As the most intense direct confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis almost dragged the entire human race into the abyss of nuclear war.
Due to communication limitations, many people may not feel anything about the crisis, but the tension of the crisis has reached the highest level in history.
John Schwarzenegger Jr., a Kennedy assistant and professor at Harvard University, once wrote in his memoirs:
"The Cuban Missile Crisis was not only the most dangerous moment during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, but also the most dangerous moment in the history of mankind!"
Khrushchev vs Kennedy
From October 16 to October 28, 1962, in this short period of 13 days, it is not too much to describe it as "living like a year", Khrushchev and Kennedy staged a wonderful extreme game, this game did not have an absolute win or loss, because the two sides compromised, and the storm was finally resolved peacefully.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central State Archives of the Russian Federation published some top-secret information on the period of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was corroborated by the "Collected Works of American Diplomacy" and other materials, and the whole process of the Cuban Missile Crisis was finally unveiled.
In July 1962, Khrushchev and Castro held several secret meetings, and the Soviet Union and Cuba reached a secret agreement on the installation of medium-range nuclear missiles, which is the origin of the Cuban missile crisis.
Khrushchev met with Castro
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" > said to be a secret agreement, how did the United States know? </h1>
After the secret agreement was signed, the Soviet Union had direct control over medium-range missiles, while Castro did not have the authority to manage them, and even so, Castro felt that Cuba had the support of the Soviet Big Brother, and the sense of security exploded in an instant, in fact, a game of life and death had just begun.
At the end of July 1962, the Soviet Union began to secretly deliver medium-range missiles and Il bombers to Cuba, and in order to avoid the pursuit of the American "Sky Eye", the Soviet Union disguised these weapons as ordinary supplies, packed in containers, and secretly shipped to Cuba.
In addition, the Soviet Union also sent more than 3,000 weapons-operating technicians to Cuba, until the beginning of October 1962, the Soviet Union had basically completed the deployment of missiles to Cuba, the whole process, the United States, which claimed to have the world's strongest reconnaissance technology, did not perceive it, after all, who would have thought that the Soviet Union would take such a big risk.
The United States initially speculated about what the Soviets might be doing from descriptions of Cuban refugees and the fact that the Soviet Union frequently sent ships to Cuba, and on September 4, Kennedy sent his brother to the Soviet embassy to ask Dobrynin whether the Soviets had installed offensive weapons in Cuba, but Dobrynin patted his chest and vowed that it would not happen.
Even so, the United States was not at ease, Kennedy immediately issued a statement, if anyone dared to install offensive weapons in Cuba will inevitably lead to bad consequences, and then the Soviet Union responded to Kennedy's statement: the Soviet Union does not need to install medium-range missiles in Cuba, because the Soviet Union is already strong enough to launch missiles around the world, and the United States' fears are nothing more than mediocrity.
The Soviets thought their actions were seamless, but in fact they were exposed.
On October 14, 1962, the U2 reconnaissance plane accidentally discovered the Cuban missile launch site and transmitted the photos to the US intelligence department, the United States was incredulous, afraid of the wrong intelligence, and sent the reconnaissance plane to confirm again, and finally concluded that the Soviet Union did install offensive medium-range missiles in Cuba and the number was about 16 to 30.
On October 16, 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy received a report from the Intelligence Service, and Kennedy was furious with Khrushchev's recklessness and deception, and immediately convened a secret meeting to discuss strategies for dealing with the matter.
The reason why the meeting was held in secret was, on the one hand, that the United States wanted to preemptively surprise the Soviet Union, because the Soviet Union still thought that the United States did not know. On the other hand, this is a big deal, and it needs to be discussed enough to deal with this matter, and the United States is afraid that after the Soviet Union knows, it will immediately launch an attack on the United States, after all, judging by the number and power of the Missiles deployed by the Soviet Union in Cuba at that time, as long as the Soviet Union launches missiles, it can cause hundreds of millions of deaths in the United States in a few minutes.
In addition, Kennedy feared that if the news leaked, it would cause panic and social unrest in the United States.
Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy
After intense discussions, the United States finally decided to impose an embargo on Cuba, requiring all ships entering and leaving Cuba to be inspected by the United States in an attempt to exert pressure on the Soviet Union to withdraw its missiles.
In this way, not only will it not completely anger the Soviet Union, but it will also leave room for compromise and concessions between the two sides, and the United States can enter a war with the Soviet Union, and if it retreats, it can negotiate with the Soviet Union, and adopt this relatively moderate strategy, and the Soviet Union can decently withdraw its missiles from Cuba.
