Cuban Missile Crisis Explained — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:11] the cuban missile crisis was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear apocalypse an ever-escalating arms race had led to cuba which were now prepped and ready to fire

[00:25] new york and almost the entire eastern seaboard an invasion force of over 120 000 soldiers gathered on the shores of florida weapons were locked onto targets across the

[00:40] soviet union the defining event of the cold war it superpowers fight in a dangerous battle for nuclear superiority just 90 miles from the american coast

[00:53] just 90 miles from the american coast for 13 days in october 1962 american presidents john f kennedy and soviet premier nikita khrushchev would engage in a battle of wills where one wrong move

[01:05] could lead to global destruction time was ticking and neither side knew how events were about to unfold about to unfold [Music]

[01:23] with disputes won by the side with the biggest nuclear arsenal the united states had maintained a significant lead in the arms race since and had already installed jupiter nuclear missiles in italy and turkey

[01:38] all of which were aimed at the soviet union with this advantage the united states were quickly able to gain the upper hand in any cold war confrontation with the soviet leader nikita khrushchev

[01:51] maintain the illusion of control things would change in 1959 when communist revolutionary fidel castro managed to gain power in cuba the

[02:04] to u.s officials as for the last 30 years cuba had been a popular holiday destination for wealthy americans and by the 1950s most of the cuban

[02:16] economy was under american control however this would all change when castro came to power with american-owned banks casinos as well as coffee and sugar plantations all being nationalized with castro

[02:31] for help and protection when john f kennedy became president in 1961 he was under immense pressure to deal with the cuban problem and so launched the bay of pigs invasion

[02:45] in april 1961 just four months after taking office just four months after taking office 1500 cia-trained cuban exiles invaded with their task to depose castro and eliminate communism in cuba

[03:00] but the invasion would turn out to be a disaster the exiles found very little amongst the cuban people and were quickly trapped by castro's forces wanting to hide american involvement kennedy refused to sanction u.s

[03:15] surrendering after just three days it was an embarrassing start to kennedy's presidency castro's victory in cuba was equally as important for khrushchev

[03:28] as well as gaining a new ally in the western hemisphere khrushchev would also develop a deep affection for castro himself like a son deciding that it was only a matter of

[03:41] invasion of cuba khrushchev decided to deploy nuclear missiles to the island in 1962 insisting on complete secrecy if all went to plan he would fly to havana the capital of cuba

[03:56] once the missiles were installed to announce a formal defense agreement with forming a united front against the americans in order to maintain complete secrecy the soviet troops

[04:09] sent the island were crammed beneath the deck of cargo and transport ships where there was barely enough space to lie down where they were heading and were told to wear civilian clothes

[04:22] and were told to wear civilian clothes once they arrived to avoid detection accompanying the transport ships were four soviet submarines nuclear-tipped torpedo but conditions on the submarines were

[04:35] even worse than on the transport ships as the submarines entered tropical waters each 78-man crew would have to deal with temperatures as high as 140 degrees fahrenheit or 60

[04:48] celsius the crews suffered from extreme made worse by the dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide levels of carbon dioxide and the constant smell of diesel

[05:01] u.s intelligence and khrushchev's great missile gamble was looking successful they would learn khrushchev stated just what it feels like to have enemy missiles pointing at you

[05:15] them a little taste of their own medicine

[05:30] it would take over a month for american u2 spy planes to first spot the missiles on october 16th the cia would present kennedy with a series of photographs of the unfinished missile sites with important elements labeled for easy

[05:43] it was soon determined that they were dealing with medium-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets at a distance of almost 1200 miles launched from cuba

[05:56] they would be capable of delivering a nuclear strike on florida washington dc in just 13 minutes causing millions of civilian casualties to help guide him through the crisis

[06:11] kennedy would set up xcom a group of his most influential and trusted advisors as the group debated it soon became clear that kennedy had two options open to him he could either set

[06:23] up a naval blockade around cuba to prevent further soviet shipments from or he could use air strikes to take out the missile sites before they could be after days of debate kennedy would decide that the blockade was the better

