Three Men, One Island - A Cuban Missile Crisis timeline

[BurkeanLibCon]

- Hey there BLC!!
- Hello voice of doubt in my head.

- What's this?
- Urm... just a little side project.

- Whatever happened to "War makes for Strange Bedfellows"
- Oh it's still alive, don't worry. That's still my priority. I'm still working on the next chapters.

- So why this?
- Well, the idea popped into my head, so I wrote it down on my phone to save for later.

- Interesting. So why now?
- Because my phone is running out of storage and I needed to delete some files. I decided to shift this onto the forum to clear phone space.

- Right, ok. The idea for this doesn't seem very original.
- Yeah, I know. Plenty of people have covered the Cuban Missile Crisis (Amerigo Vespucci's "The Cuban Missile War Timeline" timeline springs to mind), but I thought I'd give it a go as well. If you want something original, I've got a medieval timeline largely planned out whenever "War makes for Strange Bedfellows" is done.

Three Men, One Island - A Cuban Missile Crisis timeline​

"Berlin is the testicle of the West. When I want the West to scream, I squeeze on Berlin"
- Nikita Khrushchev

"Men do not shape destiny, destiny produces the man for the hour"
- Fidel Castro

"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind"
- John F. Kennedy​

Well, here we go then.

Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Prologue 1 – Brave New World​

1947 – 1962​

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“Cuba is like to a whole other planet.”​

– Henry Louis Gates​

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As of late 1962, the Cold War had been raging since at least 1947, of not earlier. 

Since the end of the Second World War, the world became split between Soviet and American spheres of influence. During that time, both sides became obsessed, even possessed by the fear of the other side starting World War III. This was exacerbated by the development of nuclear weapons.

Since World War II, there had been only two uses of nuclear weapons in war, and both were against the same nation. In July 1945, the United States developed the first atomic bomb with the Trinity Test. On the 6th of August 1945, the first atomic bomb to be used in combat (named “Little Boy”) was dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, on the 9th, a second bomb (named “Fat Man”) was dropped over Nagasaki. Six days later, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

The mushroom clouds rising over the cities of Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right) towards the end of the Second World War, August 1945

From the moment the first test was conducted, in the New Mexico desert in 1945, the fear of what such weapons could theoretically do if proliferated on a large-scale began to spread worldwide. Combined with the burgeoning Cold War and events such as the Berlin Blockade, Fall of China and Korean War combined this fear with the “perpetual paranoia of whatever the other guy was doing” (as one future historian would exquisitely describe it).

American Douglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft delivering supplies to West Berliners during the 1948-49 Berlin Blockade

Mao Zedong proclaiming the People's Republic of China on the 1st of October 1949

United States Marines fighting in the Korean War of 1950 to 1953

The mixture was toxic in the worst possible ways, given the end result, especially following the development of the hydrogen bomb. It was widely believed that the only way the Cold War would end would be in atomic fire and the eradication of humanity.

Were these fears founded? At the time, they didn't know, and did not want to find out. But, they would be put to the test in the autumn of 1962, in the most unlikely of places.

Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Prologue 2 – Caribbean Sunshine​

1898 – 1962 ​

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“Cuba ought to be free and independent and the government should be turned over to the Cuban people.” ​

– William McKinley ​

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As the title of this work suggests, the fate of the world in those fateful days in 1962 was guided by the actions of three men, over one island.

The island? A large Caribbean one off the coast of Florida known to you and me as Cuba. Our tale really begins in 1898, after Cuba finally achieved its independence from the Kingdom of Spain after three attempts to throw off colonial rule from Madrid, this last one receiving direct aid from the United States of America in the brief Spanish-American War.

Battle of San Juan Hill during the 1898 Spanish-American War, which the 1895-98 Cuban War of Independence was subsumed into.

The newly independent Cuba almost immediately ended up under American dominance, including the permanent lease of Guantanamo Bay to the United States. To cut a long story short, I'll cut out the history of Cuba between this point and 1959, when the Cuban Revolution concluded with the victory of Fidel Castro's revolutionary forces against the regime of Fulgencio Batista.

With Batista's ousting, a revolutionary government seized control in Havana with Fidel Castro, the first of our three men, appointed as Prime Minister on the 16th of February 1959. Quickly, the liberal elements of the government were pushed out by the communists led by Fidel Castro, the first of our three men. After failing to garner support from the United States, President Eisenhower refusing to meet Castro and Vice President Nixon taking a strong dislike to him, Castro began to nationalise American-owned property in Cuba. This was followed by several other steps to move Cuba in the direction of socialism. Washington, fearing the so-called "Domino Effect" (by which one country falling to communism what cause the surrounding states to fall as well) with communism in Cuba spreading to the rest of Latin America. America's response was to embargo Cuba (an arms embargo against Batista already in effect since 1958). When this didn't work, the CIA drew up a plan with anti-Castro Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro.

This plan turned into the bungled Bay of Pigs invasion. The invasion was a hopeless failure, with the new US President John F. Kennedy only committing half-heartedly. This convinced Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that Kennedy was a weak leader who could easily be bullied.

However, it wasn’t so easy for Khrushchev either. In March 1962, Castro purged Anibal Escalante from Cuba’s ruling party, the “Integrated Revolutionary Organisations”. This scared the Soviets since Escalante represented the pro-Moscow wing of the Cuban government and therefore the Soviets stepped up their support for Cuba fearing that Castro may gravitate towards China. A regiment of Soviet ground troops and more SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles were soon being transported to the Caribbean.
Regarding direct American-Soviet relations, times were tense as well, mostly revolving over the 1961 Berlin Crisis and the so-called “missile gap”. During the former, American and Soviet tanks had stood off at Checkpoint Charlie and the East German government had constructed the Berlin Wall to stop the brain drain as many educated East German workers defected through West Berlin.

Regarding the missile gap, well that was just a political joke. Ever since the launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union in 1957, the Americans had believed that the Soviets possessed a larger number of missiles than the United States and that they were of a higher quality than American missiles. Well, that was the narrative many American politicians used to convince voters to elect them. Kennedy was no exception, attacking his 1960 election opponent, Richard Nixon, for allowing the creation of the so-called “missile gap.” The Soviets weren’t entirely innocent though. Khrushchev was more than happy to exaggerate Soviet capabilities, such as stating that the Soviet Union was churning out missiles “like sausages” and circling the same missiles around at parades to make it look like they had more.

By August 1962, the Americans suspected that the Soviets might be building missile facilities on Cuba. In mid-October, they were proven right. On the 14th of October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane photographed three Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) launch sites suitable for SS-4 and SS-5 missiles. The news was relayed to McGeorge Bundy, the National Security Advisor, on the 15th. Kennedy was informed by Bundy on the 16th. The countdown had begun. To deal with this crisis, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) was founded. A number of potential solutions were discussed:
- Total inaction.
- Place diplomatic pressure on the Soviets to withdraw the missiles
- Secretly place pressure on Castro to withdraw the missiles, threatening invasion of he refused.
- Blockade Cuba.
- Launch a series of air strikes over Cuba to destroy the missiles.
- Invade Cuba to destroy the missiles and remove Castro from power.
The first option was instantly ruled out. Even if the Cuban missiles didn't change the strategic balance of power, the Americans possessing 27,000 nuclear warheads compared to the Soviets 3,000, the political balance was shifted. The Soviets would now have nuclear first-strike capability against the United States and if the missiles became operational, could be used as a threat and bargaining chip by the Soviets to obtain West Berlin.

On the 18th, Kennedy met with Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko, who insisted that all Soviet weapons in Cuba were for solely defensive purposes.

On the 21st of October, EXCOMM decided upon the blockade option, calling it a "quarantine" since a blockade was officially an act of war. On the 23rd, Kennedy delivered a televised speech announcing the "quarantine" of Cuba.

Over the next six days the crisis continued to heat up. On the 24th, George Ball suggested making an offer to withdraw America's near-obsolete missiles from Italy and Turkey in exchange for the Soviets removing their missiles from Cuba. The suggestion was rejected. In Moscow, Khrushchev accused Kennedy of "outright piracy" and warned that the quarantine would lead to war. On the 25th, US ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Adlai Stevenson humiliated his Soviet counterpart Valerian Zorin. When the latter denied the existence of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, the former produced photographic evidence that the ambassador was lying and that the missiles were indeed there.

On the 26th, the crisis was a definitive stalemate, with no side appearing to change their position. Kennedy addressed EXCOMM, informing them pf his belief that only an invasion would remove the missiles. U-2 flights over Cuba were increased from two per day to one every two hours. In secret, Soviet-American negotiations continued through John Scali negotiating for Kennedy and Alexsandr Feklisov (cover name Alexandr Fomin). Also that day, Castro sent a letter to Khrushchev, urging him to launch a nuclear first-strike against the United States should they attack Cuba. That evening, the State Department received a personal message from Khrushchev. It was long and encrypted, but once deciphered and read, it appeared to be genuine. That was the last time Kennedy would feel hopeful about resolving the crisis.

The next day, the 27th of October, was fast approaching. The day where everything that could go wrong, would go wrong. In the worst possible of ways.

Sources

Cuban Missile Crisis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Chapter 1 – Shot Heard Around the World​

27 October 1962 ​

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“The 1930s taught us a clear lesson; aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war.” ​

– John F. Kennedy​

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It couldn’t have gone worse even if it had been planned this way. According to Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Sometimes the suffix “and at the worst possible time.” is added.

The day did not begin well. At 09:00 EDT, Khrushchev appeared to backtrack on his commitment yesterday. Namely that the Cuban missiles would be dismantled in exchange for an American pledge to respect Cuban sovereignty and not invade. The new offer saw Khrushchev pledge to withdraw the missiles from Cuba if the Americans withdrew their Jupiter missiles from Turkey and Italy. The Turks refused to accept the trade, whilst Italian prime Minister Amintore Fanfani was willing to allow the Jupiter missiles based in Apulia in Southern Italy to be removed to end the crisis.

Amintore Fanfani, Prime Minister of Italy

At 12:00 EDT, disaster struck. USAF Major Rudolf Anderson’s U-2 spy plane was shot down by a Soviet SA-2 anti-aircraft missile whilst flying over Cuba. When Anderson failed to return to McCoy air force in Florida, it is determined that he was likely shot down given the information [1]. Anderson was the first casualty of the Third World War, just hours before it began [2].

Major Rudolf Anderson (1927-1962), first fatality of the Third World War

At 13:00 EDT, the American destroyers USS Beale, Cony and Murray pick up a suspicious sonar contact. They pursue it. They discover it is a Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine, the B-59. At 16:17 EDT, the USS Beale attempts to communicate with the sub by dropping practice depth charges to force the B-59 to surface. Meanwhile, in Washington, EXCOMM agrees to respond to Khrushchev’s trade offer of Cuban missiles for Turkish ones. However, the Americans must be given five months to complete withdrawal (the Jupiters were obsolete and slated for removal anyway) and the offer must be kept secret. Otherwise, the deal is off. This occurred at around 16:30 EDT.

The crisis looked as though it would be over. All that needed to happen was for Khrushchev to accept Kennedy’s newest offer and the whole world could breathe a sigh of relief. Their hopes were to be dashed in such brutal fashion in less than an hour.

By 17:15 EDT, the atmosphere aboard the B-59 was toxic, both literally and metaphorically. Low on batteries and oxygen, high in CO2 and anxiety, Captain Valentin Savitsky believes that the depth charges are real, and that World War III had broken out. He decided to launch one of the B-59's nuclear torpedoes. The political officer, Ivan Semyonovich Maslennikov, agreed to the launch. Had the flotilla’s chief of staff, Captain Vasily Arkhipov, been aboard as well, his approval would have been needed as well. Alas, he was not [3].

At 17:15, the 15-kiloton torpedo was launched, headed in the direction of the USS Cony at a speed of 40 knots. Thirty-one seconds later, it detonates. In an instant, the USS Beale and Cony are vapourised. The Murray was damaged beyond repair and most of her crewmen were killed. Nearby, servicemen on the USS Randolph aircraft carrier were blinded by the blast.

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Aboard the B-59, the Captain Second Class can only shut his eyes.

