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1958-1962: the years of maximum crisis during the Cold War

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1957: Sputnik

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the curtain raiser for this four-year period

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USSR demonstrates its ability to launch heavy missiles and put things into space

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October 4, 1957: Sputnik

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circled globe at 18,000 M.P.H.

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was crossing the United States

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1958 crises

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1. Middle East crisis

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Iraq

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monarchy that had long been supported by British and Americans was overthrown

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Kingdom of Iraq's Hashemite monarchy was overthrown, ruler murdered

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Hashemite monarchy had been established by King Faisal I in 1921 under the auspices of the British

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ruler murdered

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nationalist dictatorship takes its place

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America

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worried that Soviets would meddle

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tried to stay on the right side of Arab nationalism

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tried to create an Arab bulwark against Soviet penetration there

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2. Taiwan Straits crisis

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USA defends the Republic of China (Taiwan) because of a treaty

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finds itself in a long-grade confrontation with mainland China

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meanwhile the Chinese are secretly pleading to the Soviet Union to give them nuclear weapons so that they will be in a better position in this confrontation with the United States

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the Soviet refusal to give the Chinese nuclear weapons intensifies the split between Mao and Khrushchev

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3. Berlin crisis

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Berlin sitting divided in the middle of a new communist East German state

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West Berlin is a kind of hole in the East German state

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Khrushchev wants to convert this embarrassment to East Germany

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wants to force the West out of Berlin

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grand designs of communist leaders

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China

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Great Leap Forward

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convulsing his country in an effort to rapidly industrialize it

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Sino-Soviet split

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Khrushchev doesn't want Mao to get in a war with the United States

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he doesn't trust him enough

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Khrushchev wants himself and the Soviets to remain the leader of the global communist movement

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this splits was largely in secret but which breaks open by 1960

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creates a dangerous triangle

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Soviets and Chinese are competing for who is to lead the global communist movements, with the United States opposing them both

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Khrushchev's designs

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travels

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September 1959: visited the United States

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speech at UN

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increase nuclear power or at least its appearance

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win victory in Berlin

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cut spending on the huge conventional forces of Soviet military

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use this money to develop the Soviet economy and perhaps instigate a thaw in the hard communist approach to the economy, which is a bit of a contradiction with being global communist leader

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1960 Soviets shoot down American spy plane

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USA denies it

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Khrushchev reveals captured pilot Gary Powers

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summit with Eisenhower cancelled

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April 1961: Cuban Crisis: Bay of Pigs

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Fidel Castro's Cuba becomes tightly aligned with Soviets

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USA attempts invasion of Cuba

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Cuban exiles invade but fail

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Americans do not come to their aid

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embarrassment to Kennedy administration

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Kennedy wants little to do with Cuba, sees it as a distraction

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June 1961: Vienna Conference, Khrushchev and Kennedy

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ended in failure

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Kennedy comes away convinced that the superpowers are headed toward a confrontation centered on Berlin

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August 1961: Khrushchev and the East Germans build a physical wall which cuts off West Berlin

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shooting down anyone who tries to scale the wall

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1961: Americans are realizing that Soviet brandishing of missile power is a bit of a bluff

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they don't have as many long range missiles as the USA feels they might

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Soviet perform many nuclear tests

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the largest nuclear weapons ever detonated in history where during this time: 50 megatons of explosive power and more

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Americans follow with their own tests

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May 1962: Khrushchev secretly deploy missiles and troops to Cuba

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making Cuba a point for striking the US

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this would make the USA unable to defend Berlin

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the USA could not defend Berlin with conventional forces, because it is sitting in the middle of East Germany

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the USA's stance was: if you attack Berlin, we will escalate to using nuclear weapons first

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the Soviet's response was: if you start a nuclear war, we have these missiles right off your shore which can devastate your country

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you have to ask: why would the Cubans go along with this plan?

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they aren't asking for nuclear missiles

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their worry was that this will help make them a target

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Khrushchev is convinced Cuba will do this in return for other favors

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September 1962: Kennedy speech

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we will tolerate this if Soviets are just giving Cubans conventional supplies

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Soviet plan is discovered before Krushchev was going to reveal it

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October flight: spots missiles being prepared for deployment

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Kennedy debates what to do

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October 19th, 1962, meeting

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five people in the room: Kennedy and four military leaders

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Kennedy: first clinically and coldly empathizes with the other side trying to work through their calculations

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sees reasons why the Russians did this:

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1. if we do nothing, they have a missile base there

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2. if we do anything, it gives the Soviets the excuse to retaliate on Berlin

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Kennedy feels that any action he takes on Cuba, Khrushchev will take on Berlin

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yet Kennedy has to do something, otherwise Khrushchev will take Berlin in November, since: they take Berlin, USA only has nuclear war as response, won't do it now because of nuclear weapons in Cuba

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does he attack or negotiate

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Kennedy develops a third, middle option

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he blockades with an ultimatum

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Americans launch diplomatic offensive in secret

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rallied international support with Latin American countries and in Europe

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Moscow reacts:

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we will have to step down somehow now

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Americans don't want the missiles to become a fait accompli

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October 27, the most dangerous day of the crisis

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Castro expects an invasion, ready for war

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the Soviets and Cubans start shooting at spy planes, another U2 is shot down, pilot killed

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Castro is writing a letter to Krushchev, called "The Armegeddon Letter", basically saying, the invasion is underway, you might as well get prepared for nuclear war

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October 28, Khrushchev capitulates and decides to remove missiles

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America mentions that they will remove missiles from Turkey at some point

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aftermath of Cuban Missile Crisis

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world is saved from nuclear war

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with both superpowers having stepped up to the brink, there is a sense that they need to keep this from happening

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incentive to manage the arms race

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in Europe, the Berlin crisis comes to an end

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Soviets simply don't make that move in November 1962

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Soviets feel they have the wall, that is enough

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in Europe the Cold War settles down into grim routine

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the Cold War goes back to proxy battles in the Third World