The Cuban Missile Crisis could have resulted in Nuclear War/Holocaust:
The closest the world has come to nuclear war was the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. The Soviets had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States. U.S. armed forces were at their highest state of readiness. Most people were consumed in the fear of an all out nuclear war, or were they? In all actuality most people were more concerned with their lives and how the Yankees would fare in the World Series.
It all started when U.S. intelligence reconnaissance flights (U2 spy-plane) verified USSR constructing launch sites for medium-range and intermediate-range nuclear missiles on the communist island of Cuba pointed at the major cities of the United States. These missiles had a range of about 1,400 miles in a time of less than five minutes. This type of an arsenal so close to the U.S. coast was seen as an obvious clear and present danger to the U.S. and her people and was definitely not for defense purposes so the Soviet objective was clear.
First they were to establish an offensive base on the island of Cuba. This was to be armed with troops, missiles, aircraft, and ships. Then they would insert sufficient Soviet specialists and military leaders to take Cuba from Castro and establish it as a true Soviet controlled satellite. This would expand their sphere of influence to include the Western Hemisphere thus putting the enemy in our backyard.
More than 4,500 Soviet military specialists, including technicians and a team of soldiers that are similar to our Army Corp. of Engineers, were sent from the USSR. They were to construct launch site and make the sites fully operational as soon as they possibly could. The Soviets also sent a convoy of cargo ships containing crates of Soviet IL28 bombers for defensive purposes. They had an underlying fear the U.S. would mount an attack on the island of Cuba, especially since the Bay of Pigs fiasco. That invasion was a sign of what may come, or so the Soviets believed. They thought, even though the U.S. didn't follow through like they said they would, they had the aggression to do something.
The Soviet fear of a Cuban invasion was a grounded fear. Kennedy rejected military advice for a full-scale surprise attack on Cuba. Instead, Kennedy issued and ultimatum to the USSR and Castro on October 22. He declared a quarantine, or a naval blockade of Cuba. He demanded, to have the blockade removed they would have to withdraw all offensive missiles and military equipment.
This demand lead to a severe rise in fear and tension. Kennedy decided that the military had to be alert. So he decided to raise the armed forces to defense condition 3. Defense Conditions were a way to measure the threat of nuclear attack. It is more commonly referred to as Def Con. During peacetime the nation is at Defense Condition 5. Def Con 1 is reached only during an all out nuclear holocaust. It was/is necessary to develop a way to measure the level of nuclear awareness because the military needs to be united in the face of nuclear war especially with the capabilities of some nations. It was recognized that the world could be rid of all life with just the press of a button. So at Def Con 3 the military alertness was heightened. Troops at all U.S. bases were running on 12-hour shifts. More aircraft were on standby at all times. If there were normally two aircraft prepped and ready to go then now there were 4 or 5.
After 13 days, the Soviet government of Nikita Khrushchev yielded. He agreed to negotiate and compromise. The Soviet government agreed to militarily pull out of Cuba. This meant they would remove missiles and disassemble the launch sites. They also agreed to pull the troops, aircraft, and ships. The U.S. government agreed to remove the blockade and they also agreed to stay out of Cuba. They wouldn't invade or in anyway try to overthrow Castro.
The press and people of the world saw this as a victory for the United States. I think it was a victory for the United States but, the still had to give in somewhat. Still, past the fall of USSR, today Cuba is Communist. She is one of only a very few counties of the world who are still Communist. Their economy is very weak. Since the fall of the USSR and the stiffness of the sanctions held by the U.S.and her allies, Cuba has very few trading partners and is not a nuclear threat and more.
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