"It's done now," he remarks to himself. Seconds later, he is knocked off his feet by an almighty blast wave. He tumbles forward into a map console, and suddenly he was at peace.

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The Captain of the USS Murray got up. The blast had shaken the ship pretty bad. He brushed the side of his head.

"Blood," he thought. "Shit!" He could hardly hear himself think. The sound of his crewmen screaming in pain occupied too much of his headspace to do that.

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Aboard the USS Randolph, the Chaplain could only stare in horror at the plume in the distance. The airman standing beside him could hardly operate his Kodak camera, his hands were shaking too much.

Footnotes
- [1] So far, all this happened in OTL as well.
- [2] Sounds quite ominous.
- [3] The POD. In OTL, Arkhipov, a cool-headed man who talked Savitsky out of launching against the Americans, was aboard the B-59. Here, he isn’t there. Therefore, no one can talk Savitsky out of launching.

Sources

Cuban Missile Crisis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Rudolf Anderson - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Soviet submarine B-59 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Chapter 2 – The Dominoes Fall​

27 October 1962​

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“There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs.” ​

– Dwight D. Eisenhower ​

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News of the blast spread out very quickly. At 17:21 EDT, the Pentagon had been informed. After conversing with the Captain of the USS Randolph, Defence Secretary Robert McNamara remarks to an aide, “It’s a world war.” McNamara does not immediately inform Admiral Anderson, Chief of Naval Operations, instead choosing to attempt to reach Kennedy first. He would later state in his memoirs that he feared Anderson may have ordered a first-strike without Presidential authorisation, which was within his powers to do. At 17:23 EDT, Kennedy was informed of the detonation. His first words to McNamara over the phone were “Ours or theirs?” Following this, Kennedy personally informs Admiral Anderson of the detonation. Anderson's words to Kennedy were "If you give me the order to strike sir, I can order our submarines to strike their targets inside the Soviet Union within minutes." Kennedy chooses to proceed with caution, saying that "It's not certain at present who's launched." Kennedy does, however, state that Anderson may order a launch if there are any further attacks AND if he is unreachable.

At the same time, Kennedy receives a similar call from elsewhere in the country, Nebraska. Commander-in-Chief Strategic Air Command Thomas Power is attempting to reach the President. He also has news of the blast. If the President is unreachable, he can launch SAC's bombers and missiles against the Soviet Union - and he intends to. A voice from down the line saying "Hello?" prevents this. Power requests permission to launch, but the President holds back like he had done with Admiral Anderson. Power's launch authority does not change. If the President is unreachable, he can launch. Just not right now.

EXCOMM is summoned to an emergency meeting at 17:34 EDT. It does not take long to decide that the Soviets fired first, and what they must do in response. Kennedy authorises the US Navy to engage and destroy all Soviet vessels west of the 60th meridian west. At the same time, the Air Force is to destroy the Soviet missiles in Cuba, with the attack expected to begin at 19:35 EDT. If the Soviets fired the first shots, the United States must protect itself. Admiral Anderson (Chief of Naval Operations) and General LeMay (Chief of Staff of the Air Force) receive their orders by 17:50 EDT, but are also informed that nuclear weapons are not authorised at this time, this is a proportionate response.

Kennedy instructs White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger to inform the press that he will address the nation at 19:30 EDT, roughly 5 minutes before the air strikes against Cuba are expected to begin.

Khrushchev became aware of the detonation when he is woken up at 00:53 Moscow Time (17:53 EDT), some twenty minutes after Kennedy. Moscow discovers the news from a nearby Soviet freighter, reporting a massive explosion nearby matching the description of an underwater nuclear torpedo. Khrushchev’s first were “Ours or theirs?” He is also informed that the B-59 is missing. The Presidium is summoned to an emergency meeting as soon as possible, they meet at 01:35 Moscow Time (18:35 EDT). They do not no who fired first, but assume it must be the Americans. Khrushchev authorises the Soviet Navy to engage American ships on the high seas, but only as self-defense if fired upon. The definition of self-defense is vague. At the same time, all Soviet strategic forces are to be put on high alert. If this is now a shooting war, the Soviet Union cannot be caught off guard.

Just before 19:30 EDT, President Kennedy reviewed his planned speech. He felt shivers descend his spine. Was this the beginning of World War III? Would it end in nuclear war? As he sat down behind the Oval Office desk in front of the cameras, his mind wondered to the many possible ways this crisis could end. His thoughts were interrupted by the cameraman sounding the countdown. "3, 2, 1, we're live."

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[BurkeanLibCon]

President Kennedy's Oval Office Address on Cuba, 27 October 1962​

27 October 1962​

"Good evening my fellow citizens,

Earlier this afternoon, I received word of a nuclear detonation in the Caribbean. The information relayed to me states that an underwater atomic blast occurred whilst the USS Randolph and a number of destroyers were attempting to pursue, identify and communicate with a Soviet nuclear submarine before that vessel apparently launched an attack against multiple United States vessels with a nuclear weapon. It is with great sadness and misfortune to announce that the destroyers USS Beale and Cony were completely destroyed and all their crewmen perished, whilst another destroyer - the USS Murray - was damaged beyond repair with heavy loss of life. We mourn every single sailor who has perished in this atrocious incident.

In response to what can only be a deliberate and pre-meditated attack, I have ordered the United States Navy to extend the present quarantine to the 60th meridian west - just off the Eastern Seaboard - with orders to terminate any Soviet vessel west of that line using conventional weapons. At the same time, I have ordered the United States Air Force and the U.S. Navy to carry out an aerial military operation, with conventional weapons only, to remove the offensive nuclear weapons build-up from Cuban soil and deny Cuban airspace to any aircraft hostile to the United States. These actions has been taken under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and in fulfillment of the requirements of national safety. Further military action has been authorised to ensure this present threat to the United States and the Western Hemisphere is removed and not restored.

Over the last week, this nation has worked tirelessly to resolve the present crisis over Cuba using careful diplomacy and negotiation. But we were not prepared, under any circumstances, to yield our vital interests. Namely, the safety of the United States and the Western Hemisphere, many nations in this half of the world having never before been subjected to the fear of a nuclear attack as we have for many years. We have pursued both direct and indirect means of negotiating and reasoning with the Soviet Government to remove its offensive nuclear missiles and jet bombers from the island of Cuba. Yet, this endeavour has clearly failed, forcing us to take matters into our own hands to guarantee our national safety.

The aim of this operation is to remove a military threat, not to target civilians. The air strikes against Cuba are aimed at military targets to minimise casualties among the Cuban people with whom we have no quarrel. Although we our now taking direct military action to remove this present threat to world peace, we do not intend to begin World War III. The United States of America remains open to negotiation with the Soviet Union to resolve this crisis peacefully. If any diplomatic solution can be reached, then the military operations I have announced tonight will be called off, but not before. Until such a solution may be reached, the Armed Forces of the United States will continue to defend the security of this nation, the Western Hemisphere and any other of our allies around the world from aggression.

As I stated to you in my address of October 22nd, the 1930s taught us that if aggressive conduct goes unchallenged, it inevitably leads to war. We are meeting aggressive conduct in this Hemisphere, and we will continue to do so until the present threat is permanently removed. Our aims are clear and limited, we do not seek to escalate this conflict, but it will be the policy of this nation to meet any such escalation with any and all force within our powers to retaliate. We will not accept peace at any cost, especially if that cost forces us to live an the end of an atomic threat less than 100 miles from our shores.

I wish all of our servicemen good luck, in carrying out their tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible, but I also pray that there may still be a peaceful solution to this crisis and that we do not face the prospect of further escalation. God bless you all, and goodnight."

Kennedy delivering the address, 27 October 1962

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[BurkeanLibCon]

My word, time zones are annoying to keep track - especially if there's a world war going on! Still, makes for a good opener.
Since DST ended on the 28th of October in 1962, all times referenced from the 28th onward will be in standard time for simplicity's sake.

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Chapter 3 – Fog of War​

27 – 28 October 1962​

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“All action takes place, so to speak, in a kind of twilight, which like a fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are.”​

– Carl von Clausewitz​

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At precisely 19:45 and 17 seconds EDT, the first wave of almost 200 United States Air Force F-100 Super Sabre and United States Navy F-4 Phantom II fighter bombers entered Cuban airspace. This first wave were to destroy the 24 known SAM sites. As they entered Cuba they were engaged by Cuban MiG-15s. Despite valiant efforts by the Cubans to defend their country's airspace (shooting down three F-100s), they were overwhelmed, losing 17 of their own to the U.S. Navy and Air Force. Of the 5 SAM sites targeted by the first wave, none remain active. Cuban anti-aircraft guns down no aircraft despite their best attempts and are almost entirely destroyed. Despite the odds against them, few abandon their posts.

The next targets of the first wave are the offensive missile sites and supporting infrastructure. At the known missile sites, American bombs tear Russian engineering apart, rupturing fuel lines and bending launchers into unusability. Nuclear warheads are also destroyed, spreading nuclear material across the sites. The obliteration of fully-fueled rockets had the impact of spreading large pools of burning fuel, furthering the devastation. Their job done, the first wave leaves.

The second wave repeats the job of the first wave, smashing targets the first-wave was generous enough to leave standing. Again, SAMs, MRBMs, IRBMs and aircraft are knocked out of existence. Aircraft from further afield join the fray, taking out 5 more American aircraft at the cost of 6 of their own with a further 3 American jets downed by SAMs before they themselves receive from the sky what they sent up from the ground. Across Cuba, missiles, fuel tankers, spare parts and men are torn to bits in a hot, bloodstained mess that stank of petroleum and burning flesh. Aircraft hangars hosting both Cuban MiGs and Soviet Il-28 jet bombers are struck as well, erasing them and their would-be crews from the map.

The third wave mostly mopped up what was left, ensuring that no missiles would survive as well as destroying what was left of Cuba's air force. A further 4 SAM sites (the only ones remaining by this point) are targeted, taking out 3 of them. No more Cuban aircraft take to the skies, only flak guns and SAMs fight on.

By 21:30 EDT, almost two hours after the start of the operation, most of the offensive nuclear weapons on Cuba are destroyed as well as Cuba's ability to control its own skies. The cost? 11 American fighters. Over 3,000 Cuban and 1,700 Soviet personnel were also dead. The latter would be important in political developments back in Russia [1]. Furthermore, one launcher and three SS-4 missiles remain intact as well as their crews, albeit shaken up quite considerably.

USAF F-100 Super Sabre destroying a SAM site near San Cristóbal, 27 October 1962 [2]

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Earlier in the day, Soviet Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin had been notified of the Caribbean detonation via phone call at 17:51 EDT by Kennedy, two minutes before Khrushchev was notified in Moscow. The Ambassador was immediately summoned to the White House, arriving at 18:02 EDT. Despite the circumstances, the two men remain fairly composed at first, until Kennedy begins probing whether the Soviets launched first or not. Dobrynin denies this before accusing Kennedy of bringing this situation about via the quarantine. Kennedy then informs Dobrynin of American retaliation plans. After a brief shouting match, Dobrynin turns heel and storms out – his meeting with Kennedy lasted just 17 minutes. In a sense of urgency combined with a vile temper, the Ambassador gets back in his car and speeds off to the Soviet Embassy.

Arriving back at 18:32 EDT, the exhausted Ambassador sifted through a long report from Khrushchev and Foreign Minister Gromyko (confirming most of what he already knew) asking if the Soviet Union and the United States were now at war. He reports back to Moscow America's retaliation plans and states that American posture should be regarded as hostile. The message arrives in Khrushchev's hands at 19:17 EDT.

At 20:11 EDT, the State Department would receive another long letter from Moscow, After decryption and translation, it's revealed to be another personal message from Khrushchev. At 20:38 EDT it is handed to Kennedy.

The letter is soon followed by a phone call from Dobrynin. He relays an official message from the Soviet government, condemning the American strikes states and warning of the consequences of further escalation. It feels scripted, largely because it is. Kennedy and the other members of EXCOMM are not sure what to make of Khrushchev's new letter. They have already received two other letters from Russia offering trades for the missiles, one came that morning. What was the policy of the Soviet government? What was Khrushchev thinking? Was Khrushchev even still in power?

