Transcript for:
The Cuban Missile Crisis Declassified

Mudd welcome to The History Channel 40 years ago the Cold War threatened to boil over into a full-scale nuclear exchange according to most accounts the Cuban Missile Crisis was diffused by deaf diplomacy in the Kennedy administration but newly declassified documents and eyewitness interviews indicate the showdown between the superpowers was far different and even more threatening than the version found in most books join us now as the History Channel presents the Cuban Missile Crisis Declassified one man wanted to win it all the other had everything to lose [Music] together their nuclear missiles brought the world to the edge of annihilation the island of Cuba becomes the center of the world Fidel Castro says the Russian missiles are for defense but for others they are a deadly threat [Music] for 15 days in October 1962 the world is on edge [Music] will it be a countdown to World War three [Music] [Music] nikita khrushchev now-retired has time to relax and enjoy nature but when he ruled the soviet union it was a superpower and his actions affected the world now his world is one small garden not long before he died he reflects on his motives and behavior during the Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy and I are different people I used to be a miner a working man he's a millionaire the son of a millionaire [Music] we represent classes that cannot be reconciled his aim was to strengthen capitalism mine was to destroy capitalism [Music] the planet Earth four billion years of life and for the first time mankind has the ability to destroy it all in one blow in 1962 the world is divided between East and West a balance of Terror exists in the competition over atomic superiority a Cold War so far a u2 reconnaissance plane is on a special mission authorized by President Kennedy [Music] in the cockpit Richard Heiser I knew it was an important mission because I had two generals Air Force generals out there to brief me on the on the missions the target Cuba they were pretty well convinced what was going on a lot of the people in the intelligence community but to be able to prove to the people who were not intelligence people it took a picture show me a picture a suspicion based on reports that Soviet nuclear weapons might be based on Cuba with missiles aimed at the United States major Heiser is a photographic reconnaissance specialist with this kaa team stripped camera he can take thousands of photos in a couple of minutes from 12 miles overhead it's a risky undertaking for the pilot I was briefed that there was a possibility or a probability that I'd be fired in the mission was designed to fly as high as I could fly maximum altitude and I think any u2 pilot will tell you that from the time they pushed the throttle forward on takeoff the adrenaline shoots [Music] well and shoots at building [Music] for some it was hard to believe the Soviets would take such a risk the Soviets had never placed their own nuclear missiles outside their own borders they were highly secret weapons that they feared might fall into the hands of the United States and the West they were highly dangerous weapons and they did not want those weapons to come under the control of anyone else the photo analysts work overtime there's three miles of film thousands of photographs to be developed and evaluated they're searching for a needle in a haystack looking for tiny clues visible only with a microscope one of the scanners noted that there was changes in the st. Cristobal area so he hands the film over to a missile team and they knew about what the missile sites looked like in the Soviet Union the sites in Cuba matched perfectly when I scribed the circle from San Cristobal and it included Washington I knew that Washington therefore was going to be a target certainly [Music] no doubt about it I knew that this was going to be the is not only historic but possibly a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union these pictures will change the world nuclear weapons are at the doorstep of the United States [Music] the President of the United States still doesn't know about the photographs John F Kennedy is holding a reception for a state visitor Algeria's Achmed benbella the youngest elected president John F Kennedy represents a new hope he wants to lead his country in a new direction advocating a more vigorous government [Music] along with his wife Jackie he represents a new generation in America Jack Kennedy knows how to portray himself he understands the powerful effect of images and how to win people over this evening all is still quiet at the white house now it just so happened this was election period and the president was upper New York State campaigning and he wasn't going to get home until later that night George Bundy decided that let the president have a good night rest and then we'll tell him it would be his last good night's rest for a while [Music] you race against time begins National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy chose President Kennedy the photographs the evidence Soviet missiles placed in Cuba can reach Washington in ten minutes they represent the gravest threat the US has ever faced total shock why had God's name with Soviets do such a thing they must have thought would react at least that was our feeling why did they do it total shock the Kremlin for centuries it has been the symbol of power in Russia where czars have lived and where Soviet leaders have ruled on some occasions the public is led in to meet their leader like this reception for workers and farmers from the Ukraine [Applause] Nikita Khruschev has total control over the Soviet Union he's determined that his country will flourish once again that communism will ultimately triumph over capitalism you know the whole crisis was really due to the fact that the US they did not want to recognize the Soviet Union as an equal player around him in agroco Khrushchev believes that putting missiles in Cuba will even the playing field he replied what's so special about Danica's you Americans are surrounded our entire country with missiles you have missiles in Turkey in Italy and England which why can't we do the same thing 45 American nuclear Jupiter missiles positioned in Turkey and Italy are close to the Soviet sphere of influence [Music] not crucial Khrushchev saw the American superiority in strategic nuclear weapons the Americans together with the French and English had 5000 of them we had 300 nuclear warheads [Music] the Soviet response is the SS for intermediate-range missile it's part of the plan to achieve parity with American missile capacity 36 of the SS fors will make Cuba an impregnable fortress a deterrent to any US invasion [Music] thirty-six missiles