The cuban missile crisis was a severe test for the soviet leadership. He shared his impressions of that showdown from a soviet perspective and the. Moscows surreptitious dispatch of nuclearcapable ss4 and ss5 surfacetosurface missiles to cuba in 1962 upset the strategic balance in an alarming way. Kennedy was elected president of the united states. The cuban missile crisis an analysis of soviet calculations and behavior by arnold l. The cuban missile crisis belfer center for science and.
Thank god no soviet submarine fired its nuclear torpedos when they were. The soviet attempt to position nuclear weapons in cuba occurred under a shroud of great secrecy, both to deny the united states information on the deployment of the missiles and to deceive. In hansens view, it would take four decades before american intelligence fully understood the extent of soviet deception before the cuban missile crisis, especially the way the soviets hid the truth of its strategic missile deployment behind a mass of lies, on a scale that most us planners could not comprehend. The soviet decision to deploy nuclear missiles ralf kacks term paper advanced seminar history europe germany postwar period, cold war publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. So far as the world believes, the cuban missile crisis is over. Learning from soviet the past deception in the cuban missile crisis james h.
Those needing more precise instnic dons, such as missile engineers, were informed that they would he taking icbms to a site on novaya. The 50th anniversary of the cuban missile crisis dr. Soviet intelligence and the cuban missile crisis belfer center for. Thetrain routes and final destinations \vere kept secret. One russian submarine nearly caused the cuban missile crisis. Soviet perspective on the cuban missile crisis from nikita. Oct 24, 2012 sergei khrushchev is the son of nikita khrushchev, the premier of the soviet union during the cuban missile crisis. Neither the united states of america nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. Dod, transcripts, secret, notes taken from transcripts of meetings of the joint chiefs of staff, octobernovember 1962. Weir, nga chief historian on september 2, 1962, the soviet union and cuba jointly announced that the former would send military aid to fidel castros caribbean island. The libraries pledge to make available essential resources in each curricular field and to participate in the education of its users. Compare and contrast the reasons for us involvement in the cuban missile crisis and the vietnam war. In contemporary times, literary and cinematic interpretations of the cuban missile crisis have still excluded a cuban perspective in their material.
History of the cuban missile crisis by anatoly zak. However, on october 15, 1962, aerial photographs by a u2 spy plane identified the. Address to the american people about the cuban missile crisis digital history id 1170. Soviet deception in the cuban missile crisis central intelligence.
The mig21, on the other hand, represented the state of the art in soviet aircraft design, and was still being used as late as the 1980s. Over the years, many scholars of the cuban missile crisis came strongly to suspect that robert kennedy had, in fact, relayed a pledge from his brother to take out the jupiters from turkey in exchange for the soviet removal of nuclear missiles from cuba, so long as moscow kept the swap secret. Missile crisis however, successfully argued for continued secrecy. The craft ofdenying the united states informationonthe deploymentofthe missiles and deceiving uspohcmak ers about rhe soviet unions intent was the foundation ofnikita khrush chevs audacious cubanventure. Download citation soviet deception in the cuban missile crisis moscows surreptitious dispatch of nuclearcapable ss4 and ss5 surfacetosurface. Soviet union over soviet ballistic missiles deployed in cuba that took place between. Origins of the cuban missile crisis the last major foreign crisis of kennedys presidency was the october 1962 confrontation with the soviets over their deployment of strategic nuclear missiles in cuba. According to separate confidential reports, the piratic raids by the socalled alpha 66 group on the cuban coast and on several vessels near cuba are being carried out not from a base on the american mainland, but rather directly from the sea, from american landing ships carrying the corresponding cutters.