It was not until October 22 that Kennedy announced to the world the fact that the Soviet Union had deployed missiles in Cuba and imposed an embargo on Cuba, demanding that the Soviet Union withdraw missiles from Cuba under United Nations supervision.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" > What little-known details nearly sparked a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis? </h1>
Soon, the Soviet Union responded, saying that it would still carry out arms assistance to Cuba in accordance with the Soviet-Cuban agreement, "resolutely rejecting the Interception of the United States, and will give the strongest counterattack to the threat of the United States." ”
Kennedy was very worried about this, he was worried that Soviet ships would refuse to check in the face of American interception, and even move, in order to prevent the Soviet Union from launching a surprise attack, Kennedy decided to increase the military blockade of the waters near Cuba.
The United States sent warships to blockade Cuba
On October 24, the United States deployed eight aircraft carriers and 90 warships in the waters near Cuba, assembled 68 air force squadrons on the mainland, and ordered all missile bases up and down the United States, as well as all military bases distributed around the world, to enter wartime conditions and be on standby.
However, in order to avoid a direct armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union caused by the mistakes of the soldiers at the bottom, Kennedy personally arranged everything himself, and made regulations for all the executive personnel, no matter what happened, do not take the lead in using force, unless the other side takes the lead in using force to confront.
It can be seen that Kennedy is still more cautious in handling this matter.
However, the most tense moment was approaching, and on October 25, nearly 20 Soviet ships were coming toward the Cuban ghetto, and Kennedy and all the enforcement personnel on the scene were staring intently at the ships, and as the ships slowly approached the quarantine line, everyone was extremely nervous, because as soon as these ships crossed the quarantine line, war would break out.
Just as Kennedy was making a life-or-death decision, the next strange scene occurred, all the ships stopped when they reached the quarantine line, and a few others turned around and left, and it turned out that Khrushchev had given them such an order, just to let them approach the quarantine area without crossing the line, playing with excitement, Khrushchev understood that fighting in front of other people's homes would certainly not be cheap, and perhaps he would bury his own naval main force here.
Khrushchev just wants to intimidate the United States, and perhaps the United States is afraid and chooses to retreat, which will be a great profit.
In addition, Khrushchev also had another plan, believing that the United States was simply blocking Cuban waters and would not make a big deal out of itself, so he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to mediate with the United States in order to delay time and let the unfinished missile bases be quickly established, and when all preparations were sufficient, there would be more negotiating advantages in the future.
The fact that the Soviet Union did not cross the separation line shows that the Soviet Union has begun to make concessions in dealing with this matter, but Kennedy still has no bottom in his heart, because since World War II, successive US presidents have not trusted the Soviet Union very much, mainly because the Soviet Union often makes things that go against the grain and do not talk about credit.
The real climax of the Cuban Missile Crisis is yet to come.
Khrushchev learned through various secret channels that the United States was about to launch an unprecedented military operation against Cuba in the next two or three days, and Khrushchev was able to perceive the seriousness of the situation, and at this time, Cuban Chairman Castro, who learned the news, also asked Khrushchev for help, and if Kennedy moved, he asked the Soviet Union to carry out a nuclear strike against the United States.
At this time, Khrushchev was under pressure, and he was worried that the missile would be attacked by the United States before it was mounted on the launcher, and at this time, he received a letter from Kennedy, which read:
"I ask you to acknowledge clearly, Mr. President, that in this case it is not me who issued the initial challenge, and in the light of the foregoing, my declared opposition to these actions in Cuba is necessary, and I reiterate my regret that these events will lead to the deterioration of our relations. ......”
Although Kennedy's tone on the letter was very peaceful and sincere, for Khrushchev, it was already very popular, and every word on the letter represented that the United States was about to attack Cuba.
On October 26, Khrushchev returned Kennedy a letter that the White House described as lengthy and rambling, filled with Khrushchev's passion to try to avoid nuclear war:
"We are sound-minded people who know full well that if we attack you, you will answer in the same way, but if you attack us, you will get the same attack. Only crazy people and suicidal people who want to destroy the world before they die do this... We want to survive and have no intention of destroying your country. ”
After Kennedy received the letter, his hanging heart finally let go, and he slept peacefully on the night of the 26th, but no one expected that the three consecutive events on the 27th would push the Cuban Missile Crisis to a climax.
On the morning of October 27, an American U2 reconnaissance plane was reconnaissance on a Soviet medium-range missile base, when the supreme commander of the Soviet army, Major General Priyev, was not in the command post, and the deputy commander in charge of the air defense system, Lieutenant General Stepan Grechko, gave the unauthorized order to open fire, using the SAM 2 anti-aircraft missile to shoot it down, and the pilot, Major Anderson, was killed on the spot.
The news of the downing of the reconnaissance plane immediately reached the U.S. Air Force command, and the hawkish general was furious, accusing the Soviets of firing the first shot, and then reported the air raid on the Soviet intermediate-range missile base to the White House, and Kennedy considered repeatedly postponing the large-scale air strike plan until October 30.