with nuclear warheads each missile is powerful and deadly as 66 of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima but placing nuclear missiles on Cuba is not only a political challenge it is a threat to America's very existence in the Oval Office everyone agrees the missiles have to be removed Robert Kennedy the president's brother and attorney general advocates of vigorous response but when [Music] we had a time advantage as long as the Soviets did not know that we knew we used that time to formulate carefully our response until we were ready with the response we did not want the Soviets to know that a response would be forthcoming and what will the response be is any response possible that doesn't rely on arms and lead to war is a peaceful response possible in the midst of the Cold War a response that doesn't involve America backing down or appearing weak [Music] a response worthy of a great power [Music] a response that preserves life and the planet because nuclear war would mean the end of everything [Music] Castro and Cuba appear confident Havana has broken off all ties with the United States the imperialist arch-enemy across the ocean Cuba's old memorials now serve new ideals the monuments of its history are now trophies of socialism the people in the streets are committed to a new dream so si le smo Orden whet they socialism or death the people's militia guards the new message that of a utopian society that will unite all the peoples of the world in peace and happiness Cuban children are taught the basic tenants of revolution colorful picture books record the victory of the revolution over the corrupt Batista regime the march on Havana and victory at the Bay of Pigs the attempted u.s. invasion and presiding over all these heroic deeds is Cuba's charismatic leader Fidel Castro a todos de los rebel scenario telepathy Jota Sarah la vez más fuerte de todos [Music] c'est la la victoria Letta head bozos a video marketing the familiar Alto the Castro family and the Cuban people are not afraid of anything or anybody we are a small island and very determined what should we fear but the Cuban people aren't aware yet of what's happening on their island that soon women students workers office clerks will be called to arms [Music] Fidel Castro and his brother Raul are most worried about a u.s. invasion America is only 80 miles away as the crow flies US troops landed here once before at the behest of the CIA in an attempt to topple Castro's regime so constant vigilance is the mission of this island nation the way to preserve Cuba are the Soviet nuclear missiles part of the equation okay law Soviet a capacitor of course why did the Soviets place missiles here well they said it was to defend Cuba but it was also to impose an international balance of power Quan Tora Cuba itself did not want any missiles it did not meet an oak area loco tenaris new Asiata loco a Toronto and yet Castro agrees to accept the missiles to serve the cause of world revolution [Music] for two months now merchant ships have been docking at the port of Mario loaded with missile components tanks planes and thousands of soldiers [Music] the biggest secret operation of the Cold War has begun without American knowledge the first missiles are placed on Cuban soil from this moment on the clock starts ticking the danger of discovery increases each day the covert construction unfolds during the night high-tech missiles traveled bumpy roads Khrushchev's game can only really begin when this cargo reaches its destination and is assembled [Music] [Music] the sandy path behind the city of San Cristobal turns into a nuclear Highway six launch pads are erected sheltered by the mountains of granny guanaco the missiles can reach Washington DC in ten minutes could World War three be set in motion from this field on this day the Soviets and the Cubans do not realize that overhead another American reconnaissance aircraft is in the air taking new photographs gathering new evidence [Music] at the same time in Washington black limousines pull up outside the White House US Treasury secretary Douglas Dillon Vice President Lyndon Johnson Secretary of State Dean Rusk [Applause] [Music] attorney General Robert Kennedy and general Maxwell Taylor chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff it was a tense meeting it was a tense day all of us knew that it was unprecedented the death there had never been a nuclear confrontation in the history of the world and we were about to face one it's a meeting like none before the mood is extremely tense President Kennedy presses a switch under his desk starting a tape recorder no one knows they're being recorded a lot is at stake and I just know something like in the fear that that if we did not force the missiles out the Soviets would move aggressively elsewhere in the world against the Western interests against the freedom and strength of the West elsewhere in the world was ever-present in our minds and it was a very very deep-seated fear the executive committee or XCOM is the hastily convened crisis committee the best and the brightest as they are later dubbed the reconnaissance photographs are analyzed the men focus on one question when will the Soviet missiles become operational within a week the experts estimate is that enough time to respond and what should that response be an invasion a bombing raid diplomacy or a blockade of Cuba only one thing is certain the missiles have to go but can that be achieved without war people around the table became weary frustrated fearful sometimes emotional understandably so it was an emotional moment in our lives and in the life of our country and our planet they have to find an answer but secretly for Moscow still doesn't know how much the United States knows the Kennedy team has to use this time wisely all arguments should be considered repercussions are debated there was a very serious risk of Soviet pressure on Berlin they tried it in in 1961 the fall and we were concerned many believed that if we didn't force those missiles out they would try it again in 1962 or 63 was a major concern acknowledged [Music] the cement of the Berlin wall is barely dry built just 15 months earlier it's a symbol of division not just of Germany but of the whole world West Berlin is a thorn in the side of the Soviets and since they can't get rid of it they have walled it in [Music] the principal protection at that stage was the pane of glass theory and the Soviets knew that if they broke that pane of glass by moving in on West Berlin there would be an overwhelming Western response nuclear or otherwise this pane of glass surrounded by a wall is where East and West diverge they are hostile worlds separated by a no-man's land but the calm is deceptive enact it was obvious