As they debated, bombs fell on Cuba and the war was slowly spreading worldwide. The next major development would happen in Moscow.

Footnotes
- [1] Inspiration taken from Cuban Missile War: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-cuban-missile-war-timeline.65071/
- [2] OTL picture from Vietnam, c.1967

Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

I'm back, sorry for the long wait.
As of now, I will be focusing on this timeline and y medieval timeline "To Delve and Spin" which can be found HERE

I've made some edits to the previous chapters (mostly correcting inaccuracies) and I strongly suggest you go back and read those before reading this. If you've done that, let's move forward...

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

Chapter 4 – Resolution​

28 – 29 October 1962​

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“The major lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis is this: The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will destroy nations.”​

– Robert Macnamara​

The airstrikes of the previous day had been resoundingly successful, yet EXCOMM was not sleeping any sounder. On the contrary, before the strikes there were not dead Soviet military personnel to comprehend with, besides the deceased from the B-59. Whilst much of the threat of Cuban-based missiles wiping out American cities was removed, had they just picked a fistfight with a worse adversary?

At eight the previous evening, Kennedy and EXCOMM had received both a letter from Khrushchev and a phone call from Ambassador Dobrynin requesting a voice call between the two superpower leaders. Was it safe for this to go ahead? And if it was, how would it be arranged? There was no direct line connecting Moscow and Washington except through their embassies. There were doubts among EXCOMM members that the Soviets were trying to bait the President into revealing critical information concerning American plans in Cuba. Someone would have to examine the offer. At 04:00 EST on the 28th, President Kennedy dispatched his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, to the Soviet embassy.

After this, Kennedy and EXCOMM spend the next few hours discussing what to do next. The plan from yesterday, to reply to the first letter from Khrushchev, was still agreed upon with a few alterations. If the Soviets withdrew what was left of their nuclear forces on Cuba, the Americans were prepared to cease attacks on Cuba and not invade. Kennedy was worried about giving the Soviets further reasons to attack the United States anywhere else other than the western Atlantic. In case that did not work, the Joint Chiefs urged the President to carry out preparations for OPLAN -316, a week-long air campaign followed by invasion, on the grounds that having already struck the Cubans and Soviets meant leaving any remaining weapons untouched would be inviting them to be used against the United States. Kennedy, still in a malaise since the news of the B-59, is not entirely convinced. At 05:15 EST, Secretary of the Navy John Connally arrives with news that the Cubans are attacking Guantanamo Bay.

Over at 1125 16th Street NW [1], Robert Kennedy is meeting with the Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin. He informs the ambassador that the President is considering Khrushchev's offer of a voice-to-voice call before presenting a letter drafted quietly by President Kennedy. In it is the details of yesterday's plans to respond to Khrushchev's letter, agreeing to not invade Cuba in return for the removal of Soviet nuclear weapons from Cuba. Furthermore, in the letter is a promise that the Jupiter missiles in Turkey will be removed within 5 months, but this has to be kept private or the deal is off. Dobrynin agrees to forward the message to Moscow, although he does not say it aloud he does not believe they will be accepted [2]. Dobrynin noted that Kennedy was very tired, and looked like he hadn't slept for a long time. He then rushes to transmit the message to Moscow. Robert Kennedy left the Soviet embassy at 04:57 EST.

Back at the White House, having moved downstairs to the Situation Room, EXCOMM was digesting the news from Guantanamo. At 03:00 Havana time exactly, Cuban artillery had begun pounding the American base and the Marines guarding the perimeter before three infantry divisions launched a massed assault on the base. There was also evidence of Soviet presence during the assault. The Marines were putting up stiff resistance but no one was certain how long they could hold out for. Kennedy issues orders calling for the mobilisation of the National Guard and a civil defence alert to be put out across the country. The rest of the morning is very tense, the energy in the men present slowly declines as the White House fast runs out of coffee.

President Kennedy gets a little bit of rest when he leaves the White House to go to Mass [3], leaving EXCOMM in Vice President Lyndon Johnson's hands. Johnson joked that "maybe the President has gone to pray before he nukes Russia." [4] No one else laughed, not even Curtis LeMay [5]. When he arrived back he called a special session of Congress for 13:00 EST. Before then, he needs to sleep. It's now 11:34 EST. EXCOMM continues their business and the Joint Chiefs continue their preparations for invasion.

The rest of the day is tense, recon flights over Cuba bring back news of mostly positive results but there was lingering dread about what was going on in Russia. It took 12 hours to transmit messages between Washington and Moscow.

The President is woken up after a 45-minute nap to be presented with a speech drafted by McGeorge Bundy. He is also handed a copy of a Congressional resolution, allowing for the use of military force against Cuba, drafted by the State Department within the last few days for such an event as this [6]. It's now 12:27 EST, Kennedy is still exhausted, but he's speaking before Congress in just over half an hour and so he gulps down yet another pot of coffee and smartens himself up.

Kennedy address begins at 13:01 EST. Only the strangest session in American history as most members don't show up. Some are home with their families as the world around them ends whilst others go to ground completely. Those who are present now will be evacuated as well following the vote. Some 115 Representatives and 43 Senators attend by telephone. This makes the passage longer but by 15:03 EST it's done. Only one vote against, Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon - opposing on procedural grounds, insisting on a declaration of war. Three others abstain having never picked up the phone, but with 531-1 against, the Cuba Resolution is passed. President Kennedy now has Congressional authorization to wage war in Cuba. It's just in time as well since there is more news as he arrives back at the White House.

It's 13:14 EST, the Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine B-130 is being pursued by the U.S aircraft carrier USS Essex and its task force and has been for over 12 hours. The sub has already been attacked with depth charges and is damaged but not fatally. The task force is an excellent target. With the depth charges having damaged the burst to the extent they have, the captain and the political officer deduce that war has broken out. Fearing that Moscow and Leningrad are little more than rubble they order the torpedo to be launched against the Essex. Closing as closley to the carrier as he captain wants to go, the torpedo is fired from a distance and then turns and flees. At 13: 16 and 12 seconds, the USS Essex is vapourised [7]. 15 minutes later, Kennedy is informed of the fate of the Essex. "Those sons of bitches!" he exclaims, he is enraged. That's twice the United States Navy has been attacked with nuclear weapons! Once may have been an accident but two is definitely on purpose. Again, General Power at SAC calls the President, and Kennedy picks up. This time, the President requests a number of aircraft be put on standby to launch, against Cuba. Another meeting of EXCOMM agrees on a retaliatory strike. America's message with be delivered by to the settlements of Guantanamo and Santa Clara. The former to aid the Marines besieged in Guantanamo Bay whilst the latter serves as both a strategic target to hinder troop movements and a symbolic one for Castro's revolutionary government. At 16:23 EST, Kennedy is informed of a firefight in Berlin. Apparently, at 21:12 local time, East German border guards had fired on American military policemen at Checkpoint Charlie before being ordered to fall back. There were also reports of increased military activity around West Berlin. The timing of the news could not have been any worse.

At 18:11 EST, three B-52 Stratofortress and three B-47 Stratojet bombers take over from Dyess AFB in Texas. They are split into two groups of three with a main bomber and two reserves. The B-52s are headed for Guantanamo whilst the B-47s are headed to Santa Clara. Launched ahead of them are waves of aircraft from Cuba launching conventional strikes to clear airspace above and around the targets. Two waves launched against Santa Clara and Guantanamo take out flak guns and SAM sites. During the two waves on Guantanamo, 6 F-4 Phantoms are lost. By 20:30, the B-52s have arrived at Guantanamo and the lead bomber releases its gravity bomb at 20:31. The 28th of October will be remembered by the survivors as the day with two sunrises. The people of Santa Clara feel much the same as the B-47s arrive. The two settlements are oblierated by Mark 39 gravity bombs, each with a yield of 3.8 megatons. The United States has fired the first nuclear weapons in anger since 1945.

As the day - the second day of the Third World War - comes to an end, Kennedy is preparing to have some real sleep. Three nuclear bombs had been detonated in anger, Congress had authorised him to do whatever he deemed necessary to protect national security, and there was still no message back from Moscow yet except for the B-130. The world was falling apart. Maybe it was all a nightmare. Maybe he'd wake up in 8 hours time and it would all be a bad dream, the missiles wouldn't really be there, thousand of Americans would be alive and...

...at 22:34, he is awoken from his slumber by his brother Robert Kennedy. If the cold water to the face wasn't shocking enough, the news a mushroom cloud rising over Guantanamo Bay shocked him awake [8]. Clearly the air strikes weren't enough. There were evidently more nuclear weapons on Cuba that previously anticipated. That left only one choice to ensure the full removal of the missiles. At 22:41, General Maxwell Taylor is awoken by a phone call. He is asked how soon an invasion of Cuba can be launched.

---

Moscow was never known historically for its warm weather, but on the morning of the 28th October 1962 it seemed colder than usual. Meeting in Stalin's old dacha outside Moscow, Khrushchev knows the mood of the room. "You created this! This was your idea and now we're at war because of you" The Presidium's challenge now was to try and find a way to pull themselves out of this mess before the noose tightened too tightly around their necks. Was that even still possible?

Khrushchev was still digesting the news of the B-59 and the nuclear blast. It couldn't have come at a worse time, after the already crappy day that the 27th was, with that U-2 flying into their airspace [9] and their own forces firing on American aircraft. As a precaution, Khrushchev orders the strategic forces of the Soviet Union to high alert and allowed the Navy permission to engage the Americans as "self-defense." [10] There wasn't a dry forehead in the room, American ICBMs could arrive in Moscow faster than diplomatic communiques could, that's why the bloody missiles were put in Cuba in the first place. There was real fear that an American strike could come whilst they were discussing. At 04:12 Moscow time, the American ambassador, Foy Kohler, is woken from his bed. He has a phone call from Khrushchev, he is told that an "extremely serious incident" means Khrushchev wishes to meet him. He dreads to think what's happened. The Moscow police stop all traffic in the city to get the ambassador to Kuntsevo. He arrives by 04:55 Moscow time. Khrushchev is not a happy man, and he lets the Ambassador know. He has reports of nuclear weapons being used in the Caribbean and a Soviet submarine being lost. Whilst its possible that the sub was lost by accident, the B-59 was carrying a nuclear torpedo afterall, the possibility of a deliberate attack can't be ruled out. Was it part of the setup to an American invasion by clearing the seas around Cuba? The lack of complete information compounded the tension among the Presidium, forcing them to play all angles at once in an increasingly frenzied game of bluff that the statesmen of 1914 would have understood [11].

Before the Presidium, Khrushchev berates the American for his country's actions. The blockade - as far as the Soviets were concerned - was illegal anyway and American "piracy" had led to nuclear weapons being used. His tone began to shift from anger to panic, explaining that there wasn't much time left to prevent things spiraling out of control into all-out nuclear war. Khrushchev informs Kohler that "If the United States invades Cuba, then we will undeniably be at war." He tells Kohler that he must make contact with his government and stop them from "doing anything stupid." He even offers to withdraw his missiles unconditionally. What Khrushchev does not know is that while he's begging the American ambassador to return to the embassy and relay this desperate message to his government, the Soviet missile sites and Cuban military targets are being destroyed by American airstrikes.

Kohler leaves Kuntsevo to return to Moscow where he will relay this offer to Kennedy. Khrushchev has promised that the missiles will be withdrawn without precondition.

They have won.

It's just a matter of letting D.C. know before any further action is taken. Whether his message would have made a difference to the course of events isn't known since he never sent it. Out of haste to return to the embassy, the driver of the ZIL-111 Kohler is transported in takes full advantage of the closed Moscow roads and the ZIL's 6.0L V8 engine to gun it back to Novinskiy Boulevard [12]. Unfortunately for world peace, when belting down Zvenigorodskoye Shosse, a man suddenly emerges from the street chasing after his dog. They emerge late, forcing the driver's instincts to kick in and swerve to avoid hitting the two. Weighing over 2.5 tons and travelling at over 75mph, the ZIL does not like this high-speed swerve. The car's momentum swerves it violently to the left before the driver, attempting to regain control, steers right - but it's too much for the car to deal with. The man and his dog survive, but Ambassador Kohler is killed when the out-of-control ZIL spins hard to the right before it wraps itself around a lamppost at over 70mph [13].