Also on the morning of the 27th, another U2 reconnaissance aircraft of the United States broke into Soviet airspace due to getting lost in the process of collecting samples from the Arctic, and the Soviet Union immediately sent 6 MiG-21 fighters to intercept the air, in order to rescue the lost Mortsby, the US Strategic Aviation Department ordered the Alaska Air Defense Institute to send two F102 fighters to meet the attack.
You know, at that time, the United States had declared a full-scale wartime state, the F102 fighter was not carrying conventional weapons but strategic nuclear weapons, and the launch button was not controlled by electronic devices, which could be directly controlled by the pilot, which could easily cause the gun to go wrong.
Fortunately, the U2 reconnaissance plane, which was about to be chased by the MiG-21 fighter, found the right route and left Soviet airspace, and a conflict passed.
On the night of the 27th, there was also a thrilling scene at sea, when the American Aircraft Carrier Battle Group of the American Aircraft Carrier was desperately tracking the Soviet submarine with the number B59, and the destroyer Kony fired five training depth charges into the water to force the B59 submarine to surface, which was not powerful but would make a loud noise.
At that time, the B59 submarine was about to run out of power, the temperature inside the submarine reached forty or fifty degrees, many soldiers were suffering from heat stroke, confused, heard a series of loud noises above the submarine, and the soldiers mistakenly believed that the Third World War had begun.
For a submarine, the greatest humiliation is to surface under the pressure of the enemy, Savitsky insisted on firing torpedoes at the American ships, and only after repeated obstructions by Lieutenant Colonel Arkhipov was the imminent conflict avoided.
Because of so many events on the 27th, Kennedy was afraid that the United States and the Soviet Union would really fight each other and war would break out, so on the evening of the 27th, he sent his brother Robert F. Kennedy and the Soviet ambassador to conspire and express his willingness to exchange terms and settle the crisis peacefully.
Finally, on the 28th, Kennedy received a reply from Khrushchev, in which Khrushchev expressed that the Soviet Union was willing to stop the construction of missile bases in Cuba, withdraw the missiles originally shipped from Cuba, and agree to negotiate with the United States.
From November 8 to 11, 1962, the Soviet Union withdrew 42 missiles deployed on the island of Cuba, followed by the withdrawal of dozens of Il bombers at the request of the United States, and the Cuban crisis was finally resolved peacefully.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" > if the Soviet Union does not compromise, will the United States dare to launch a nuclear bomb? </h1>
We can see that the peaceful resolution of this crisis was not due to unilateral compromise by the Soviet Union, but as a result of mutual compromise between the United States and the Soviet Union.
So, if the Soviet Union did not compromise, adopted a tough attitude toward the obstruction of the United States, and sent ships to break through the separation line at that time, would the United States dare to launch a nuclear bomb?
In this regard, we should analyze the specific problems on a case-by-case basis, and first of all, we must consider whether the United States has to launch a nuclear bomb.
Although the United States had entered a wartime state at that time, and the global military bases, including the mainland, were also ready for war, this preparation was, on the one hand, to destroy Cuba's missile bases by force, and on the other hand, to prepare for direct conflict with the Soviet Union.
However, the United States is still extremely reluctant to engage in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union that affects the world, but after its own interests are really challenged or infringed, it is unknown whether American politicians will retain this "anti-war sentiment", according to the original words of US President Kennedy at that time, "The United States is not afraid of a war with the Soviet Union." ”
If the Soviet Union does not compromise and leads its fleet to break through the cuban sea separation line at the most tense moment of the Cuban missile crisis, the most direct consequence of this is that a conflict may really break out between the United States and the Soviet Union.
But war does not mean nuclear war, such as small-scale local conflicts are also wars, at that time the Soviet Union just wanted to test the attitude of the United States, and was not bored enough to have to fight with the United States as the same superpower, because in the case of equal strength, no one can get out of this war unscathed, only in the end who can not support, or even face the risk of national annihilation will use nuclear weapons and the enemy to break the net.
Even if Khrushchev ordered the crossing, he had to be prepared to deal with the risk of breaking through the border, because on the whole, the comprehensive national strength of the United States at that time was indeed slightly inferior to that of the Soviet Union, and Cuba was at the "doorstep" of the United States, which was convenient for action.
The Result of this potential war is self-evident, and Khrushchev, as the leader of a superpower, would not have thought of this problem?
Even if the war does occur, if the United States can destroy the Cuban missile base in the first place, so as to avoid the damage of these missiles to the United States mainland, perhaps the war is still within the control range, and the possibility of triggering a global war is not very large.
At that time, Kennedy had ordered that if the Soviet ships broke into the quarantine zone, the Cuban missile base would be destroyed immediately, which would at most be the loss of some weapons and some face for the Soviet Union, and in the initial state, the United States did not have the need to use nuclear weapons at all, and as to whether the United States would eventually launch a nuclear bomb, it would have to be considered according to the evolution of the war.
Fortunately, the conflict was contained before it even happened, and no amount of worry we had was unfounded.