that something was in the air and we started to consider the whole issue because of course we knew at once that if things became critical over there they will also become critical in Berlin Berlin Berlin was the weakest point geographically isolated [Music] [Applause] [Music] West Berliners are accustomed to living with this threat and react with their own brand of dry humor they also see themselves as Islanders on an island of affluence but they are at the mercy of the reverberations of international politics when elephants start dancing it's best for mice to step aside and this really was well it wasn't exactly a dance of the elephants but it was a potential battle of the giants it makes sense for everyone to stay quiet and keep out of the way in the hope of not being trampled to death in the middle 500 miles to the east the dance has not yet begun the Soviet Union doesn't know that its missiles have been detected Khrushchev seems optimistic about redressing the balance of power with the US and protecting Cuba the Cuban missiles will be ready in a week then he will be able to present Kennedy with a fait accompli the Americans will have to accept it Khrushchev thinks Khrushchev was a wishful thinking and he thought that his imagination and his vision of the world was a correct one come scholars and all matters I don't think my father understood the mentality of the Americans he didn't think the White House would risk war because of those missiles in the Atiq [Music] Cruces foreign minister Andrei Gromyko pays a visit to President Kennedy it's supposed to be a routine meeting but in fact it's another round in the game of Cuban poker thirty minutes in which the cards could be reshuffled I think this was a last opportunity to tell the truth for our country I mean practiced friendliness cautious exploration a little smile for the photographers and then a game of cat and mouse he had the photography ready to confront Gromyko and Gromyko denied that there was missiles in Cuba Gromyko puts on a show pulling out all his diplomatic tricks Anatoly Dobrynin the Soviet ambassador to Washington is with him the Brennan is unaware of what's happening not yet involved in the game they did not inform me of course it is a curious situation if the Ambassador knows nothing of an issue that defines the relationship between the two countries at that moment [Music] Khrushchev's missile plan is top secret orders are that nothing can be admitted but he made everything to to move gromicko to the confession of course who gromicko has no instruction and he was not a man who was act without instructions Kennedy from that moment was absolutely right not to trust any statement on the part of Kremlin and the president then said that line bastard and he wouldn't have anything do it Gromyko after that Kennedy keeps his trump card secret the photos remain in his desk drawer for now [Music] meanwhile work on the cuban missile site continues five more days until the first is ready for deployment construction is under the cover of darkness making us reconnaissance planes ineffective the Soviet still believed that their camouflage is working soldiers from special units are made to look like agricultural experts machines are digging away all to make Khrushchev's vision come true presenting Kennedy with a fait accompli [Music] from these launch pads 36 nuclear missiles with a total explosive force of 2,400 Hiroshima bombs target the US on the surface it's business as usual President Kennedy campaigns for Democrats congressional elections are less than a month away he stands before cheering crowds appearing confident and assured [Applause] but the anxiety over cuba is ever-present the task of helping candidates pales before his real mission of keeping the secret until he has a plan [Music] [Applause] the citizens should pay too much attention to what candidates say in the last four weeks of election I believe the old Emersonian advice that what you are speaks far louder than what you say is the best possible advice in judging a political campaign campaign rhetoric but then a curious sentence follows is there a double meaning I hope that you're going to be available in 1964 we may need I hope that you're going to be available in 1964 we may need [Applause] although the election campaign is in full swing reality is catching up with Kennedy his executive committee is pressing for a decision his decision he has to return to Washington immediately so a story is created to explain his sudden departure last night in Chicago the assistant White House physician dr. George Berkeley noticed that the president's voice was very husky this morning when he examined the president he found the president that developed a slight temperature and he was suffering from a minor upper respiratory ailment but suggest to the national security affairs were possibly one of the reasons for the president returning Sunday to unless the president returned because of its cold because of the advice was doctor a long time ago plans for a military strike against Cuba were drawn up by the Department of Defense there are generals who have long believed Cuba is a military not a political problem now the hardliners demand action air raids and if that doesn't work an invasion general Curtis LeMay Air Force chief of staff is one of the Hawks LeMay was like a guy with a bandolier full of grenades and he'd walk down the Pentagon corridors and look in and throw a grenade in there and then walk down throw a grenade over there just to stir up people and there was an old saying that if you got in a fight with LeMay always you know protect your genitals because that's where he was going to hit you [Music] Kennedy wants to work around the generals right now but he trusts general Maxwell Taylor the man he appointed as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kennedy was disgusted both with his some of his own actions and the advice he had received he was mistrustful of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the only person in uniform in those days he seemed to have confidence and was my father Maxwell Taylor has an office in the White House close to Kennedy the only military man on the executive committee his job is to restrain the other generals and tame the Hawks [Music] this was President Kennedy's way of saying I want Taylor's advice here and I value it more than I do those of the Joint Chiefs in the Pentagon this doesn't please general LeMay he wants direct access to the president so he can push his plan when they asked him but what he do Kimi said I'll fry it that's easy but he was determined that I hate like hell to say this but I think he would have liked to have unleashed his bomber force pressure from the Armed Forces now dominates all discussion