The Bay of Pigs and the threat of invasion

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge how the Cold War played out in Korea, Vietnam and Cuba, and how each conflict changed the Cold War.

    Syllabus 9174, Paper 1, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the manifestation of the Cold War conflict across different contexts over time, and its impact on the Cold War

Make a guess

In April 1961, CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs. What do you think happened?

  1. Castro's forces defeated them within three days.
  2. They overthrew Castro with US Army support.
  3. They took Havana and held it for several weeks.
Show the answer

Castro's forces defeated them within three days.

Kennedy refused US air cover. The failure strengthened Castro and convinced him and Khrushchev that the USA would try again.

The failed Bay of Pigs invasion and continued US covert attacks made Castro and Khrushchev expect a new invasion.

In April 1961, about 1,400 Cuban exiles, trained and armed by the CIA, landed at the Bay of Pigs. Kennedy refused to send US air cover, and Castro's forces defeated them within three days.

The failure embarrassed Kennedy and strengthened Castro. It also convinced Castro and Khrushchev that the USA would try again, perhaps with its own forces.

From late 1961, the USA ran Operation Mongoose, a covert campaign of sabotage and plots against Castro. US military exercises in the Caribbean added to Cuban fears.

Khrushchev had also met Kennedy at Vienna in June 1961 and judged him inexperienced. The Berlin Wall went up in August 1961. Khrushchev believed he could take risks without a strong American response.

Bay of Pigs
April 1961: about 1,400 CIA-trained exiles defeated.
Operation Mongoose
Covert US campaign against Castro from late 1961.
Vienna summit
June 1961: Khrushchev judges Kennedy weak.

Real examples to use

Landing, 17 April 1961

The exile brigade was beaten within three days, and about 1,200 men were captured. Kennedy refused open US air cover.

Prisoners ransomed, December 1962

The captives were released in exchange for about 53 million dollars of food and medicine, a reminder that the invasion had failed.

Cuba suspended from the OAS, January 1962

The USA isolated Cuba in the Americas, which strengthened Havana's fear of a second invasion.

Worked example: Using the Bay of Pigs as context

A source shows Khrushchev claiming the missiles were defensive.

  1. Context: the Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose show the threat to Cuba was real.
  2. So the claim of defending Cuba is plausible.
  3. But defence alone does not explain why nuclear missiles were chosen, rather than troops and conventional arms.
  4. Judgement: the claim is partly valid but incomplete.

Watch out for this

The Bay of Pigs was a US Army invasion of Cuba.

It was carried out by Cuban exiles trained by the CIA. Kennedy deliberately kept US forces out of direct combat.

Check your understanding

How did the Bay of Pigs affect Cuban and Soviet thinking?

  1. It made them expect a further, stronger US invasion attempt.
  2. It convinced them the USA had given up on Cuba.
  3. It made Castro end ties with the USSR.
Show the answer

It made them expect a further, stronger US invasion attempt.

Right. This fear shaped the decision to defend Cuba.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • Kennedy writes to Khrushchev

    Paraphrase of President Kennedy's letter to Chairman Khrushchev, 22 October 1962, sent with a copy of his televised statement on Cuba.

  • Khrushchev's first proposal

    Paraphrase of Chairman Khrushchev's letter to President Kennedy, 26 October 1962, as translated by the US embassy in Moscow.

  • Khrushchev raises Turkey

    Paraphrase of Chairman Khrushchev's letter to President Kennedy, 27 October 1962, broadcast publicly by Moscow radio.

  • Kennedy replies

    Paraphrase of President Kennedy's message to Chairman Khrushchev, 27 October 1962, released to the press.

  • Khrushchev announces withdrawal

    Paraphrase of Chairman Khrushchev's letter to President Kennedy, 28 October 1962.

  • Kennedy addresses the nation, 22 October 1962

    Extract from President John F. Kennedy's radio and television report to the American people on the Soviet arms build-up in Cuba, broadcast on 22 October 1962. A US government document in the public domain; text from the American Presidency Project.

  • Khrushchev replies, 24 October 1962

    Extract from Chairman Nikita Khrushchev's letter to President Kennedy, Moscow, 24 October 1962, in the official translation prepared by the US Department of State, printed in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume VI, document 63. A US government publication in the public domain.

  • the President's advisers debate Turkey, 27 October 1962

    Extract from the summary record of the eighth meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm), Washington, 27 October 1962, 4 p.m., written by Bromley Smith, Top Secret. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XI, document 94. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Robert Kennedy reports his meeting with the Soviet ambassador

    Extract from a memorandum by Attorney General Robert Kennedy to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, 30 October 1962, describing his meeting with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin on the evening of 27 October. Top Secret. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XI, document 96. The editors note that a typed sentence was crossed out of the final paragraph: "If some time elapsed--and per your instructions, I mentioned four or five months--I said I was sure that these matters could be resolved satisfactory." A US government document in the public domain.

  • a cartoon about the settlement, November 1962

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a European newspaper cartoon published in November 1962, after the Soviet missiles were withdrawn. It is not a copy of a real cartoon. The American missiles in Turkey were removed in April 1963; the understanding was kept secret until the late 1980s.

The Wise Otter

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