[06:38] it was far less likely to provoke a conflict and would open the way for negotiation on october 22nd over a hundred million americans would tune into the television and watch kennedy announce the discovery

[06:52] and his plans to implement a naval blockade of cuba good evening my fellow citizens this government as promised has maintained the closest surveillance of the soviet military buildup

[07:08] on the island of cuba within the past week unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned

[07:22] island it shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launch from cuba against any nation in the western hemisphere as an attack by the soviet union on the

[07:35] united states requiring a full retardatory response requiring a full retardatory response upon the soviet union almost 5 000 miles the world khrushchev was deciding how to respond to kennedy's announcement

[07:49] he was glad that the president had shown restraint and had decided not to invade the soviet soldiers stationed in cuba were equipped with short-range nuclear missiles to use in the event of a u.s invasion

[08:03] if kennedy had decided to invade a full-scale nuclear war would have almost certainly followed with kennedy implementing a naval blockade of cuba khrushchev now had to decide what to do

[08:16] with the soviet ships still at sea while almost all of the first shipments a more powerful group of intermediate-range missiles was still halfway across the atlantic he could either back down now

[08:30] and face an embarrassing retreat or call the americans bluff and continue to push ahead as khrushchev debated the issue united states the stock exchange was tanking and many

[08:44] suddenly found themselves emptied out in a wave of panic buying people could only sit at home and watch as news came in of soviet ships creeping closer and closer to the blockade

[08:58] finally on the morning of october 24th two days after kennedy's announcement news would come in that the first soviet ship had turned around and began sailing back home kennedy's gamble had paid off

[09:12] there would be no more soviet missiles arriving in cuba upon hearing the news secretary of state dean rusk would famously state we're eyeballed to eyeball and i think the other fellow just blinked

[09:36] but the crisis would continue as the missile sites neared completion missile sites neared completion each side would begin to prepare for war the strategic air command would move to defcon 2 for the first time in history

[09:50] just one step short of nuclear war it commanded almost 3 000 nuclear and had a b-52 stratofortress taking off from u.s air bases every 20 minutes each carrying enough destructive power

[10:05] to take out four soviet cities the u.s invasion plan of cuba was also nearing completion with top generals pressuring kennedy to authorize the attack codenamed operation scabbards the

[10:20] air strikes followed by a paratrooper drop and an amphibious landing of a hundred and twenty thousand troops almost the size of the d-day landings at the end of world war ii

[10:34] as these troops began to arrive in florida the state came to resemble a war machine gun nests and barbed wire littered the beaches and armed soldiers patrolled the street the casa marina hotel was turned into an

[10:49] army headquarters and the cia set up safe houses in the surrounding area where cuban exiles were prepared to be used as an infiltration force war was fast approaching but on the evening of october 26th

[11:04] the first signs of a diplomatic solution would appear kennedy would receive an unexpected letter from khrushchev outlining the potential terms of a deal if the united states ended the blockade

[11:17] and promised not to invade cuba then khrushchev would be willing to withdraw his troops but the members of x-com were skeptical many were keen to invade while others were unwilling to accept

[11:30] any compromise that could be seen as a sign of weakness sign of weakness negotiation would have to wait

[11:55] october 27 1962 a day that would come to be known saturday on this day a series of incredibly dangerous events would take any one of which could have led to a nuclear war

[12:15] composing a letter to khrushchev urging him to consider a nuclear first against the united states he had become utterly convinced that an american invasion was imminent and wanted his soviet allies to deliver

[12:29] and wanted his soviet allies to deliver the first blow there was time for negotiation he would send a second proposal to

[12:44] kennedy this time specifying what he would accept in a deal from cuba if kennedy would do the same with the american jupiter missiles in turkey

[12:57] process khrushchev would instead broadcast his message over radio moscow for the world to hear when kennedy heard the proposal he knew it was a fair deal the jupiter

[13:11] obsolete with secretary of defense robert mcnamara describing them as a pile of junk yet there was significant resistance within xcom the turkish government was opposed