in the White House some members of XCOM agree with the generals there is concern that Americans will demand firm action once it's known there are nuclear missiles in Cuba aimed at the u.s. Kennedy and his brother want a resolution that avoids immediate armed conflict they want disposal of the missiles without war how can this be done will threats work or will crush off regard threats is a weakness to exploit kennedy believes it's crucial to appear completely resolute no option can be ruled out including an invasion Khrushchev has to recognize that he has no choice and the US Armed Forces have to be kept on alert Lemay's bombers can be useful as a fist under a glove [Music] within the executive committee one idea is gaining popularity it's an unusual scheme using US ships in a blockade of Cuba no shots will have to be fired at least initially [Music] put the ball in Khrushchev's Court put the decision to him as to whether to go further up the ladder of escalation we did not wish to do so you did not want to drive him into a corner where his only choice was humiliation or escalation hundreds of US Navy vessels can form a ring around the island preventing khrushchev ships from reaching Cuba it can be a first step but will it be enough a blockade even if as it would be expected it would be fully effective in stopping any introduction of new weapons it wouldn't itself alone do anything about getting rid of the weapons that were already in Cuba the US Armed Forces have to prepare for all military options against Cuba as the quarantine could fail 250,000 men hundreds of Tanks more than a thousand aircrafts are readied Florida is put in a state of emergency although it's officially labeled a practice maneuver how long can all this be kept a secret from the public it was an armed camp that was absolutely bristling with everything we had and I was confident that if we did make the decision to invade Cuba that we could do so successfully in Key West people guess that all this activity has something to do with Cuba with intimidating Castro many are Cuban exiles who longed for the overthrow of the regime something is in the air and a few journalists become suspicious one of the major newspapers of the country indicated that they had knowledge that we had photographs of missiles in Cuba Soviet missiles in Cuba and that they were planning to do an outside and the president then did something very unusual he called the publisher and asked him not to publish that information the publisher complies with a request that's the only time that has happened but in the seven years I was secretary but one reporter in Washington follows a lead we went to a place in Georgetown in Washington called the carriage house and there I saw a group of people I knew from a State Department high level officials in the areas of the Caribbean which include Cuba of course I had immediate suspicion so I went over to them instead I fellas what are you all doing together on a Sunday after evening sitting around here having dinner together and they all turned green they wouldn't tell me anything but I went back home and I made a lot of phone calls around to people I knew and came to the conclusion that there were indeed offensive missiles potentially nuclear in Cuba by the Soviets I called New York talked to the desk at the New York Herald Tribune my paper and dictated a story so as far as I know that was the first hard story that there were indeed missiles in Cuba time is running out news is leaking kennedy has to make what will be the most important speech of his life President Kennedy will address the nation tonight on radio and television on a subject of the highest national urgency the White House has for the time shortly after noon today the president has been engaged this morning in a number of meetings with key people in the administration newspaper stories are about to come out but the public still hasn't been told what's going on the Cuban Missile Crisis is still a secret but not for much longer [Music] the White House is besieged by the press reporters from the Soviet Union are also invited for the first time in years they will experience the drama of this historic moment firsthand [Music] from the desks of the correspondence the tension is transmitted around the world as is endless speculation [Music] in Moscow speculation is also rife Kru chef is alerted by the foreign ministry and the leading figures in the Communist Party are quickly assembled [Music] they await the Soviet leader a collective guessing game begins in the foyer have the missiles in Cuba been spotted has the whole thing been uncovered [Music] cruise off is on his way to his headquarters his mind occupied with many thoughts Kennedy must know about the missiles no doubt about it how will Kennedy react should Khrushchev expect the worst [Music] the American president gives into pressure from his armed forces and mounts an attack an attack on Cuba then an invasion of 250,000 American troops could be stopped with one atomic bomb the Americans would be dead what would Kennedy do then he would deploy his own nuclear weapons but then what the United States is unaware that a short-range nuclear weapon is already in place on Cuba unlike the big bombs these are tactical weapons designed for the battlefield they're called Luna's they can be used to eliminate thousands of attackers in one stroke could the Luna's trigger World War 3 the Dickinson Ismaili the Americans didn't know they didn't know anything about those tactical nuclear weapons on Cuba if they had attacked I believe the commander of our forces there general pliosaur would have used those weapons at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 the Kennedy administration was divided the president favored a naval blockade his military men argued for an air strike or even a land invasion that debate has been well documented but only now are we learning what went on inside the walls of the Kremlin we now return to the Cuban Missile Crisis declassified 1962 President John F Kennedy broadcast a special message to the nation from his office in the White House here is President Kennedy as he delivered that message bearing on recent events in Cuba 10 seconds to go never before have so many waited so anxiously for the words of an American president good evening my fellow citizens this government as promised has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup 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 Island to hold this offensive build-up a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated all ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port where they found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons be turned back the message was we were determined to get the