But a soviet desire to be found out hardly squares with the extensive and effective camouflage and deception that shielded the transport of the missiles to cuba. Acclaimed as one of the most important spies of the century, his role in the cuban missile crisis has been portrayed as of pre. Origins of the cuban missile crisis united states navy. Subject guides cuban missile crisis libraries western. By then, kennedy had replaced the military advisors he inherited from eisenhower with. The cuban missile crisis, also known as the october crisis of 1962 spanish. The cuban missile crisis was a day confrontation between the united. By then, kennedy had replaced the military advisors he inherited from eisenhower with people of his own choosing. Operation anadyr was not only a missile and troop deployment, but also a complex denial and deception campaign. Horelick in a television interview not long after the cuban missile crisis of october i962, president kennedy observed that both the united states and the soviet union had made serious miscalculations in the cuban affair. An acronym for mediumrange ballistic missile, a weapon designed for use against enemy cities.
Keepingthesecretathome in the soviet union, the menand equipment destined for cuba were assembled, loaded, and moved by rail at night under rein forced guard. In united states historiography, the importance of cuba in the cuban missile crisis has been marginalized by the threat of soviet made military hardware in the western hemisphere. Soviet deception in the cuban missile crisis researchgate. The cuban missile crisis known as the october crisis in cuba or russian. The cuban missile crisis of october 1962 is perhaps the closest that the united. The r12 was the first operational intermediaterange ballistic missile, the first missile ever massproduced, and the first. Soviet deception in the cuban missile crisis james h hansen on. Other historians have challenged this interpretation, while some believe that far from working for the west, penkovsky was an instrument of.
Yet there is perhaps no single event in recent history as puzzling as this one. The cuban missile crisis 3 of secrecy and deception. From its inception, the soviet missile operation entailed elaborate denial and. Get an answer for which historians with quotes support that ussr was responsible for increased tensions for the cuban missile crisis from 19611972 and find homework help for other history. Many now alive remember the cuban missile crisis, possibly for distinct moments such as adlai stevensons until hell freezes over speech at. Oleg penkovsky spied for sis and the cia during a crucial phase of the cold war. The plan was to deploy approximately 60,000 personnel in. It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from cuba against any nation in the western hemisphere as an attack by the soviet union on the united states, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the soviet union. Soviet government, there is no need for the soviet government to shift its weapons for a retaliatory blow to any other country, for instance cuba, and that, and i quote their government, the soviet union has so powerful rockets to carry these nuclear warheads that. The discovery of the soviet deception precipitated the cuban missile crisis, because president john f.
The photo gap and the missile crisis offers a new chapter in our understanding of that pivotal event, the. But for the soviets, reality is that they have one heck of a mess on their hands. This was the testing ground, the closest the world has ever been to nuclear war, the cuban missile crisis, 1628 october, 1962. One russian submarine nearly caused the cuban missile crisis to go nuclear. If the cuban missile crisis was the most dangerous passage of the cold war, the most dangerous moment of the cuban missile crisis was the evening of saturday, 27 october 1962, when the resolution of the crisiswar or peaceappeared to hang in the balance. Soviet deception in the cuban missile crisis central. Fifty years after the crisis that brought the superpowers to the brink, blind over cuba. Numerous tactical nuclear weaponsnot known to the u. One russian submarine nearly caused the cuban missile. Promoting the illusion, the troops that were called up for the cuban expecli tion weretold only that tile were going to a cold region. The cuban missile crisis began for the united states on the morning of october 16, when president kennedy was informed of the discovery of missile sites in cuba by u2 surveillance aircraft. The soviet attempt to position nuclear weapons on the island nation of cuba in operation anadyr occurred under a shroud of great secrecy, both to deny the united states information on the deployment of these missiles to.
On january 1, 1959, a rebel movement lead by a young lawyer fidel castro overthrew a proamerican military junta in cuba and took power on the impoverished tropical island in the atlantic ocean, just few hundred kilometers of the coast of florida. This monograph will discuss and analyze the different mindsets, or fixed mental attitudes, which policymakers and other officials. Hansen range of soviet 554 mediumrange ballistic missiles and 555 intermediarerange ball uric missiles, if launched from cuba. Operation anadyr certainly was a missile and troop deployment, but it also involved a complex denial and deception campaign. The craft of denying the united states information on the deployment of the missiles and deceiving us policymakers about the soviet unions intent was the foundation of nikita khrushchevs audacious cuban venture. Public programsforum transcriptson the brink the cuban missile crisis. He was tested throughout his short presidency, beginning with the bay of pigs invasion, the berlin crisis, and the cuban missile crisis. A first hand account of the cuban missile crisis introductionfailed mindsets policy and intelligence failures laid the groundwork for the 1962 cuban missile crisis, the most dangerous crisis of the cold war. The event known as the cuban missile crisis, the greatest of all cold war crises, is a milestone in the history of the cold war. The hidden history of the cuban missile crisis return to table of contents. Coldwar nuclear missiles in miami 19621979 by charles d.
