthen the Soviet bargaining position on Berlin. The covert operation begins shipping missiles and troops to Cuba.

A US U-2 reconnaissance flight piloted by Major Richard Heyser photographs Soviet medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) sites under construction at San Cristobal, Cuba. The images reveal the presence of R-12 missiles with a range of approximately 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), capable of striking Washington, D.C.

President Kennedy is informed of the missile discovery by National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy. Kennedy convenes the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM), a secret group of senior advisers. The committee debates options ranging from a full-scale invasion to an air strike to a naval blockade.

President Kennedy addresses the nation in a televised speech, revealing the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba and announcing a naval "quarantine" (blockade) to prevent further shipments of offensive weapons. He demands the removal of existing missiles and warns that any missile launched from Cuba would be considered a Soviet attack on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response.

The US naval quarantine goes into effect at 10:00 AM. Soviet ships approaching the quarantine line slow or stop, with several tankers turning back. The US Navy positions itself to intercept Soviet ships. The world watches as the two superpowers test each other's resolve.

Khrushchev sends a long, emotional letter to Kennedy, proposing that the Soviet Union would remove the missiles if the United States pledged not to invade Cuba. However, on October 27 ("Black Saturday"), a second, harder letter from Khrushchev also demands the removal of US Jupiter missiles from Turkey. A US U-2 is shot down over Cuba, killing pilot Major Rudolf Anderson. The US military prepares for an invasion.

Khrushchev broadcasts over Radio Moscow the decision to dismantle and remove the missiles from Cuba. The deal involved a public US pledge not to invade Cuba and a secret US commitment to remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey within six months. The crisis is resolved peacefully, with the immediate threat of nuclear war averted. The secret Turkish missile deal remained classified for decades.

Kennedy ends the naval quarantine after all Soviet missiles and IL-28 bombers are confirmed withdrawn from Cuba. The crisis leads to the establishment of the Moscow-Washington hotline (June 1963) for direct communication between US and Soviet leaders, and the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (August 1963), banning atmospheric nuclear testing.