[13:24] and it was argued that trading away the missiles would significantly weaken the and lead to further demands from khrushchev if kennedy wanted to accept the deal he would have to stand alone

[13:38] against his advisors [Music] american spy plane pilot rudolf anderson would then enter cuban airspace as he

[13:51] began photographing the missile site he would draw the attention of soviet air defenses who would label him target number 33 the soviet forces had been in a state of high alert for a number of days

[14:05] american invasion was imminent anderson's plane was particularly troubling as it had flown over the missile site targeting guantanamo bay if allowed to leave the americans would

[14:18] positions paving the way for targeted air strikes deciding it was too dangerous to let the the order was dispatched to destroy target number 33

[14:32] two missiles were fired with anderson being killed upon being killed upon impact the crisis had claimed its first

[14:52] air strikes against cuba by monday morning at the latest and news was starting to come in that anderson's plane had been shot down at this crucial moment kennedy would turn to the one person he could truly

[15:07] his brother attorney general bobby kennedy with the help of presidential speechwriter ted sirensen bobby would draft a reply to khrushchev that attempted to merge

[15:19] all the different ideas x-com had in exchange for the removal of the missiles the united states would be willing to make a pledge not to invade cuba the removal of the jupiter missiles

[15:32] in turkey was also part of the deal but this would have to remain a secret to avoid offending america's nato allies khrushchev would just have to trust that the president would stick to his word

[15:45] was rejected he would have no choice but to go to war

[15:59] the soviet ambassador an incredibly dangerous confrontation would occur in the atlantic the u.s navy had been making an intense to find the four soviet submarines since the crisis began

[16:12] and had finally closed in on them they planned to use signaling depth charges to drive the submarines to the surface whose harmless explosions would act as a warning

[16:24] the soviet submarine b-59 had been chased by u.s forces for the last two days with the already unbearable conditions on board having gotten worse the ventilation system had shut down

[16:37] with temperatures rising to unbearable heights and high levels of carbon causing many officers to faint while on duty the disoriented crew would be shaken by wave after

[16:50] wave of deafening explosions as u.s ships began dropping signaling depth charges directly on top of them the submarine's crew had been unable to contact moscow for over 24 hours and as far as they were aware world war

[17:05] could have broken out while they were under the waves captain would order nuclear torpedoes to be launched believing that war had already begun

[17:18] but the decision required the approval of all on-board officers one of the officers vasily arkapov refused to go through with the launch single-handedly preventing the outbreak of nuclear war

[17:32] of nuclear war [Music] knew what the next day would hold the crisis had claimed its first

[17:46] a nuclear launch had been narrowly avoided in the atlantic military were pressing for war the power to end now lay with khrushchev he could either swallow his pride and accept kennedy's

[18:03] or push for further concessions and risk provoking war

[18:18] he would have to retreat as kennedy's message came in promising to remove the jupiter missiles khrushchev finally had terms he could work with and that morning he would broadcast his acceptance of the

[18:31] deal on radio moscow bringing an end to the crisis the soviet forces in cuba were ordered to dismantle the missiles and return them home with the last leaving the island two

[18:44] the blockade was formally ended on november 20th with the jupiter missiles as promised being discreetly dismantled five months later while kennedy and khrushchev were both relieved

[18:58] others were less happy castro was furious that a deal had taken place behind his back and would begin to doubt the resolve of his soviet allies the u.s military who had been pushing

[19:11] for an invasion since the crisis began were also critical of the deal with general curtis lemay describing the deal as the greatest defeat in american history the cuban missile crisis would have a

[19:25] significant effect on the cold war having come so close to nuclear superpowers would take steps to ensure that a similar crisis could never happen communication had been particularly poor

[19:39] during the crisis with khrushchev's first letter taking almost 12 hours to reach the president a hotline would soon be installed between the white house and the kremlin

[19:51] crisis occurred never again would the most powerful leaders in the world have to communicate through the sole use of handwritten letters and radio broadcasts

[21:31] [Music] you