The rest of the day is no better for the Soviets. The Presidium spends much of it debating what to do next. What if the Americans actually decide to invade Cuba? Ideas float around about taking West Berlin as a token trade, it might just be small enough for Kennedy to accept. Khrushchev is skeptical, that would mean escalating further by bringing in Britain and France - perhaps the whole of NATO. In that scenario, the USSR would be the aggressor, further hurting their image after being called out for lying about the presence of the Cuban missiles at the UN. Maybe offering to publicly exchange the Cuban missiles for the American Jupiters in Turkey, replicating their offer made in the second letter of the 27th. As things stand now, the offer as given to Ambassador Kohler still stands, unconditional withdrawal. Things don't get much better when a KGB officer bursts into the meeting room at 16:03 Moscow time with bad news. The American ambassador's car has crashed and he is dead. His message was not delivered. They are all shocked by the news. It gets worse. A communique from the Soviet embassy in Havana, sent at 21:52 local time on the 27th, has arrived. Khrushchev trembles and begins to hyperventilate upon reading it:

"Cuba under heavy American bombardment; no nuclear weapons used; multiple launch sites destroyed; heavy Soviet causalities, 2,000 dead STOP"​

The General Secretary's breathing is so shallow that others in the room believe he's having a heart attack, thankfully he is not. The mood is grim, there are dead Soviets at the hands of the American military. The B-59 may have been a mistake but this was deliberate. The Americans hadn't even followed protocol and informed them beforehand. This wasn't on. There were now dead Soviet soldiers in Cuba, the whole world was watching now. They couldn't do nothing anymore, they had to react. They had to retaliate. But how, without giving the Americans further cause to escalate?

The idea of taking out the Jupiters in Turkey was quickly ruled out, far too risky. Invading West Berlin was also too far. Presidium member Dmitry Polyansky floated the idea of "quarantining" West Berlin instead, like they had done in 1948, they have plans tucked away in case of a time such as this and could be implemented relatively quickly. It wasn't a fantastic idea, but in these circumstances great ideas didn't exist. Doing nothing wasn't an option anymore with Soviet forces struck by the Americans, what kind of a superpower would the USSR be if it allowed its soldiers to be killed and its allies conquered? As far as ideas, closing West Berlin off might be the best option they had. They could retaliate against America and if all went right they could do it without a shot being fired. Bombing the Turkish missiles and even invading West Berlin were off the table right now. Eventually, the Presidium votes on the Berlin plan and approves it. Phone calls go out the East German leadership and the Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Ivan Yakubovsky, to initiate plans to quarantine West Berlin's land and air corridors [14]. The time is 16:59 Moscow time, 20:59 in Washington D.C. and in Havana. The news in Cuba was worsening dramatically, the embassy was telegraphing a message that would arrive by tomorrow morning, it would make this Sunday look calm in comparison.

As the military preparations continue, news continues to come in of events. At 00:50 Moscow time on the 29th of October, Khrushchev is informed of a skirmish at Checkpoint Charlie. From what information he's received it looks like a truck's exhaust had backfired causing a group of nervous East German border guards to fire at their American counterparts. This occured at around 21:12 Berlin time. They had soon pulled back, but not before one East German and two American military policemen are killed. Khrushchev doesn't sleep well that night, for the second night in a row.

Another message arrives for Khrushchev at 05:01, waking him up after less than 4 hours of very bad sleep. His face turns white:

"Guantanamo, Santa Clara gone; nuclear weapons confirmed; casualties enormous STOP"​

"It's world war now" he spluttered, collapsing onto the floor. The second day of the Third World War comes to an end.


Footnotes
- [1] The location of the Russian embassy in Washington D.C. until 1994.
- [2] These are the same terms offered on the evening of the 27th in OTL. Here, the changed circumstances mean they are delivered later and with the United States and Soviet Union effectively at war there is more skepticism among the Soviets.
- [3] Kennedy was a practicing Catholic, I don't know whether nuclear war would be grounds on which he would skip mass.
- [4] Anastas Mikoyan made a similar joke on the 28th in OTL as well, it was received about as well as you'd expect.
- [5] I seriously can't find a single picture of him smiling.
- [6] I have no knowledge if such a thing was drafted, so I've used creative license to devise one.
- [7] Inspiration taken from "Cuban Missile War" here.
- [8] The Americans never knew about the tactical nuclear weapons on Cuba during the crisis in OTL.
- [9] An OTL incident from the 27th, a U-2 flying over Alaska somehow got lost in Soviet airspace. The Soviets sent up MiGs to stop it whilst nuclear-armed American fighters were sent up to protect the U-2. Thankfully no shooting happened.
- [10] These events were referenced in Chapter 2.
- [11] The July Crisis of 1914 is a good comparison to make here. Like then, no one here wants war, but they can't reassure themselves that their enemies won't start one be they Americans or Russians.
- [12] The location of the American embassy at the time.
- [13] ESC did not exist in 1962, nor do I think it would have helped at that speed.
- [14] Again, I'm assuming that plans to do this existed.

Sources

The Cuban Missile War Timeline

Saturday, October 27, 1962 9:00 AM -- CIA memorandum indicates five of six IRBM sites in Cuba appear to be operational. Cuban mobilization continues at a high rate, but Cuban forces have strict orders not to fire unless fired upon. 10:00 AM -- In a meeting of the ExComm (Kennedy-created...

www.alternatehistory.com

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/lions-will-fight-bears-britain-in-world-war-three-spring-1988.371650/

OPLAN 316-62: the Invasion of Cuba, 1962

Having read the Cuba War thread as regards to things going nuclear, how about the possiblity of the war in Cuba and adjacent waters staying conventional? CINCLANT had the appropriate OPLAN; it was CINCLANT OPLAN 316-62, and it called for an 8 to 18 day air campaign to precede the invasion. The...

www.alternatehistory.com

The Avalon Project : The Cuban Missile Crisis

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-107publ243/pdf/PLAW-107publ243.pdf

The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Kennedys' Conduct | HistoryExtra

Delve into the actions of President John F Kennedy and his brother Robert, the US attorney general, during the tense 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

www.historyextra.com

Cuban Missile Crisis: The Soviet Story on JSTOR

Raymond L. Garthoff, Cuban Missile Crisis: The Soviet Story, Foreign Policy, No. 72 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 61-80

www.jstor.org

Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Cuban Missile Crisis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Tonkin_Gulf_Resolution.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqJBibhR07w&list=PLflpK233LJx2zBCeN7b9jLrC6pWc9lq3c&index=1

Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Eighty-seventh Congress of the United States of America​

Special Session​

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday, the twenty-eighth day of October,​

one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-two​

​

Joint Resolution​

To authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces against Cuba, to ensure the complete removal of offensive nuclear weapons from Cuba and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic.
​

Whereas on Saturday, the twenty-seventh day of October, one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-two, acts of communist aggression were committed against United States naval vessels lawfully present in international waters, in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law, thereby creating a serious threat to international peace; and​

Whereas such acts render it both necessary and appropriate that the United States exercise its rights to self-defense and to protect United States citizens; and​

Whereas the presence of offensive nuclear weapons on Cuba presents an intolerable threat to the nations of the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, in violation of the Monroe Doctrine and of the Rio Charter of 1947; and​

Whereas these attacks are part of a deliberate campaign of aggression that the Communist regime in Cuba and associated forces has been waging against its neighbors, including the United States, be it​

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression​

Sec. 2. The United States regards as vital to its national interest and to world peace the maintenance of international peace and security in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Consonant with the Constitution of the United States and the Charter of the United Nations and in accordance with the principles of national safety, the United States is, therefore, prepared, as the President determines, to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to ensure the complete removal of all offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba and to assist any member state of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance or any other ally requesting assistance in defense of its freedom.​

Sec. 3. This resolution shall expire when the President shall determine that the peace and security of the area is reasonably assured by international conditions created by action of the United Nations or otherwise, except that it may be terminated earlier by concurrent resolution of the Congress.​

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

Chapter 5 – Escalation​

29 – 30 October 1962​

​

“I hold in the folds of my toga, both peace and war. Which one should I let drop?”​

– Quintus Fabius Maximus​

The 29th of October begins with President Kennedy wide awake. Earlier he'd been on a phone call with General Taylor, asking how soon Operation SCABBARDS - the invasion of Cuba - could be launched. This came hot on the heels of the destruction of Guantanamo Bay by three Soviet KS-1 Komet missiles, launched from Holguín Air Base [1], which had led to the fall and capitulation of the base by 23:00 EST and the capture of around 900 survivors as POWs. General Taylor had told him that SCABBARDS could be launched by the 3rd of November at the earliest - alongside the continuing air campaign [2]. By now, control of Cuban skies was near-absolute and United States Air Force and U.S. Navy strike aircraft able to operate with only Cuban anti-aircraft fire to contend with.

So far, the war had killed around 6,000 Americans, 4,500 Soviets and over 150,000 Cubans [3].

So far, there had been several opportunities for both superpowers to end the war including Khrushchev's capitulation on the 28th, however his note never arrived as American ambassador Kohler was killed in a car accident and the message was destroyed. That was the last real chance the superpowers had to back down without any more major fighting. Despite the best efforts of both leaders, fully conscious of the mistakes of 1914 and their own situation's uncanny resemblance to the July Crisis, events had now escalated beyond their ability to control. When the West German government announced mobilisation at 05:30 EST on the morning of the 29th, all-out war between East and West became inevitable.

---

The government in Bonn had been keeping close eyes on events in the Caribbean from the start of the crisis. Washington-Bonn relations were at a low ebb after a debacle involving leaked plans for an independent access agency for Berlin [4]. They had anticipated any Soviet aggression to come from the direction of Berlin, divided at the end of the Second World War. West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was skeptical of American plans to respond to a Soviet takeover of Berlin.

Despite this, the Federal Republic of Germany (commonly known as West Germany) had taken a hardline attitude during the missile crisis and the buildup to conflict - harder than the Americans as it turned out, supporting air strikes, funding rebels and even an invasion. Bonn was perhaps the most pro-American state during the initial stages of the crisis. The outbreak of war in the Caribbean temporarily drew the focus of world tension away from Central Europe, but politicians throughout the continent scrambled to react as necessary. The Americans put their strategic forces outside Europe on DEFCON 1 alert, called up all National Guard and Reservist personnel and begun preparing for a full-scale war in Cuba. The British had already mobilised their V-Bomber to "cockpit readiness" on the 27th, on the 28th they had recalled aircraft stationed abroad to return home [5] and had quietly begun to disperse government to "regional commissioners" across the United Kingdom [6]. The Italians put their own forces on alert, but did not begin overt mobilisation for war, the Italian Parliament giving strong support for the Fanfani [7] the American Jupiter missiles there being put on alert as were the ones in Turkey. Yet there wasn't mobilisation in Germany, for fears of sending the crisis uncontrollably to war.
It was an uncomfortable situation with political leaders trying hard not to signal preparations for war whilst trying to meet the needs of protecting their citizens from nuclear war - it was a complete mess and it didn't last.

On the evening of the 28th, at 20:12 local time, the West Germans had heard of the sinking of the USS Essex. Within an hour, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Service; BND) was reporting Soviet and East German military activity around Berlin followed by American and East German gunmen exchanging fire. The politicians in Bonn watch on in horror as the world begins to fall apart around them. By the morning of the 29th, the reports of military activity appear to be receding. Was Khrushchev having a change of heart? At By 4 in the morning, Adenauer is aware of the destruction of Guantanamo and Santa Clara by the Americans. The BND spooks in West Berlin was providing unclear reports of Warsaw Pact activity in the city. Some reports were saying that the Soviets and East Germans were pulling back, others yet spoke of stones hurled by civilians at East German policemen manning checkpoints.

What finally pushed Bonn over the edge were reports that the East German government was on the verge of "preparing their country for war", they would calling up reservists and ask the Soviets for military assistance. This report came from discussions in East Berlin just as the quarantine of Berlin was being initiated, from their own fears of Western retaliation to any sealing off of Berlin.

