The Cuban Missile Crisis – On the brink of WWIII – Part II

 

 

Welcome back everybody! In this article, we’ll finally find out what happened during this infamous Missile Crisis.

If you have not yet read Part I, do so now by going here.

Let’s begin.

1)    The Cuban Revolution

For starters, let’s just say that Cuba has always been a very hot mess.

In 1898, after the US victory in the Spanish-American war, Spain was forced to renounce to its sovereignty over Cuba, which was occupied by USA, becoming a kind of protectorate.

In 1902, Cuba declared its independence from the United States, which, however, maintained the right to intervene in Cuban state affairs.

The first president of the Republic of Cuba was Tomas Estrada Palma, who faced an armed revolt after his contested re-election in 1906.

The United States intervened, regaining control of Cuba.

Self-government was re-established in 1908, but Cuba remained a protectorate.

The Great Depression of 1929 caused new political repressions that led to the exile of then President Machado in August of 1933.

A month later, a military coup led by sergeant Fulgencio Batista overthrew the newly elected president Céspedes. A provisional government was established with Ramon Graus San Martin as president. 

Sergeant Fulgencio Batista

After Grau’s resignation, Batista controlled Cuba for 25 years, not directly, but through a series of puppet-presidents.

After losing the 1952 elections, Batista enacted another military coup, supported by the United States of America, and declared the Communist Party illegal.

Clearly, the United States had interest in limiting communist expansion.

Between Batista’s opponents there was Fidel Castro, a young lawyer who had previously denounced in vain Batista for violating the Constitution.

On July 26, 1953, Castro and his militia attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago to acquire the necessary weaponry to conduct a full-scale armed revolt.

The assault failed and many were killed, but it marked the beginning of the Cuban Revolution.

Castro was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment but was released in 1955 thanks to an amnesty.

In Mexico, Castro regrouped and formed the 26^th of July Movement, in honor of the Moncada Barracks assault.

In 1956, the revolutionaries arrived in Cuba on the yacht Granma.

This event brought to guerrilla warfare in the Sierra Maestra Mountain range.

Over the next two years, the revolution gained many supporters, and, on January 1, 1959, Batista fled Cuba, with Castro’s militias entering Havana. 

Castro (in the middle) and his militia

Castro quickly established a new government politically aligned with the Soviet Union.

In 1960 the new government nationalized all foreign property on the island.

The United States responded with a trade embargo on Cuba.

2)    The Crisis

Unable to tolerate the new Soviet alignment of Cuba, the US’s CIA planned an invasion of the island to overthrow Castro’s government through a group of Anti-Castro Cuban exiles.

The operation was launched in April 1961.

On the night of the 17^{th of} April, the exiles landed in the Bay of Pigs.

The Cuban forces, which had been indirectly trained and armed by the USSR, repelled the attack.

After the Bay of the Pigs, the alliance between Cuba and the USSR became military.

In response to the failed invasion of Cuba and the installation of PGM-19 Jupiter MRBMs in Italy (see photos below) and in Turkey, Soviet Union leader Nikita Khruschev established a secret agreement with Fidel Castro in July 1962, for the installation of nuclear sites in Cuba.

Jupiter MRBMs deployment in Puglia, Italy

A PGM-19 Jupiter encased in its “petal shelter” launch site.

Constructions of the launch pads soon began.

The 30^th of August 1962, Che Guevara, Fidel’s right-hand man, travelled to Soviet Union to sign the final agreement for the displacement of nuclear missiles in Cuba, with the CIA monitoring his visit.

The American intelligence was on high alert since July, due to an increase of military shipments from the USSR to Cuba.

In August, the intelligence reported the presence of soviet Mig-21 fighters in Cuba.

High-altitude reconnaissance missions, carried out by U-2 spy planes revealed the construction of 8 launch sites for S-75 anti-aircraft launch sites.

CIA quickly became suspicious, and warned President Kennedy of the possibility that the Soviets were building a military base in Cuba.

In September, the Defense Intelligence Agency noted that the anti-aircraft sites were positioned in a similar pattern to that used by the USSR to protect its missile launch sites and pressed for new U-2 reconnaissance flights over Cuba, which were interrupted due to a series of accidents occurred in August. 

S-75 launch sites in Cuba, photographed by a U-2 spy plane. Note the distinctive star-shaped layout.

On September 11^th, the Soviet Union declared that it would not deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba.

 U-2’s flights resumed on October 5^th and 7^th, revealing the construction of unidentified structures.

Finally, on October 14^th, 1962, one of the U-2s revealed the positions of 9 soviet SS-4 and SS-5 MRBM launch sites. 

The MRBM launch sites photographed on October 14^th

Two days later, Kennedy was informed of the situation.

A new body is created to manage the crisis: the EXCOMM (Executive Committee of the National Security Council), which valued a series of options:

1)    Do nothing.

2)    Resort to diplomacy.

3)    Secretly approach Castro and make him choose between breaking with the USSR or being invaded.

4)    Invade the island to overthrow Castro.

5)    Bomb all known missile sites.

6)    Prevent any missiles from reaching Cuba with a naval blockade.

The naval blockade, supported by the Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, was chosen as the course of action.

However, since a naval blockade is considered an act of war by international law, the term “quarantine” was used.

At 7 p.m. on October 22^nd, Kennedy delivered a speech to the nation, announcing the discovery of the missiles. 

SS-4 and SS-5 missiles ‘range

A cordon of American military ships formed around Cuba, and the Soviet Union sent a series of submarines, increasing the risk of a direct confrontation.

At 6 p.m. on October 26^th, the Department of State received Kruschev’s first proposal: the USSR would remove the missiles deployed in Cuba, in exchange for a US assurance not to invade Cuba.

On October 27^th, a U-2, piloted by Major Rudolph Anderson was shot down over Cuba by an S-75 missile.

That was the worst day of the crisis: the Black Saturday. 

Cuba military build-up

Meanwhile, Castro, firmly convinced that an American invasion of Cuba was imminent, had sent Kruschev a letter, now known as the “Armageddon letters”, in which he requested a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the United States.

At 9 p.m. on the same day, Moscow Radio transmitted a new message from Kruschev, who was proposing a different proposal, much more advantageous for the Soviets: the missiles would be removed, but the United States, in addition to guaranteeing not to invade, also would have to remove their missiles in Turkey.

Kennedy publicly accepted Kruschev’s first proposal.

The following day, Kennedy sent his brother, Robert Kennedy, who was one of the EXCOMM advisors, to the Soviet Ambassy in Washington to announce the US’s intention to also accept the second proposal.

Soon after, Kruschev announced the decommissioning of the Cuban launch sites.

The naval blockade in Cuba ended on November 20^th.

A direct phone line between the UN and the USSR was established to prevent misunderstandings between the two powers: the Washington-Moscow hotline.

In 1963, all atmospheric nuclear test were prohibited with the Limited Test ban Treaty, signed by both the United States and the Soviet Union.

After a decade of tensions, the Cold War enters its descending phase, which lasted until 1989.

 Today's Blogger

Hello, world! I'm Edoardo Cignitti, a passionate enthusiast of computer science, physics, and aviation. I have an insatiable curiosity about the world and love understanding why things happen, which is why I'm particularly drawn to physics, with a keen interest in nuclear and quantum physics. I also have a soft spot for sci-fi films and enjoy playing board games. I'm excited to share my interests with you here on Let's Blog!