The r12 was the first operational intermediaterange ballistic missile, the first missile ever massproduced, and the first soviet missile deployed with a thermonuclear warhead. The estimated number of north american deaths was upwards of 200 million. Nevertheless, american citizens have become adjusted to living daily on the bullseye of. Top secret, the essence of sovietcuban divergences of opinion, december 1, 1962. Soviet deception in the cuban missile crisis maskirovka denial and deception, developing a cover story, operation anadyr, getting the cubans on board, disingenuous diplomacy by progressive management available from rakuten kobo. Great britain, dispatch, confidential, british ambassador in cuba to foreign office, the cuban crisis chapters i and ii, november 10, 1962 with minutes from fos. Kennedy and his advisors considered such a threat to the u. Horelick in a television interview not long after the cuban missile crisis of october i962, president kennedy observed that both the united states and the soviet union. Cuban missile crisis 4 the first consignment of r12 missiles arrived on the night of september 8, followed by a second on september 16. The communists won the cuban missile crisis the future. In the spring of 1962, soviet premier nikita khrushchev sought to fundamentally alter the balance of power between the united states and the soviet union by secretly installing offensive nuclear missiles on cuba, ninety miles off the u.
Kennedy convened an informal group of cabinet officials and top civilian and military advisors the ex comm to consider and plan an appropriate response. Discuss the evidence presented by presidents kennedy and johnson on the reasons. Mail and telegrams along the way were strictly prohibited. Oct 10, 2019 one russian submarine nearly caused the cuban missile crisis to go nuclear. Soviet aid to cuba, servando the nuclear deception nikita khrushchev and the cuban pdf vol. Nikita khrushchev and the cuban missile crisis, castro.
The united states armed forces were on defcon 2, the readiness step next to nuclear war. There are many questions that still remain unanswered. Moscows surreptitious dispatch of nuclearcapable ss4. Cuban missile crisis 1 cuban missile crisis the cuban missile crisis known as the october crisis in cuba or russian. Double, perhaps even quadruple that number of soviet, eastern european, and chinese citizens perished, and no one had any reliable data on how many western europeans, africans, asians, australians, and others were killed by the radioactive fallout as it.
Presidential speeches cuban missile crisis and vietnam war packet 2. Learning from the past soviet deception in the cuban missile crisis james h. Some analysts even have concluded that what was called the cold war ended in 1962 with the cuban missile crisis. The cuban missile war was the most devastating war in world history. The kennedy administration paid close attention to the castro regime.
Cia special national intelligence estimate, major consequences of certain u. In a clandestine operation unprecedented in military history, the ussr moved a whole army around the globe and deployed the most sophisticated weapons of its time right under the nose. Caribbean crisis in russia was a confrontation among the soviet union, cuba and the united states in october 1962, during the cold war. The university libraries are committed to identifying, collecting, organizing, preserving, and providing access to information supporting the instructional programs of the university. For decades the official story here in the united states, one that is inculcated into every student in every public school in the land, is that in the showdown between president kennedy and soviet premier nikita khrushchev during the cuban missile crisis in 1963, kennedy inflicted a humiliating defeat on khrushchev by forcing him to back down and remove his nuclear missiles from cuba. Range of soviet 554 mediumrange ballistic missiles and 555 intermediarerange ball uric. Sergei khrushchev is the son of nikita khrushchev, the premier of the soviet union during the cuban missile crisis.
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