missiles out we were prepared to fight to get them out but in the meantime there is a period we're not going to fight we're going to impose a quarantine and that's implied the time for negotiation should these offensive military preparations continue thus increasing the threat to the hemisphere further action will be justified I have directed the Armed Forces to prepare for any eventuality all US Armed Forces go to defense condition DEFCON three it's just two levels away from war but still no more than a threatening gesture it shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union retaliation would come in the form of b-52s the core of the American nuclear bomber fleet there are more than 500 available 66 of which are constantly in the air directly threatening the Soviet Union our goal is not the victory of might but the vindication of right not peace at the expense of freedom but both peace and freedom here in this Hemisphere and we hope around the world God willing that goal will be achieved thank you and good night [Music] did the president strike the right note with this mixture of strength and caution he wants to keep options open avoiding talk of an invasion in Havana Cuban officials here Kennedy's speech and a conference of leading party figures is called they're now in a heightened state of alert although Kennedy didn't mention an invasion he did talk about further measures Cuba has to be prepared for every possibility more with Alma on the first day we mobilized a hundred and seventy thousand men in total there were over a quarter of a million warriors in the trenches so CLE small or Muerte socialism or death although it's thousands of miles away Germany is very close to the conflict it always has the potential to be a future battleground for nuclear exchange between the two superpowers the United States informs its German allies of the situation late-night talks are held with German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer his opinion is clear do not back down on any account now is the time to drive a wedge between Castro and Khrushchev one of ideas was that Castro's role should be played up because making Castro out to be the bad guy would give Khrushchev the opportunity to back down without losing face I think that was not an hour's basic concept he was a Sly Fox you know add an hour's advice was that Kennedy must follow through on what he has announced too much time has already gone by Castro has been allowed to do as he pleases for too long the same goes for Khrushchev who divided Germany with a wall the German leader believes the balance of power will be disturbed if Kennedy fails to act resolutely [Music] the blockade allows the Kremlin to sound the all-clear at least temporarily Cuba is not going to be attacked for the time being naturally there was a sense of relief when Kennedy announced the blockade because in the language of diplomacy that means I am prepared to negotiate Khrushchev wants to demonstrate that there is no need to panic the public will not see an agitated Soviet leadership heading home the conference room becomes their dormitory [Music] in the adjoining room where the only bed has been prepared Khrushchev lies down knowing his plan hasn't succeeded but he has no intention of backing down yet the game of poker has just begun but as the high-stakes game worth the risk [Music] this is where the decisive showdown will take place [Music] Kennedy's Armada is moving into position 60 heavily armed ships form a ring of steel and cannons will it be impenetrable we had heard the president say that we were going to intercept shipping so the very first question that the commanding officer of the beasts all directed at me was Commodore what do I do if we intercept a ship approaching Cuba and he refuses to stop when I ask him to stop standard procedure is a single shot across the bow if this doesn't stop the ship then guns are fired to disable it and finally the ship is boarded but wouldn't the firing of guns mean war it was a mistake I think not to have considered before the imposition of the blockade what exactly were to be the rules of engagement for our ships it's possible but there could have been a very serious international incident a single ship a single captain a single pilot acting prematurely could trigger all-out war all morning papers carry just one headline Cuba blockaded hundreds of millions read it knowing this could be the beginning of the nuclear war there was great concern for the families in those days I can recall when I got off alert that Tuesday following President Kennedy's address telling my wife to prepare a survival kit blankets medicines and all kinds of paraphernalia put it in the automobile be prepared to move at a moment's notice watch the news stay abreast of what was going on and and to be ready to move and in short notice move in short notice but where to [Music] would any place be spared if nuclear weapons were deployed which corner of the earth will be left intact when the world fell victim to man's winds when a singles flash destroys a world that took millions of years to create [Music] the night after the speech President Kennedy signs papers that put the naval blockade of Cuba into effect [Music] it is a signature into uncertainty [Music] 7,000 miles to the east Kennedy Soviet adversary spends the night at the theater [Music] just before Khrushchev openly condemns the blockade as an unacceptable act of piracy but now he is going to enjoy the Opera miss or skis Boris good enough the story of Tsar Boris who rids himself of another Tsar is it a message of sorts [Music] like if snuck off during any crisis there are a number of signals that may appear insignificant at first but they do have meaning [Applause] [Music] my soul is in torment there is an unknown fear within me a terrible premonition the man singing the words in Russian is an American on tour he is going to have champagne with Khrushchev afterward and drink a toast to world peace look at this even though a blockade has been announced we are chatting with an American opera singer that was our way of indicating that we also wanted to negotiate the metonic in the guards Oh my soul is in torment there's an unknown fear within me a terrible premonition [Music] the questions are asked but Soviet vessels are sailing full steam ahead [Music] and the Soviet ships were approaching that quarantine line with no indication that they were going to do anything other than continue towards Cuba if they try to violate that quarantine line are we going to be the first to use military force about 20 Russian ships are still heading for Cuba one loaded with nuclear warheads reaches its destination just minutes before the American blockade closes what will happen to the others