The Cuban Missile Crisis

Explain the Cuban Missile Crisis. What happened and why is it considered “the hottest moment in the Cold War”? What did Kennedy do to combat the crisis?

the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded.

In 1962, the Soviet Union was behind the United States in the arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had the idea of placing missiles in Cuba. if they had missiles in Cuba that would double there arsenal and that would deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union.