It was an uncomfortable moment for the West German lawmakers, that their eastern neighbours may be preparing for war against them. Were they certain they were preparing for war? No, but that uncertainty played strongly on their minds. If they did nothing and the Warsaw Pact was in fact preparing for war, they'd have lost the war without a fight.

After a drawn-out cabinet meeting, the Federal Republic's government held a press conference at 11:30 local time in which they revealed the information they had concerning Soviet and East German preparation. In addition, they announced the mobilisation of the Bundeswehr and requested that their NATO allies came to their aid. They did not wish for a war, but they saw Eastern bloc actions as preparation for war and reacted to it as they believed was necessary.

---

President Kennedy received news of West German mobilisation at 05:40 EST. He's not happy, he's already got enough on his plate trying to sort Cuba out without provoking a wider war with the Soviet Union. To some in EXCOMM and the Joint Chiefs, it comes as a relief - at least they know who they're fighting and can prepare as such. Most of EXCOMM does not share this view. Kennedy is appalled at that sentiment, he knows he's now in an unstoppable situation. After trying so hard not to blunder into war, the war sought desperately to avoid is now unstoppable. Defense Secretary McNamara is unhappy, he also doesn't want a nuclear war, but he also has more immediate concerns - mobilisation in Europe threatens to disrupt the invasion plans for Cuba. There are over 400,000 U.S. troops across all branches stationed in Europe will need reinforcements, food and medical supplies.

The present forces in Europe are to be ordered to their wartime positions and European Command is to put on the same strategic alert as the rest of U.S forces worldwide. At 06:12 EST, General Lauris Norstad receives a war-warning from Kennedy. After brief conversations with NATO Secretary-General , Dirk Stikker, and the NATO member states' leadership, he issues a full NATO war alert at 06:50 EST (12:50 local time) in his capacity as Supreme Allied Command Europe and orders all U.S forces to wartime stations in his capacity as CINC, United States European Command. He additionally authorises the dispersing of NATO command from Paris to its wartime bunkers.

Back in D.C., Kennedy finally gets some sleep. He's had another bad morning. At 03:01 EST he received news of the successful destruction of Guantanamo and Santa Clara. Later he'd received conflicting reports from Berlin - some suggesting the Soviets were pulling back, no one was quite sure what was happening in Berlin. Later that morning, he hears of the surrender of Guantanamo Bay. He now has to deal with American Marines being held as POWs in Cuba, and potentially as human shields in the event of further attack. The press also hears news of the surrender of Guantanamo Bay and now he has the press to deal with as well. Americans are scared, they don't know whether today or tomorrow will be their last. Reports that the Soviets and Cubans are holding Americans prisoner is enough to kick off demonstrations in D.C. among those who haven't wisely decided to leave.

Up until West German and NATO mobilisation, the focus of the armed force's efforts had been Cuba. Now they had to deal with war in Europe as well. Units from the Air National Guard are federalised and deployed to Europe, many having been mobilised a year earlier during the Berlin Crisis, including the 138th Tactical Fighter Squadron from New York which was deployed to Leck Air Base in Germany. Other units deployed included the 139th Air Transport Squadron from New York, the 146th Air Transport Wing from California and the 147th Aeromedical Airflift Squadron. Other units would stay in North America such as the 151st Tactical Fighter Squadron from Tennessee which would be deployed at Homestead AFB in Florida and fly numerous missions over Cuba

The 51st Infantry Division from South Carolina was federalised and after a brief discussion abouts its deployment it was decided to send it to Europe. This was the first federal deployment the 51st would see, they were joined in Europe by other units such as the 43rd Infantry Division from New England.

The international relations environment was less unpredictable, with Canada and Western European NATO allies plus Japan supporting them and the Warsaw Pact and Chinese backing the Soviets and Cubans. The Indian government passes private support for the United States through their embassy, largely to ensure the Americans don't forget about them and their promises of support in their ongoing war with China, an important issue for Delhi in light of Mao's very public support for the Cubans and sabre-rattling rhetoric [8].

Kennedy wakes up at midday after 5 hours rest to find his deployment orders running well and the world still not ended. He's not exactly able to relax what with the ongoing war and buildup in Europe, but he is now able to function without collapsing for exhaustion. At 12:50 he summons Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin for talks.

---

Why was NATO mobilising? On the other side of the Iron Curtain, West German mobilisation had caught the Soviet Union unaware. They had been caught by surprise and now the west appeared to be preparing for full-scale war, to finish what the Germans had tried just twenty years earlier.

Immediately prior, at 05:01 Moscow time Khrushchev had been notified about the destruction of Guantanamo and Santa Clara. It's gone too far now, Khrushchev believes. He comes to think that the Berlin quarantine was now a mistake, and makes moves to back off from this error. At 05:28 Moscow time, he phones Marshal Yakubovsky and orders him to call off the quarantine. The Marshal splutters. Call off the quarantine? That's harder said than done with numbers of his men under attack from West German civilians. Khrushchev reiterates his order, cancel the quarantine and return to barracks and then hangs up. Yakubovsky is shocked but he does as he is told and orders units of the Soviet and East German armies to take down their sandbag fortifcations and checkpoints and return to base. This will take a number of hours, and they will have to do so under constant projectile from the people of West Berlin.

At 07:03 Moscow time, Khrushchev is alerted to the destruction of Guantanamo Bay, Soviet nuclear weapons have been used against the United States on the battlefield. He fears its to late to stop what will come.

Several hours pass before Khrushchev and the Presidium hear about West German mobilisation at 14:04 Moscow time. Why was this happening? Khrushchev starts remembering back to Stalingrad upon hearing the news. He knew what total war meant. That's what he'd spent the past several days trying to avoid, and his colleagues for that matter as well. They'd all believed that it was still possible to de-escalate the situation, every step they'd taken was supposed to bring that goal into being.

Until NATO began to prepare for war.

Barbarossa had a special meaning to citizens of the Soviet Union, destruction at the hands of an enemy bent of domination and annihilation of the Soviet people. The term came from the German invasion of 1941 which had caught the Soviet Union completely by surprise. That would not happen again. Defence Minister Marshal Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky warned of a second Barbarossa from the NATO mobilisation, with hundreds of thousands of NATO soldiers, sailors and airmen moving themselves into wartime positions. They were claiming to support and defend West Germany, but Soviet thinking didn't believe they would just sit there, they had to attack. NATO mobilisation meant an impending NATO attack. Khrushchev is depressed by the news, and angry. He believed the crisis could have been de-escalated but now the west and the Americans had chosen to go for war. A war likely involving the use of nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union and its allied Warsaw Pact states would have to defend themselves. NATO mobilisation meant that they too would have to mobilise, perhaps even strike first to prevent that Barbarossa-esque first strike they so dreaded.

The Presidium sent out mobilisation orders of their own at 15:25 Moscow time. Marshal Anderi Antonovich Grechko receives orders at his Legnica headquarters to place all Warsaw Pact military forces on war readiness. Marshal Yakubovsky receives another phone call from Khrushchev at 15:31 Moscow time ordering him to take up position around Berlin again, and to make the whole of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany ready for war within 36 hours.

The die was well and truly cast.


Footnotes
- [1] There was KS-1's in Cuba that the Americans never knew about in OTL. The missiles were the FKR-1 (Frontline Combat Rocket) variant, and the Soviet troops located at Holguín were commanded by Dmitry Yazov.
- [2] In line with CINCLANT OPLAN-316, the 3rd would be seven days after the 27th of October when combat operation begun.
- [3] The American death toll coming mostly from the naval war in the Atlantic and the Marines at Guantanamo Bay, Soviets deaths from the air war over Cuba and the (mostly civilian) Cuban toll coming from the atomic bombing of Guantanamo and Santa Clara.
- [4] OTL incident, Chancellor Adenauer at the time struggled to connect with President Kennedy.
- [5] The recall on the 28th happened in OTL, except for one Vulcan (Sunspot detachment) in Malta.
- [6] There are sources saying that Macmillan intended to do this on the 28th, before Khrushchev announced the withdrawal of the missiles.
- [7] Fanfani's "opening to the left" to isolate the Communist Party stayed strong during the crisis, with Pietro Nenni's Socialist Party pledging its support for the government.
- [8] Mao was supportive of the Cubans during the crisis in OTL, and Kennedy had pledged support for India in their war with China.

Sources

1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis

In 1962, when medium range ballistic missile sites were being placed in Cuba, the United States responded with a naval blockade of Cuba. the USAF response was swift and allowed President Kennedy to

www.afhistory.af.mil

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/lions-will-fight-bears-britain-in-world-war-three-spring-1988.371650/

The Avalon Project : The Cuban Missile Crisis

Should the United States Keep Troops in Germany? | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

How the looming Cold War convinced Americans to keep troops in Europe after the war.

www.nationalww2museum.org

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/CWHIP_Bulletin_17-18_Cuban_Missile_Crisis_v2_s5_Non-Communist_Europe_Israel.pdf

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[BurkeanLibCon]

This chapter isn't as detailed as other recent ones. This one is more of an interlude before the next few where things gets really hot.

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

Chapter 6 – Preparation​

30 – 31 October 1962​

​

“I have participated in two wars and know that war ends when it has rolled through cities and villages, everywhere sowing death and destruction. For such is the logic of war. If people do not display wisdom, they will clash like blind moles and then mutual annihilation will commence...”​

– Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev​

As the sun rose on the morning of the 30th of October 1962, the U.S. government continued their mobilisation plans. The U.S. Navy was ferrying both men and supplies across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe, combatting Soviet submarines in a similar undeclared fashion as they had done against the Kriegsmarine in 1941, combat aircraft from the Navy and Air Force were pounding Cuban and Soviet positions and Strategic Air Command continued to wait, ready to carry out strike operations from their bases in the Continental United States and the United Kingdom.

The undeclared war was already taking its toll on President Kennedy. His heath was never in the strongest state at the best of times, but now he was in agony as his Addison's disease left him fatigued and his back stung like he was being stabbed [1]. It had now reached a point where the President was conducting affairs from his bed when not meeting with EXCOMM.

The war in Cuba had settled into a familiar pattern as American strike aircraft pounded Cuban targets, then were fired upon by anti-air flak and the occasional surviving MiG before returning home, often to have damage repaired. By the 30th, all SAM sites had been destroyed and the remaining SS-4s were being constantly moved around by night to avoid destruction. They were what remained of the strategic nuclear weapons to be launched at the United States in the event of an invasion.

At 09:06 EST, Kennedy receives news from the Pentagon of the sinking of a U.S. destroyer, the USS Leary, off the coast of Great Inagua island in the British Bahamas. The Leary gained the unfortunate award for being the first ship to be sunk by another ship using guided missiles as two Soviet P-15 Termit missiles struck through the hull and exploded - taking the ship down along with around 210 of its crew. The American response came later that afternoon as the port of Bares, where the attacking Komar boat had been based, was hit by two F-105 Thunderchief fighters carrying napalm bombs. Much of the port area of Bares was incinerated along with any people in the area.

By midday, Kennedy's conference with the Joint Chiefs, key members of EXCOMM and other military advisers concludes. As fighting in the Caribbean continued unabated, the U.S. military has to dedicate massive amounts of resources to preparing for war in Europe - within a week the American forces there would be ready. Surveillance reports from the Warsaw Pact showed that the Eastern bloc nations were also calling up reservists, the Poles had begun deploying to East Germany and West Berlin was undeniably surrounded and cut off. There aren't many other bright spots around the rest of the world with flashpoints in Asia as Mao's China continues to put out aggressive statements in support of the Cubans. Additionally regarding China, the Indian Air Force organised a minor air raid on a Chinese air base in Gonggar - largely to show the Americans that they would continue to resist the People's Liberation Army in the Himalayas [2]. Reality was starting to hit home. This would become a world war, assuming it wasn't one already.