we were sitting there looking at the television pictures our hips ten- away then five miles away it was like an American West [Music] will there be a showdown when will the first round be fired us destroyers are told to fire only on orders from the White House but suddenly most Soviet freighters the ones loaded with weapons turn around the remaining vessels stay on course to Cuba is it a sign of confusion or cool calculation it was our way of saying we will not send our ships across the line you have established and Kennedy got the message he did not even try to stop the Soviet tanker the Bucharest or the East German passenger ships are risky terrible the East German cruise ship Volker Freund shaft is touring the Caribbean one of the passengers Villa Schaefer is filming on board [Music] inadvertently the cruise ship becomes a blockade buster yeah and someone said we would come under fire some people were expecting that to happen well others said it's not that serious we've got the Russians behind us and they'll make sure the Americans don't get too close everyone had a different opinion and nobody really knew the volcker front shaft enters havana harbor a tourist home movie shows no signs of a crisis the people on board have no idea that they too are part of a risky game with high stakes it was like in the bazaar where someone tells you the price is $300 and you offer $3 and then you have to settle somewhere in between but the white it is a calculated risk Khrushchev's threat to use submarines was known to some in the Politburo but not to the sailors onboard crew shows Casals the crucifer that if the Americans were going to act like pirates he would tell our subs to sink their ships but we didn't know he had said that causality miss Elliot for Soviet subs are close to the blockade line but communication between Moscow and them is unreliable there are no clear orders the subs don't know they are being hunted you look at them much what's the night of October 25th was nearly a disaster for us it's the way it was up for the world milord get a US destroyer on orders to seize the submarine is heading straight for tion cough if I had waited just a minute and a half or two minutes more before diving the ship would have cut us in all US ships cornered the vessel an s-class submarine chunk off declares a red alert and dives [Music] a cat-and-mouse game begins the ship is armed with 22 torpedoes will soon cough use them [Music] Okita scheme would work with the Americans we were like two people fighting a duel and you know very well that in a duel the first person who fires is the winner who was truly waiting what the US Navy doesn't know is that Shum coughs and three other subs are armed with nuclear tipped torpedoes the world is unknowingly on the brink this button is too close to being pushed is it conceivable and when we learned that we later learn that the submarine commander was likely to be out of communication with Moscow and almost certainly was out of communication and under those circumstances he had a 30 to lunch if he believed it necessary he could have started a world nuclear war we were that close that's not wise management that avoid a nuclear war that's luck [Music] [Music] luck a benevolent turn of Destiny that spared the world this time [Music] New York City symbol of the American dream Time squares well within reach of the missiles deployed on Cuba it's hard to imagine that this glittering world could be wiped out in seconds the United Nations building is a symbol of hope for peace among nations on this day a war of words is being waged the US ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson launches his assault Stevenson a man of peace was his best form when he gave the speech to me in the UN and challenged Zoran say yes or no let me ask you one simple question do you ambassador Zorin deny that the USSR has placed and is placing medium and intermediate-range missiles and sites in Cuba yes or no don't wait for the translation yes or no Pearl's Aaron probably didn't know whether the hurtness is that's your decision Union Affairs I am NOT I am NOT in an American court room sir and after I do not wish to answer a question that is put to me in the fashion in which prosecutor does intercourse so you will have your reply and you can answer yes or no you deny that they exist I wanted argue if this if I have understood you correctly so do please continue your statement you will have your answer in due course continue your statement please you will receive the answers that you course do not worry I'm prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over if that's your decision Asli love like ambassador Dobrynin in washington Zorin at the united nations knew nothing at all about it she won is malli when the Americans asked do you have missiles on Cuba and they replied no they were telling the truth as far as they knew just because they hadn't been informed you can establish justice [Music] at the same time ambassador Stevenson was speaking at the UN the Catholic Church convenes in Rome bishops from all over the world debate reform in the church the Second Vatican Council is to mark the beginning of the new era the church is about to open itself to the world to the people to an era of peace the Pope is familiar with the horrors of battlefields during World War one he tended to those injured on the battlefront he's concerned about world peace anybody there was a tremendous sense of fear at the time of course all the relevant people who were very willing to help broker peace if it would avoid the potential conflict a nuclear conflict lotta prasena deconflict o atomic pope john xxiii is respected by both sides kennedy is a devout Catholic while Khrushchev understands this Pope who like himself rose from humble beginnings the Pope believes both men want peace I couldn't imagine that John Kennedy wanted war I was sure he didn't and at the same time an opposite I didn't think mr. Khrushchev wanted it either but there were so many political factors involved things could get out of a handyman the Pope has to act to help prevent this conflict from spiraling out of control Pope John sends messages to both kennedy and khrushchev as well as to the people of the world I call on the heads of state to not ignore the universal cry for peace may they do everything in their power to save the peace by doing so they will avoid the horrors of war whose dire consequences no one can accurately predict [Music] that same afternoon Khrushchev receives the Pope's message did his words impact the decisions of the Atheist Soviet leader Khrushchev is beginning to understand by now people in the Kremlin realized that it was not entirely up to Kennedy to decide the final outcome [Music] the main point was that