13 days of the missile crisis Flashcards
14 Oct 1962
U2 flight showed evidence of soviet missiles on cuba
-Escalated tension
-CIA didn’t brief Kennedy until 2 days after the discovery of the missiles.
15 Oct 1962
Soviet ambassador denied to US that IL-28 bombers were being deployed to Cuba
-Escalated tension
-Soviets to blame as they’re denying responsibility
16 Oct 1962
Kennedy shown photographs of missile launch sites on Cuba
-Escalated tension
-Soviets to blame as they were caught lying about the missiles
-Kennedy to blame as his immediate reaction was to bomb them.
16 oct 1962
Discussions with ExComm revealed US air strikes would need 24 hours warning + chances of complete success were minimal
-Escalated tension
-US to blame as they had a more aggressive approach to try get rid of the missiles
16 Oct 1962
Khrushchev met with US ambassador, stated he planned to attend the UN General assembly session in Nov where he’d like to agree on West Berlin w/ Kennedy
-Eased tensions
-Krushchev was attempting to peacefully cooperate.
17 Oct 1962
-CIA report analysed options for Kennedy: ignoring deployment, issuing a warning, naval blockade, declaring war + an invasion
17 Oct 1962
Stevenson sent a letter to Kennedy recommending that the position of all missile bases must be negotiable
18 Oct 1962
Kennedy met with Gromyko: neither side explicitly mentioned the missiles.
-Kennedy described the situation as “the most dangerous development since the end of the war”
18 Oct 1962
Gromyko’s first cable to Moscow concerning the conversation and Kennedys expressed concerns was alarming: an in explicit warning to krushchev
19 oct 1962
Gromyko’s second cable about his Oval Office meeting was more reassuring for krushchev, less helpful to escalating the situation
19 Oct 1962
ExComm members were beginning to favour an air strike; former Secretary of State Acheson reported “you must remember we are dealing with a madman”
-Escalated tension
-US to blame as an air strike is an indirect declaration of war
20 Oct 1962
-ExComm voted in favour of a blockade but air strikes remained the choice of several members
-Escalated tension
-US to blame as a blockade would be considered an act of war
21 Oct 1962
Kennedy met a British ambassador + expressed a desire for a negotiated end to the crisis + raised the subject of US missiles sited close to the Soviet border being used in a ‘trade off’
-Eased tension
22 Oct 1962 (1)
Kennedy informed the US public about the presence of Soviet missiles on Cuba + announced a quarantine
-Escalated tension
-US to blame caused mass panic across the country + they would want Kennedy to retaliate
22 Oct 1962 (2)
-US forces placed on high alert: 54 bombers each w/ 4 nuclear warheads were on standby.
-150ICBM aimed at the USSR
Escalated tension
-US to blame as it looked as if they were preparing for war.
22 Oct 1962 (3)
USSR were on standby: Polaris armed nuclear submarines were put to sea
Escalated tension
-USSR to blame as they were getting ready to retaliate
22 Oct 1962 (4)
Soviet presidium met in Moscow to discuss Kennedys speech + their response to it
“They can attack us and we shall response. This may end up in a big war”- Krushchev
Escalated tension
-USSR + USA to blame
22 Oct 1962 (5)
Kennedy received a letter from Krushchev saying soviet ships will not observe the blockade
Escalated tensions
-Soviets to blame as krushchev was suggesting he was going to take action
22 oct 1962 (6)
Krushchev admitted to the presence of Soviet missiles on Cuba
Escalated tension
22 Oct 1962 (7)
Was the first day that Turkish crews manned a Jupiter launch site under ‘dual-key’ procedures
23 Oct 1962 (1)
Robert Kennedy held a secret meeting w the soviet ambassador in Washington where the latter stated that soviet ships weren’t to obey the order of being stopped + searched on the seas
-Escalated tension
Us to blame as their actions are illegal.
23 Oct 1962 (2)
UN Security Council met + US ambassador Stevenson condemned the missile deployment
24 Oct 1962 (1)
Soviet ambassadors received Soviet version of what was happening
24 Oct 1962 (2)
US strategic air command went from DEFCON 3- DEFCON 2
-Escalated tension
-US to blame as they’re getting ready for a nuclear war, one step away from using nuclear weapons
24 Oct 1962 (3)
Soviet ships accompanied by Soviet sub turned back in the face of a US naval blockade
25 Oct 1962 (1)
More intense U2 reconnaissance revealed that work on Cuban missile bases was continuing rapidly
-Escalated tension
-Soviets to blame as continuing to develop missile bases
25 Oct 1962 (2)
Krushchev announced to Presidium “we must dismantle the missiles to make Cuba into a zone of peace”
-Ease tensions
-Soviets as they’re trying to peacefully co-exist
26 Oct 1962 (1)
SE USA, largest concentration of US forces since the Korean war was assembled
-Escalated tension
-US to blame they’re preparing for war
26 Oct 1962 (2)
In the UN, US ambassador Stevenson trumped Soviet Ambassador, photos from U2 plane shown
-Escalate tension
-US- they’re displaying to the whole world the missiles
26 Oct 1962 (3)
Krushchev received false intelligence that the US invasion of Cuba was going to begin the next day
-Escalated tension
26 Oct 1962 (4)
Krushchev sent his first telegram proposing the withdrawl of Soviet missiles from Cuba in return for the US to not invade Cuba, didn’t consult anyone about it
-Ease in tensions
-Soviets- he’s attempting to solve the problem by getting rid of the problem
26 Oct 1962 (5)
Castro ordered Cuban anti-aircraft forces to shoot down US reconnaissance flights
-Escalated tension
27 Oct 1962 (1)
Darkest day of the whole Cuban missile crisis
Krushchev offers to remove Soviet missiles if the US remove their missiles off of Turkey
-Escalated tension
27 Oct 1962 (2)
Excomm strongly rejected this
-Escalated tensions
-US- they don’t want to solve the problem
27 Oct 1962 (3)
U2 spy plane strays off course and enters Soviet airspace + US jet fighters armed w nuclear-tipped missiles scrambled to protect the U2
27 Oct 1962 (4)
U2 plane is shot down over cuba + pilot is killed
Kennedy put under pressure to launch an immediate response attack
-Escalated tension
-Cuba + US to blame as Cuba killed the American but America was spying on them
27 Oct 1962 (5)
On instructions of Moscow, ships carrying MRBM equipment for Cuba turned back
-escalated tension
27 Oct 1962 (6)
Kennedy admits to advisors that if missiles from Cuba weren’t removed, a US attack would happen
-Escalated tension
27 Oct 1962 (7)
Castro sends a telegram to Krushchev which was a call to immediately attack the USA as an American attack on Cuba was inevitable
-Escalated tension
-Cuba- planned to attack US
27 Oct 1962 (8)
Robert Kennedy met Dobrynin + said that the US would publicly issue a non-invasion guarantee
Missiles from Turkey would also be withdrawn in secret within 6 months
-Eased tension
-US- attempted to solve Soviet problems with the missiles
28 Oct 1962 (1)
Krushchev stated that they must retreat as they found themselves ‘face to face with danger of war + a nuclear catastrophe’
He also cabled Washington to confirm Soviet acceptance of the deal
-Eased tension
-Soviets- he knew it would result in an all out nuclear war which would have devastating casualties on both sides
28 Oct 1962 (2)
Kennedy announced the ending of the crisis + US naval quarantine to US public
-Eased tension