Across the major cities of the United States and other Western nations, a series of impromptu peace demonstrations took place. Some of these were political in nature, other religious, others still were more personal in nature. In Omaha, a small group of demonstrators placed flowers outside Offutt Air Force Base (SAC headquarters), in Philadelphia a group of student demonstrators gathered near Independence Hall - local law enforcement needing to be called in after the students were beset upon by a mob yelling "Commies" and "Go back to Russia!" Many though had decided to leave the cities entirely and head out to the countryside, either to stay with friends and family or to camp out until either the bombs came or it all just went away. The roads leading out of major cities were packed with one-way traffic, getting in the way of military deployments who had to transit the unused half of the freeways that usually led into the cities. For those that remained, church attendance across the nation reached unseen heights as millions looked to cleanse their souls before the end of the world sent them to their maker. Throughout all the chaos, the economy suffered dramatically. Even without the bombs, the once prosperous economy of 1960 may as well have had an A-bomb dropped on it.

Back in the White House, President Kennedy was able to see one peace vigil outside the White House. They were still there as he worked with his advisers on the next moves. As afternoon turned to evening on the 30th of October, there were no new surprises either from Cuba or from Europe. That's not to say the situation was good, SCABBARDS was now just days away and the situation in Europe was now far beyond the ability of anyone to stop. It was a long slow march into the end, getting ever louder and louder.

After further discussions with advisers and phone calls to Congress (now in West Virginia), Kennedy phones British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at 18:12 EST - 23:12 GMT. The British have been one of the closest allies of the Americans during the crisis, British Ambassador Ormsby-Gore is now given priority meetings with the President to ensure close contact between both states. The Prime Minister is the first foreign leader to hear from Kennedy that he will launch an invasion of Cuba; his heart sinks, he knows what will come from that. He is informed by the President that a 48-hour ultimatum will be given to the Cubans at 18:00 EST tomorrow, if the demands are not met by the deadline the invasion will be launched at 05:00 EST on the 3rd of November. Kennedy inquires as to the readiness of British forces for war, including the nuclear-armed RAF bomber force.

RAF Bomber Command had long been a component of the US Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) to the extent that British officers were based at SAC HQ in Nebraska and attended all their briefings, and British bombers had been assigned over 50 targets in the Western USSR. In addition, SAC stationed a number of B-47 bombers and 60 Thor intermediate-range missiles in southern England. Ensuring that the British were ready to strike alongside the U.S. was essential.

Macmillan confirmed to Kennedy that British nuclear forces were ready to strike the Soviet Union should the need ever arise, and the British-led NATO Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was fast preparing to resist the Warsaw Pact in Germany. The elderly PM sounded notably despondent when talking about the impending war. He was deeply worried about the possibility of nuclear war and the impact it would have on the British Isles. The UK did not have the luxury of being a continent away from the enemy and millions could be killed in under 10 minutes. Kennedy attempts to reassure Macmillan that every step is being taken to avoid further escalation, and offers thanks to him for allowing the air force to quietly set up a field hospital in the Bahamas as of yet undetected by the Cubans [3].

After hanging up at 19:23 EST, Kennedy goes to bed. His back aches and his energy levels are through the floor. He wakes at 03:30 EST on the 31st of October. Halloween, a scary enough day without the prospects of Armageddon.

At 08:12 EST he phones the Congressional leadership in their bunker beneath the Greenbrier hotel in West Virginia informing them of the ultimatum to be delivered at 18:00 that evening. Much of the rest of the day for Kennedy is preparation for the speech to be delivered that evening and anything else that could follow. Castro could launch any remaining missiles in a pre-emptive strike. Khrushchev may strike Berlin as a bargaining chip. Maybe even a general invasion of Western Europe. By 16:30 he's gained the approval of Congress and phoned the southern Governors to gauge the civil preparations in the southeast.

As the clock strikes 17:00 EST, Kennedy has been informed by the Joint Chiefs that the military is almost ready. The SAC bombers and missiles and primed to go, the air over Cuba is largely clear and the NATO buildup in Europe is almost complete. From here, most of EXCOMM evacuates for Mount Weather in Virginia, including Vice President Johnson. President Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Air Force Chief of Staff LeMay remain in the White House while Defence Secretary McNamara and Navy Chief of Operations Anderson stay at the Pentagon. Both bodies will operate a skeleton staff unless the crisis is resolved or Washington D.C. is evacuated. Now the President spends the remaining minutes before his televised address rehearsing his speech, written by McGeorge Bundy - his usual speechwriter Ted Sorensen unable to devise such a speech that would, as he saw it, lead to nuclear war.

As the clock neared 18:00 EST, the President took position behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. The room hot tense, and very hot. Kennedy thought it was as though the hot lights and the lenses of the camera were burning into his soul.

"3, 2, 1, we're live."

---

The Soviet Army and its Warsaw Pact allies could theoretically mobilise many more men than NATO could. If they wished to push west, they held the advantage in numbers in any conventional war. However, the chance any war would remain conventional was so slim it was practically non-existent. That's why the Soviet government was so reluctant to order any attack - when the balloon went up the United States held THE advantage in nuclear weapons. While Khrushchev had claimed that the USSR could produce nuclear missiles 'like sausages', they had only 40 missiles and 160 mostly turboprop bombers which could reach America. They could badly bruise America but at the cost of their complete annihilation, the destruction would not be mutual.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Anderi Antonovich Grechko, the Supreme Commander of the Warsaw Pact Armed Forces was not a happy man. He too shared the belief that Western mobilisation was cover for war preparation, yet he believed the Presidium were responding too softly. He had been ordered to mobilise Eastern bloc forces under defensive orders - he was not to launch a strike. He had advocated strongly for a series of surgical strikes against West German air bases and NATO troop formations [4] only to be solidly rebuffed by Defence Minister Malinovsky.

On the home front, the Soviet government faces many of the same problems as the Americans - or in fact anywhere with large urban population centers. The Soviet railway network is overwhelmed as members of the public crowd the platforms looking for means to leaving the cities. Efforts by the state security forces to restore order results in several deaths including the deaths of 40 people in a stampede in Smolensk. Others take to walking of using horse-drawn carts to leave the cities, few Soviet citizens outside top party officials owned a car. The results are chaotic as the become clogged with refugees in scenes reminiscent of the Great Patriotic War.

At 04:12 Khrushchev and several members of the Presidium meets in the old Kuntsevo Dacha. They are a reconstituted State Defence Committee (GKO), a de-facto war cabinet with extraordinary powers to lead the Soviet Union through the crisis. An armoured train is kept aside at the nearby Molodyozhnaya station in case they need to leave suddenly. The GKO's members are Khrushchev, Anastas Mikoyan, Defence Minister Rodion Malinovsky, Foreign Minister Anderi Gromyko as well as Dmitry Ustinov, Leonid Brezhnev and Communist Party high priest Mikhail Suslov.

At 05:30 they meet again with Marshal Grechko. He's an adherent to the old tale of attack being the best form of defence. He argues fairly convincingly that the best option for the USSR is a set of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against NATO air and ground forces in Germany. Without an army or air force the imperialists would have no means of attacking East Germany. Afterward, Warsaw Pact ground forces would advance into enemy territory whilst paratroopers cleared the roads for the tanks to come. Afterward he was sure that the Americans and their allies would back down. Malinovsky berates the Marshal, was he not aware of America's overwhelming nuclear advantage? Grechko's response was that war was inevitable anyway, and it was almost certain to go nuclear very quickly. He didn't necessarily want it to happen, but he was fatalistic in his belief of atomic escalation; the USSR would be best served by striking first in such an environment [5].

Khrushchev for his part was reluctant to side with either man. He was a commissar at Stalingrad, he'd seen war in all its horrors, and that was without nuclear weapons. If he could prevent such a conflict from breaking out again he wouldn't hesitate to prevent such a thing. But if war was inevitable, surely it was better to keep the fighting away from the Motherland? Was war inevitable? If so, how could he know for certain? Such questions could better be answered by men under less pressure and with healthier sleep patterns than the men of the GKO. Grechko left the dacha to return to his Legnica command post at 08:35 Moscow time.

By 18:00 Moscow time, the GKO hears of the sinking of the USS Leary by one of their own Komar missile boats. Crewed by joint Cuban-Soviet crews, the saving grace was that the Termit missiles they fired weren't nuclear-armed.

At 00:43 Moscow time on the 31st, the GKO receives a message from Kennedy. It comes in the form of two letters, one being a transcript of Kennedy's upcoming televised address due at 02:00 Moscow time. The other is a summary of the address's key points, namely the ultimatum. Khrushchev goes white upon reading both letters.

"There will be war" he says, repeatedly, "There will be war..."

---

"Good evening my fellow citizens:

This evening I want to address you on the situation in Cuba and on events in Europe.

Over the last several days, events have shown that ensuring the removal of Soviet offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba has a far harder challenge that we had initially anticipated. The Soviet government and the regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba have used diplomacy as a cover to gain time and advantage. They have up to now refused to comply with our terms to withdraw all offensive missiles from Cuba. Peaceful efforts to disarm Cuba have failed because we are not dealing with peaceful men, or men acting in good faith.

Furthermore, when combined with the irrefutable proof of the presence of offensive nuclear weapons, they continued to state that there were no such weapons in Cuba, and that the military buildup on Cuba was strictly for defensive purposes. That statement was false. Since the character of that buildup was intolerable to this nation and to the other nations of this hemisphere, we resolved to prevent any further offensive weapons shipments to Cuba and to pursue patient yet unrelenting diplomatic efforts to ensure the weapons already in Cuba were promptly dismantled and withdrawn. This effort has so far failed.

On the evening of the Saturday, the 27th of October, a Soviet nuclear submarine deliberately launched a nuclear-armed torpedo at a group of American naval vessels in a deliberate and unprovoked attack. From that point on the present situation had escalated into an intolerable danger which had to be met immediately, and I ordered appropriate measures be taken to prevent further attacks against the United States and American citizens, including conventional air strikes against offensive missile sites in Cuba.

Since then, in spite of our best efforts, further Soviet nuclear weapons have been used against other United States vessels, including the aircraft carrier USS Essex, and against our base at Guantanamo Bay - which is now occupied by Cuban and Soviet soldiers. In addition, many U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel, since the occupation of Guantanamo Bay, are been held as captives within Cuba. Our responses to such attacks have been as limited and proportionate as is possible to be. At times, our response has included the use of our own nuclear weapons against carefully selected military targets, to undermine the ability of hostile forces in Cuba to wage war. I wish to inform the American people that they can know that at no point was the order to use these enormously destructive weapons taken frivolously.

In addition, I ordered that aerial surveillance over Cuba continue to monitor the effectiveness of our operations. The information gathered by this surveillance confirms several things. First, that large quantities of nuclear weapons, the most lethal weapons ever devised by human hands, remain on the island of Cuba. Finally, that the Castro regime is holding American POWs, captured at Guantanamo Bay, are being held in urban areas in grave violation of the Geneva Convention's provisions preventing the mistreatment of prisoners of war; another atrocity committed by an aggressive regime which already commits reckless aggressive and subversive activities against Cuba's neighbors and brutally represses the Cuban people. This regime holds a deep hatred of the United States and our way of life. This regime if armed with these most deadly weapons, weapons which have already been used against the United States, poses a clear and present danger to all nations in this Hemisphere and around the world.

Using nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of the Soviet Union, the Castro regime could at any moment launch a nuclear first strike against the American mainland, or against any other nation in the Americas within range of their missiles, and kill millions of innocent people - including American citizens. The nations of Latin America have done nothing to deserve or invite this threat, and up until now had never been subjected to the perilous fear of nuclear annihilation. Instead of drifting along into further uncontrolled disaster, we will set a course towards safety. Before it is too late to act, this danger will be removed. The United States has the sovereign authority to deploy armed force in pursuit of national security and safety. As Commander-in-Chief that duty rests on my shoulders. Recognizing the clear and present danger to our nation, the Congress voted overwhelmingly to approve the use of force to remove the threat posed by these weapons in Cuba if it became necessary.