the Americans considered these missiles such a threat that the people involved could no longer be guided they were like an uncontrollable crowd something had to be done there was only one solution an agreement had to be reached the Guardians for the first time Khrushchev considers withdrawing the missiles and orders a protocol to be drafted much has already been achieved Cuba is at the center of worldwide interest now is the time to negotiate a guarantee of Cuba's security but no one in Washington is aware of Khrushchev's wavering the key players as well as minor players are struggling for a solution at the end of the day my bureau chief Robert Donovan and I went up to have a drink at the tap room of the National Press Club I told Bob that I would need some money for expenses the bartender Johnny pro coffe who was a Lithuanian emigres overheard us and he heard me tell Bob that I would be going on any Marine landing he went down to the other end of the bar and this there was a Soviet press agency Tass man he was also KGB so Johnny I think was taunting was teasing and saying ha ha ha you know the Marines are gonna go in and you really guys are you gonna get it now I think that's what happened I got a call later at my office when I have lunch with the kuan-yin Co the number 2 man at the Soviet embassy I said of course so we had lunch across the street and we had a long conversation in which he was clear to me he was pumping me he was trying to get as much information out of me as he could I had decided to frighten them to tell them how serious I regarded the situation so I I told him emphatically President Kennedy is not speaking lightly he means what he says if you don't get those missiles out of Cuba you are risking an invasion you're risking retaliatory strikes not at Havana but at Moscow itself and he is not kidding [Music] by the next morning the Washington bartók reaches the Kremlin we received word that the president had given in to pressure and said let's attack Cuba this news came from Washington apparently a correspondent named Warren Rogers had been talking in a bar and our intelligence service heard about it [Music] that morning Khrushchev dictates a personal letter to Kennedy with a conciliatory tone you and I mr. president he writes are two men pulling on a rope with a knot if that knot gets too tight then only the sword may be able to open it Khrushchev's message now goes on a long journey it is a time when communications moved slowly via Telegraph locusts are stuck but there still wasn't any direct channel of communication every message was sent via the international telegram office whether it was someone announcing that his niece was getting married or Khrushchev sending a communique to can be it is not until late that evening that the urgent telegram reaches the addressee everyone in the white house is stunned yes I think it was a cry from the heart I think Khrushchev recognized that his gamble and putting the missiles in Cuba had now backfired he knew that war had to be prevented he was bitter that the United States had not backed down so the letter was an emotional letter but it was not and without a reason and eloquence in its own way [Music] in Havana no one knows about Khrushchev's message to Kennedy in the evening Fidel Castro meets the Soviet ambassador the Cuban dictator is excited he wants his say in the crisis between the superpowers he bets 20 to 1 that an invasion of Cuba is imminent [Music] a lot of drinking those on that night eventually Fidel drafts a letter to Khrushchev cos the professor sent a letter well he actually said that Cuba had to be protected and if necessary the missiles should be used he was ready to sacrifice his country for the cause of socialism [Music] the Soviet troops on the island think that a strike is imminent most expect the United States to launch an attack they prepare for combat the Soviet commander on the island esup Lea orders the wooden crates containing nuclear warheads moved closer to the missile sites snooze without waiting for orders from Moscow on the night of October 25th slightly F distributed nuclear warheads to the units under his command then he informed Moscow our events spiraling out of control [Music] the people know little about what's going on the Caribbean is far away [Music] harsh language has always been part of Soviet propaganda so who can really tell if war is imminent [Music] for reasons still not entirely clear Khrushchev feels an American attack on Cuba is at hand he writes a second letter filled with new demands [Music] that said you take those missiles out of those Jupiter missiles out of Turkey or we won't take the missiles out of Cuba that we could not accept did this mean that who Shaw was now beginning to tighten up demands and it was at the start of a slippery slope would it mean that if we began to get into negotiations you know every other day there would be some new demand added another class question that was raised was is this really Russia off speculation conjecture misunderstanding what does one side know of the other how far apart are Washington and Moscow uncertainty in Washington gives rise to fear [Music] on Cuba they demand immediate action Ezreal Yannick episode the planes flying overhead we're a great source of annoyance they were an insult we had anti-aircraft power to deal with them a lot of it machine guns and cannons all ready to fire but the surface-to-air missiles are under Soviet command these are state-of-the-art high-tech weapons what the US pilots feared most October 27 major Rudolf Anderson pilots a u2 for another reconnaissance mission over Cuba for you to a silly and then the target appeared the target 33 the Soviet command in Cuba is on edge tomando the order was received to fire the order came from division headquarters welcome the missile was fired he had never get the ability without khruschev knowing captain Antonius receives the command to fire major Anderson's aircraft is tracked by radar it is 10:20 a.m. you usually know they fired it and then you look for with the drift side you can see it as it comes up it's actually the missile itself is bigger than the u2 1021 [Music] in Anderson's case shrapnel came through his canopy and broke his face piece [Music] you just explode yourself as they say he came out through the facepiece is this finally war they were doing intentionally intending to escalate the conflict and therefore we said when we authorized the flight we will not even meet if it's shot down we will immediately attack it was shot down thank God we met and we decided not to tell this is the debris of major Anderson's you - he is the first victim of the crisis I don't know it was a triumph because we made it clear to the United States they had no right to spy