Why Khrushchev sent missiles to Cuba

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 1962 Khrushchev secretly sent nuclear missiles to Cuba. Why do you think he did it?

  1. To defend Cuba, narrow the missile gap and match US missiles in Turkey.
  2. Because Castro demanded them to invade the USA.
  3. To launch a surprise nuclear attack on the USA from Cuba.
Show the answer

To defend Cuba, narrow the missile gap and match US missiles in Turkey.

Khrushchev also wanted leverage, especially over Berlin. Several motives worked together.

Khrushchev wanted to defend Cuba, narrow the missile gap, match US missiles in Turkey and gain leverage, especially over Berlin.

Defending Cuba: Khrushchev said the missiles were to prevent an American invasion of a Soviet ally. Losing Cuba would damage Soviet prestige, especially as China accused Moscow of weakness.

The strategic balance: the USA had far more long-range missiles than the USSR. Medium and intermediate-range missiles in Cuba could reach most of the USA, quickly reducing the gap.

Equality with the USA: the USA had placed Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy, close to the USSR. Khrushchev wanted the Americans to feel the same threat.

Leverage: success might strengthen his hand on Berlin. In summer 1962, the USSR secretly shipped missiles and around 40,000 troops to Cuba in Operation Anadyr. Historians still debate which motive mattered most.

Operation Anadyr
Secret Soviet deployment, summer 1962.
Soviet troops in Cuba
Around 40,000.
Jupiter missiles
US missiles in Turkey and Italy.

Real examples to use

The idea, May 1962

Khrushchev later wrote that the plan came to him while visiting Bulgaria, across the Black Sea from US missiles in Turkey.

Range of the R-12

The medium-range missiles could reach about 2,000 km, enough to hit Washington from Cuba. That would have narrowed the Soviet gap in long-range weapons.

Tactical nuclear weapons

Soviet forces in Cuba also had short-range nuclear weapons, unknown to US planners at the time. An invasion could have met them.

Worked example: Weighing Khrushchev's motives

An assertion question asks whether the missiles were mainly to defend Cuba.

  1. Support: the threat of invasion was real, and the final deal centred on a no-invasion pledge.
  2. Challenge: nuclear missiles were far more than needed to deter an invasion.
  3. Challenge: Khrushchev's 27 October letter linked Cuba to US missiles in Turkey.
  4. Judgement: defence of Cuba and the strategic balance were intertwined.

Watch out for this

Khrushchev sent the missiles only to start a nuclear war.

He aimed to deter an invasion and change the strategic balance, not to start a war. He backed down when war became a real danger.

Check your understanding

Which motive is best supported by Khrushchev's letter of 27 October?

  1. Gaining control of Cuban sugar exports
  2. Overthrowing Castro and installing a loyal leader
  3. Matching the US missiles placed in Turkey
Show the answer

Matching the US missiles placed in Turkey

Right. He asked why the USA could have missiles next to the USSR but deny the same to him.

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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