Throughout the present crisis, we acted through the United nations to try and resolve the matter peacefully. The United Nations was set up in the aftermath of the last world war to confront aggression early and decisively and to prevent such disturbances to the peace from spiraling into global war, a task more necessary today than it was in 1945 given the even greater potential for destruction and devastation posed by nuclear weapons. We posed the matter in the UN's Security Council, providing irrefutable proof of the offensive buildup of nuclear weapons in Cuba, contrary to the deceptions provided by Soviet diplomats and lawmakers. Yet in recent days, the Soviet Union - a permanent member of the Security Council - has publicly vowed to veto any resolution that compels the dismantling and disarmament of offensive weapons in Cuba. The Soviet government shares our view of the danger, yet they wish to exploit it to their advantage and their reckless conduct has pushed the world closer to the point of no return. Though the Soviet government's intransigence has paralyzed the Security Council, preventing it from upholding its obligations, we will rise to ours. Many other nations understand the consequences of reckless and aggressive conduct in the Atomic Age and have resolved to meet them with great fortitude, including the government of Venezuela which in the last several days has committed naval vessels to supporting our quarantine effort in the western Atlantic.

As may be expected, it is possible that any further conflict may spread beyond the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. U.S. military installations and forces worldwide have been placed on high alert as a precautionary measure to deter any aggression by hostile forces.

In Europe, in response to increased communist military activity in Eastern Europe and Berlin, the West German government requested assistance from their NATO allies, including the United State, in defense of their nation. All members of that alliance re fulfilling their obligations as per the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949. We and our European allies are prepared to deter and if necessary defeat any aggression in Europe, though I wish to inform the Soviet government and the governments of Eastern Europe that our deployments in Europe are of a strictly defensive nature. Under no circumstances will the United States or our NATO allies undertake preemptive offensive operations in Europe. Nevertheless, we are prepared to meet any aggressor and ensure they pose no threat to us in future.

In recent days, many Latin American governments have played an important role of their own in relaying messages to Fidel Castro urging him to turn back from the perilous course he and his regime have placed his country in, so that disarmament can proceed peacefully. So far, these efforts have failed and Fidel Castro has declared his communist dictatorship to be at war with the United States, making public threats against the lives of Americans. That was enough. All the years of deceit, cruelty and terror have now reached their conclusion.

Acting under the authority entrusted to me by the Constitution as endorsed by resolution of the Congress, I have transmitted the following terms to the leaders of Cuba and the Soviet Union:

First. Any and all offensive Soviet equipment and hardware must be dismantled and withdrawn from Cuba under the international supervision of the United Nations. This includes all kinds of nuclear weapons, including medium- and intermediate range ballistic missiles as well as cruise missiles and bombers.

Second. All Soviet military personnel must leave Cuba immediately. This includes both ground troops and technical personnel.

Third. Soviet and Cuban forces presently occupying Guantanamo Bay must withdraw and return the territory to the United States; all American personnel in Cuba must be released and returned to the United States immediately.

Fourth and finally. Recognizing that the present regime in Cuba constitutes a grave and intolerable threat to the peace of the Western Hemisphere and of the world, Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl must step down from power and leave Cuba permanently.

These terms were transmitted to both governments at 17:45 Eastern Standard Time and must be accepted within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in a military conflict in the Caribbean region, commenced at a time of our choosing. For their own safety, all foreign nationals should leave Cuba immediately including journalists and diplomats.

Under the Charter of the United Nations, we are asking that an emergency meeting of the Security Council be invoked immediately to resolve this threat before any further use of force becomes necessary.

I dedicate the following message to the Cuban people. If we must conduct a military campaign, it will be directed against the brutal regime which represses your country, and not you. As their instruments of tyranny and terror are torn down, the United States of America will aid in the building of a new Cuba. A peaceful, democratic and prosperous Cuba which will be a shining example to the whole of the Western Hemisphere, and in which there be no secret police, no torture chambers and no foreign nuclear weapons. It is too late for Fidel Castro to remain in power, but it is not too late for you or your country to take its place in the global community of nations.

To the Cuban and Soviet militaries, I urge you to preserve your honor and your lives by permitting the peaceful entry of United States forces into Cuba to secure nuclear weapons sites. I urge you not to fight for a cause that is not worth your life, and to heed the following warning:

In the event of conflict, do not obey any orders to use nuclear weapons against anyone. Such action will bring immediate and devastating consequences and it will be no defense to say 'I was just following orders.' Do not destroy oil refineries or agricultural land, sources of wealth which belong to the Cuban people. Should conflict come, the American people and the world should know that we have taken every reasonable measure to avoid war, and that now we will take every measure to ensure the vindication of what is right. If our terms are not met, hostile forces in Cuba will remain foes until they are defeated.

I must warn the American people that it is possible that long-range nuclear weapons may be launched from the island of Cuba against the American mainland in an attempt to distract us with fear and devastation. They would fail. In my address of October 22nd, I stated clearly that - and i quote - "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." That policy is still in effect. Though these attacks are not inevitable, they are possible; they underscore the reason the reason why we cannot tolerate the clear and present danger posed by these missiles. The threat to world peace will be decreased the minute Cuba is liberated and the missiles are disarmed.

In order to meet the potential for nuclear attack, I have ordered that civil defense contingency plans be put into effect to protect our nation. In recent days, individuals believed to have ties to communist intelligence agencies have been detained. Among other measures, I have ordered increased security at our military bases and airports, and increased Coast Guard patrols at our major seaports. No further action of theirs can shake or resolve the resolve of this government and of this nation, in acting in defense of itself and its allies in this Hemisphere. We are a nation which is opposed to war, but we are not a fragile nation which will be intimidated by nuclear blackmail. If the enemy attempts to strike our nation, they will face grave consequences.

We are acting now because the threat of inaction would be too great to bear. We will not accept peace at the expense of freedom, which would be tantamount to surrender, in this Hemisphere or anywhere else in the world. We hope and pray that any further use of force is not required. If it is required, then we shall not shrink from our duties and we will meet the dangers whatever the cost.

God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America.

Thank you." [6]​

Footnotes
- [1] JFK's health was fragile throughout his whole life. Had he survived Dallas in OTL, I think he'd be lucky to last 10 more years.
- [2] Neither China nor India used their air forces in the Sino-Indian War (occurring concurrently with the Cuban Missile Crisis). The attack on Gonggar here was a symbolic move by India to remind the world of their own struggle - particularly to attract American attention given their promises of support for India.
- [3] Set up on the 28th of October ITTL. This didn't happen in OTL.
- [4] Grechko advocated doing something similar to China in 1969 in OTL. Brezhnev ignored him.
- [5] Malinovsky was a firm believer that strategic nuclear weapons should be instruments of deterrence and posturing rather than a weapon system to actually be used.
- [6] Inspiration taken from JFK's OTL Cuba speech, Bush Sr's Panama speech and Dubya's 2003 Iraq speech.

Sources

The Health Problems JFK Hid From the Public | HISTORY

From regular infections to excruciating back pain, JFK contended with a range of ailments before and during his time in the White House.

www.history.com

https://news.usni.org/2012/10/24/soviet-navys-caribbean-outpost

The Cuban Missile Crisis @ 60 Briefing NATO Allies | National Security Archive

Washington, D.C., October 21, 2022 - President John F. Kennedy made unilateral decisions to blockade Cuba and approve other military moves, but winning the support of European allies remained central to U.S. policy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, according to declassified records of briefings...

nsarchive.gwu.edu

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2012/september/soviet-navys-caribbean-outpost

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[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

Chapter 7 – Duck and Cover​

31 October – 2 November 1962​

​

“How many wars have been averted by patience and persisting good will!...How many wars have been precipitated by firebrands! How many misunderstandings which led to wars could have been removed by temporizing!”​

– Winston Churchill​

Was this the end of the world? All over the globe, millions were wondering the same thing. Kennedy's ultimatum was where the war began to speed up, the world began to boil.

At 09:10 EST, Kennedy meets with Secretary of Defense McNamara and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the remaining members of EXCOMM who haven't left for Mount Weather. The three men will stay in D.C. for as long as they can, directing the war effort from the White House and the Pentagon until it either blows over or blows up. There's a hope that if Kennedy remains in the White House then the Soviets won't assume the United States is about to launch a pre-emptive strike. It's not a very likely hope, the Soviets have been given an ultimatum to leave Cuba or face war, but in times like these you need all the hope you can get.

McNamara reads a report to the other members of the de-facto troika and a handful of military advisers. It estimates that around 90% of the nuclear strength on Cuba has been knocked out. The President breathes a sigh of relief until he fears that a number of SS-4 launchers can't be identified and their whereabouts are not known. In the event of invasion they will very likely be used against the United States.

EXCOMM's fears are confirmed later that day when Castro makes a public address in Havana at 13:00 EST. In his speech, recorded for television and radio, he confirms that he is in control of nuclear weapons capable of striking the United States and warned that in no uncertain terms that should the "Yankee imperialists" attempt to "subjugate" Cuba, he would use them to "ensure the destruction of imperialism and further progress the international socialist revolution" even if Cuba were destroyed [1]. His threat is direct and very, very blunt. To prevent America achieving victory against him he is prepared to start a global nuclear war by attacking the mainland United States with nuclear weapons. The response is immediate, panic buying across the United States continues with local law enforcement sometimes overwhelmed by stampedes, churches of all denominations find themselves full for almost the entire day as even those few who haven't attended in years look to have their souls cleansed, and peace demonstrators clash with law enforcement in major cities such as New York and San Francisco.

President Kennedy's phone is inundated with calls throughout the afternoon, many of which come from their own allies in Europe. Most of them (except the British) were never told about the impending ultimatum until a few hours before it was delivered. French President De Gaulle was particularly outraged, and now vacillates between acute rage against the Anglo-Americans and spine-chilling fear of nuclear war in Europe. The Italian government has had to deal with riots in northern cities such as Milan where local communist-aligned demonstrators attempted to block roads and railway lines to thwart mobilisation efforts. Most of the Italian Army is deployed in the north to guard against a Soviet invasion through Austria, with a large force deployed to help guard the American Jupiter missiles.

At 15:30 EST the Situation Room receives news of Warsaw Pact forces mustering on the Inner-German border. HUMINT sources reveal that the buildup is made up of elite Soviet and East German shock armies. Estimates suggest that they are not quite ready for war, many units are still moving into wartime positions, but so are NATO forces. They will need until the 3rd to be considered fully ready for war as reservists are called up and supplies are moved into theatre. A sombre mood befalls the White house as though full-scale war is now inevitable.

At 19:30 EST, the White House receives a visit from the British Ambassador, David Ormsby-Gore. It's half-past midnight in Ormsby-Gore's home country, by the time he arrives at the White House Macmillan has departed London for the wartime government bunker in Corsham, Wiltshire. Ormsby-Gore was by now mentally prepared for the outbreak of war, should it come, his job is to convey a message from the British government. Before the White House Situation Room he outlines that Britain will make first-use of nuclear weapons in the USSR crosses the River Weser, in the event of an attack, to prevent their forces and their allies in the Low Countries from being overrun. Kennedy is taken aback by the suddenness of the Ambassador's statement but doesn't oppose it. It has been NATO policy for years to oppose a Soviet-led attack in Europe using nuclear arms.

Washington D.C. was six hours behind Berlin and eight behind Moscow. News took time to travel between both superpower capitals so during crises both had to time their next moves carefully. At 22:40 EST Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin arrives at the White House in his official car. His position has been unstable for several days as both superpowers were effectively at war, and with the potential threat of internment he'd been directing efforts to burn any sensitive information to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy. At 22:44 EST, he is escorted to the Oval Office to meet with President Kennedy and his brother the Attorney General. The White House security personnel shoot daggers from their eyes towards the Ambassador and the young man from the Soviet embassy following behind him.

Once in the Oval Office, Dobrynin begins to recite his pre-planned script to the two Kennedys, with the young translator turning his message from Russian into English. HE stated the USSR's wish for "only for friendship and brotherhood with all peoples of the world" including the American people. He then berated the American "naked aggression and piracy" in the Western Atlantic that "has brought our nations and most of the world's population to the brink of destruction." Nothing he said sounded new, President Kennedy was waiting for him to finish so he could hear what the Soviets intended to do about it. He thought the Ambassador was going to issue demands on the American state in retalitation.

He didn't.