over Cuba or to violate the airspace of any country at all the first shot the first casualty now the conflict is on a knife edge the more hardline members of XCOM felt that the blockade had failed that the Soviets were now threatening that there was no diplomatic solution possible that only unilateral military action by the United States could end the crisis in our favor everyone is ready to move four days Strategic Air Command has been at the highest state of alert the next step would definitely mean war one eighth of America's nuclear bomber fleet is now constantly airborne refuelling takes place at 5,500 feet Tuesday morning we had every aircraft in our unit indeed all of the b-52 bombers in sac by that time were generated and as we say cocked like a [ __ ] epistle fully loaded with fuel and weapons with crews assigned with pre assigned targets and we were ready to go to war this civil defense campaign is repeated over and over on American television time we must be ready every day all the time to do the right thing if the atomic bomb explodes dark in color this family knows what to do just as your own family should if you are not close to home when you hear the warning go to the nearest safe cover know where you are to go or ask an older person to help you you know the place is marked with the S sign there are safe places to go when you hear the alarm here they are on their way to school on a beautiful spring day but no matter where they go even though only a fraction of the population can be adequately sheltered the advice does calm nerves it's a bomb can cover it that night I melt and I prayed and I prayed I went home and I prayed for for Jesus to do something because I just thought there was no hope Chinna Berg Town Hall residents of Willy Brandt the mayor of West Berlin hear there is fear that the Western zones of the divided city might soon be seized by the Soviet and East German armies [Music] brant assures kennedy of his loyalty we may have to put on our winter clothes he tells his allies together with Aegon bar his spokesman bronze rose up contingency plans and discusses the unthinkable yeah denying we had the impression the moment of truth had come that everything was at stake and for such a case we had thought about calling upon the East German army to refuse to obey orders it would have been a call via radio stations like Korea's or s FB people were so eager for news via the radio in those days that it would have spread throughout eastern Russia did Al Gurgaon we already had this experience on June 17 it would have been an act of despair from a military point of view the wall density is already on lost ground in it fifteen thousand Allied troops are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Soviet and East German soldiers behind the fence Khrushchev is deciding on war or peace should he stand firm or compromise [Music] he knows that the resolution of this crisis could soon fall into the hands of the military [Music] a little if an American plane can be shot down without authorization from the commander and then of course it made you think the Armed Forces might be capable of virtually any firing a missile for example that made us incredibly nervous at a vocation [Music] in these dramatic hours a top-secret meeting is scheduled in Washington Robert Kennedy summons Soviet ambassador Dobrynin to meet him immediately what on the evening of October 27th Kennedy called to ask whether I could see him I said I would the study was quite a mess there was a blanket on the couches and he looked rather disheveled and agitated he said to me all our military experts in the Pentagon are unanimous in asking the president to authorize an armed response you are continuing work and the missile bases as a result we shall be forced to attack you this is a warning that will mean war and we don't want war but what else can we do we are helpless but if you abandon work and those missile bases I can assure you we will not attack you not now not in the future Adam we need an answer in the next two days we can't wait any longer so I said and what about the question of the United States Jupiter missiles and he just looked at me and said if that's the only point at issue I'm sure we can find a solution we were the deal is made a withdrawal of all Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for the withdrawal of all US missiles from Turkey there is just one condition the deal will not be made official so there is no loss of faith so far nobody in Moscow knows about the meeting the Soviet leaders now fear the worst Khrushchev utters dramatic words we find ourselves face to face with the danger of war of nuclear disaster and it is possible that all of humanity will perish Khrushchev ceases on the drama of the moment available ghazals everyone was sitting there transfixed Khrushchev was psychologically at the end of his rope he now thought an attack and our missiles was imminent he had to prevent that whatever the cost the report of the meeting with Robert Kennedy was decisive a letter announcing the withdrawal of the Soviet missiles is drafted in record time and unanimously approved by the Politburo it is supposed to be read over the radio the fastest way to get the message out [Music] it is a race against time at breakneck speed the Soviet Secretary of the Central Committee Illya chav races through Moscow streets in his official limousine all traffic lights are switched to green the message must be broadcast before the situation escalates [Music] the Secretary's final destination is Radio Moscow located on the fourth floor an agonizing distance as it turns out the elevator got stuck how long was he going to be trapped inside in it for a day so he finally tried to shove the pages of the document out of the elevator the letter meant to relieve the threat of world war 3 finally reaches the radio studio in the hands of a messenger boy [Music] just a few words spoken into a microphone defuse the biggest crisis ever no weapons in Cuba as well as their 20 and return to the Soviet Union [Music] never before had mankind comes so close to nuclear Armageddon [Music] the world is the winner the world avoided by the closest narrowest margin the destruction and much of that world when two superpowers unleashed their nuclear weapons the world is the winner eight months after the crisis President Kennedy called for an end to nuclear testing in the atmosphere the president said that both America and the Soviet Union desired a just and genuine peace his speech at American University in Washington DC led to the partial test ban treaty which took effect just a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis could have ignited World War three for the History Channel I'm Roger Mudd thanks for watching