When Dobrynin finally finished rambling and got to talking about the ultimatum, he stated that:

"...the actions of the United States have sealed the fate of the peace of the world. In particular the actions of the Bonn regime in fomenting a new wave of nationalism and chauvinism and provoking a wave of anti-Soviet psychosis in the German Democratic Republic have pushed us beyond the point we could reasonably be expected to bear. The German Democratic Republic has asked its Socialist fraternal allies for assistance. In this regard, under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, with the approval of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and in accordance with the Treaty of Friendship, Co-Operation and Mutual Assistance of 1955, the Soviet government and Socialist allied states have decided to initiate a special military operation.

It aims to protect the people of the German Democratic Republic and other Socialist countries presently threatened by fascist and imperialist aggression. To achieve this we strive for the demilitarization and denuclearization of the Bonn regime, a final resolution to the Berlin question - necessary for the security of the German Democratic Republic, as well as an end to cowardly terrorist attacks against the people of Cuba and Soviet forces aiding them in their defense. The Soviet people are a peace-loving people, yet peace is something the enemies of the Soviet workers in the Motherland - the enemies of Socialism, will not allow. Comrade Khrushchev declares that he will continue to bring the present crisis to a satisfactory resolution, and end all present military activity once such a solution has been reached..."

By the time the Ambassador had finished his declaration, the Soviet bloc armed forces would begin their invasion of West Germany at 23:00.07 EST.

---

It didn't matter that Kennedy had declared there would be no NATO offensive in Europe, Hitler had promised he wouldn't invade the USSR twenty years earlier and he'd been lying. The GKO was certain the Americans would lying here too, that the expiration of the American ultimatum would herald a pre-emptive attack, either with nuclear or ordinary weapons.

Barbarossa 2.0 - and there was only one way it could be prevented.

Shortly after the President's address had finished past 2AM Moscow time on the 1st of November, Khrushchev asked Defence Minister Malinovsky whether a pre-emptive strike could be launched against the NATO forces gathered on the Inner-German frontier before the ultimatum expired. Malinovsky could have told Khrushchev that he was mad, and that there would be no such attack by the West, but he didn't entirely believe that himself. He too was terrified of the prospect of war, he'd followed orders and ordered the Soviet armed forces to mobilise but the thought of intercontinental strategic nuclear warfare made him shudder. ICBMs weren't meant to be used on the enemy, they were sign language-with-rockets as far as Malinovsky was concerned. As to whether the Eastern bloc armed forces could launch an attack within the next 2 days, he was fairly confident it could be done. The Warsaw Pact held the numerical advantage, and if they struck with haste while the West was still preparing then maybe they could occupy enough territory and destroy enough of their forces then maybe they'd cave. Perhaps it could be done in enough time to prevent an invasion of Cuba, though by this point Castro was no longer primary concern when compared to Germany [2]. If the west could be humbled in a quick pre-emptive conventional strike then maybe Castro could be convinced not to use any more nuclear weapons.

It was a desperate plan, yes, but in an impossible situation it's fairly easy to convince oneself that even a hair-brained plan with a chance of success only just greater than 0% will save everything. What became Operation WESER-RHINE was just such a plan. Khrushchev asked Malinovsky had soon it could be launched. Malinovsky concurred that the best time for such an operation was 05:00 Berlin time - still dark enough for aircraft and airborne troops to operate but leaving enough time in the day to get the troops moving, thus keeping the generals happy too. The plan's primary goal was to destroy NATO forces on the Inner-German border massed against the Eastern bloc and occupy West German land up to the Weser River in the north and Frankfurt in the south, at which point peace terms would be offered to the West. If they refused, the Warsaw Pact was to push to the Rhine. The initial attack is to not involve nuclear weapons, however all in the room are are that commanders on the ground will have control over tactical nukes. They are to be prohibited from using nuclear weapons first - emphasis on the first. If NATO uses nuclear weapons on them, they will retaliate in kind.

The final orders are given at 07:30 Moscow time. Marshal Yakubovsky - now titled as Commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the Western Area of Operations (a euphemistic title carved from the old Group of Soviet Forces in Germany) is told to prepare his men for war by tomorrow morning. Operation WESER-RHINE will begin in 23.5 hours.


Footnotes
- [1] Castro wrote something similar in the "Armageddon letter" to Khrushchev in OTL a few days before the POD.
- [2] Much like during WW1's opening days when the focus shifted from Serbia to the Western and Eastern Fronts, leaving Serbia a secondary theatre.

Sources

Letter from Castro to Khrushchev, 10/26/62 | American Experience | PBS

Castro urges the Soviets to consider attacking the Americans if the U.S. invades Cuba.

www.pbs.org

https://loveman.sdsu.edu/docs/1955Warsaw_Pact.pdf

Chapter VII: Article 51 — Charter of the United Nations — Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs — Codification Division Publications

This is the website of the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs (Legal Publications of the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs). Here you will find related information and links.

legal.un.org

Sunrise and sunset times in Berlin

Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Berlin – Germany for April 2024. Generic astronomy calculator to calculate times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset for many cities, with daylight saving time and time zones taken in account.

www.timeanddate.com

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[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

Chapter 8 – May There Always Be Sunshine​

31 October – 2 November 1962​

“Could anyone in his right mind speak seriously of any limited nuclear war? It should be quite clear that the aggressor's actions will instantly and inevitably trigger a devastating counterstroke by the other side.”​

– Dmitry Ustinov​

[1]​

Before the attack began, members of the RAF Police and RAF ground personnel exchanged fire with unknown intruders at RAF Brüggen at roughly 04:52 local time. The attack left 3 dead among the attacks and an RAF policeman fatally wounded. A number of unusual incidents took place across West Germany in the hours leading up to 05:00, including a mystery fire at Hamburg and a West Berlin police station attacked by masked gunmen armed with pistols and grenades, Soviet special forces are suspected, but no one will ever truly find out - there won't be any evidence left to look through.

The Warsaw Pact attack began at 05:00 Berlin time on the 2nd of November, six days since the B-59 incident. Tupolev Tu-16 long-range bombers from the Long-Range Aviation of the Soviet Air Force flying over Polish airspace launched a large volley of new Kh-22 "Kitchen" air-launched missiles, and KS-1 Komet and KSR-2 "Kelt" cruise missiles against NATO air bases and supply depots in West Germany, West Berlin, Denmark and the Low Countries. Most warheads are conventional though a number contain blistering agents such as mustard gas. A number of missiles are shot down by NATO SAMs whilst a few others suffer guidance or mechanical failure and land elsewhere than their assigned targets. Over twenty air bases are struck, destroying hangars, runways and maintenance buildings.

Soviet Frontal Aviation MiG and Sukhoi fighters and Ilyushin Il-28 jet bombers follow behind the missile barrage at 05:20 to finish off any targets not sufficiently destroyed. Like the missiles, they carry no nuclear warheads. The Soviet planes meet fierce resistance from NATO fighters. The people of West Germany are greeted to an early sunrise from all the explosions taking place at ground level and in the air all over their airspace. Since the Eastern bloc pilots launched the first attacks, their bases are so-far untouched and therefore their pilots can rearm and refuel easier than their Western equivalents who often find themselves returning to damaged or outright unusable airfields for the time being. Soviet pilots don't exactly have it easier either, many of their best units are dragged into air-to-air fighting with NATO Lightnings, F-105s, Javelins and Mirage IIIs, leaving their own force decimated in vicious aerial dogfighting. The beginning of the largest aerial battle in history favours the Warsaw Pact.

At 05:37, the artillery opened up. From the shores of the Baltic to the Alps, heavy mortars, howitzer guns and rockets pummel NATO positions. From the westernmost edges of East Germany and Czechoslovakia, the barrage rips vast holes in the West German landscape. Some hit NATO defensive positions, others hit would-be offensive positions which in fact didn't exist. Throughout the entire pre-invasion bombardment, civilian areas were hit in West German towns, villages and cities, killing over 3,000 civilians. Accompanying the artillery was another attack wave from Frontal Aviation, to destroy NATO positions, both defensive and "offensive" - expending much ammunition on non-existent NATO positions. Again, Soviet and Warsaw Pact (mostly Polish, Czechoslovak and East German) pilots and planes suffered immense losses alongside their NATO counterparts.

Meanwhile, in West Berlin, Soviet and East German armour begins to pour in through recently-blown holes in the Berlin Wall. Fighting in the city is brutal, hand-to-hand and house-to-fighting combined with point-blank armour duels in narrow streets leaves the city devastated and thousands of civilians and soldiers dead. Fighting in Berlin will continue until the end of the conventional phase of the war.

---

​

The Prime Minister's heart sank as he read the report on his desk:

"Warsaw Pact attack in Germany in progress; 'special operation' proclaimed by Radio Moscow;​

First Army taking heavy casualties; British mainland bombed - no nuclear strike registered"​

A few years ago, Macmillan had heralded the "winds of change", he just hadn't predicted those winds may one day carry fallout. Ever since he'd first heard news of Soviet missiles in Cuba, he feared where he'd end up. Right now that was deep underneath the small Wiltshire town of Corsham. "Deep enough to be a fine tomb" he quietly thought to himself.

Britain was relatively well prepared for war. The First Army - a renaming of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) - and RAF Germany had moved themselves into position fairly well, the V-Bomber force had been dispersed even before West Germany had mobilised, and the Royal Navy was joining with other allied navies in hunting Soviet ships and submarines in the Eastern Atlantic. The Royal Family had been moved successfully, taking up residence in Blair Atholl Castle, whilst the Regional Commissioners and their subbordinates were in place to run what would be left of Britain in the aftermath of a nuclear strike. One can only be prepared for war so much though, Soviet bombers raiding British targets had been anticipated, though Fighter Command was relieved to discover the ones that got through had been carrying conventional ordinance (for now).

At the same time as the attack in West Germany was beginning, nine Soviet Tu-95 "Bear" bombers had visited the British Isles. Birkenhead, Hull, Portsmouth, Swansea and RAF bases at Brize Norton, Coningsby, Feltwell, Hemswell, Ludford Magna, North Pickenham were struck by yet more Kitchen missiles. Fighter Command Javelin and Lightning fighter interceptors and Royal Artillery Bofors anti-aircraft guns had done their best in shooting down these aircraft, downing two attacking the RAF in East Anglia, but around 120 civilians and double that number of military personnel had perished.

Following their attacks in Britain, the Bears turned back to Europe to be repurposed for a nuclear-strike role against North America.

Much of the rest of Europe had seen Soviet strikes. Calais and Cherbourg in France had been struck by Bears returning from their mission in Britain, causing minor physical damage but a lot of changing of trousers. Air bases in northern Italy had seen both air strikes and sabotage operations whilst the aging Jupiter missiles in Turkey were almost entirely wiped out in one wave of attack and would be wholly out of action by the next day, sparing the USSR from a surprise attack from the south but leaving several areas of Turkish territory irradiated. Compared to what was happening (and what happen later) in Northern Europe, Ankara was still counting their lucky stars.

---

"My fellow citizens,

As President and Commander-in-Chief, it is my duty to inform you that a large-scale communist military offensive is taking place in Europe. Soviet-led communist armies are right now engaging against United States and NATO allied forces in West Germany, Berlin, Denmark and Norway and Soviet aircraft have attacked many other NATO members

On land and sea, and in the air, the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact states have attacked the armed forces of the United States and our NATO allies in Western Europe. As such, I have ordered our armed forces to take action in reply.

The tragic news from Europe shocks the conscience of the world. The Soviet Union and its client states launched this cowardly and unprovoked attack in order to distract us from our plans to demilitarize Cuba and prevent it from becoming a missile base in a nuclear war. In this effort, they will fail. The armed forces of the United States are capable of, and furthermore are ready to wage concurrent military campaigns on two fronts. The enemy will not divert us from the path we must travel.

In response to this cowardly attack upon the United States, I have asked that the following steps by taken:

First. All diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and all member states of the Warsaw Pact have been severed and will remain so until their aggression has ceased.

Second. An emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council be summoned in order to invoke Article 5 of the Washington Treaty of 1949, declaring that an attack upon one NATO member state is an attack upon all members.

Third. I ordered that a full Civil Defense alert be initiated as a precautionary measure in case of further escalation.

Fourth, I have requested that an emergency meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations be invoked to condemn this warlike and aggressive communist campaign, and to compel the Soviet Union and its allies to cease their invasion by all means, including the use of force.

Fifth and finally. In support of our NATO obligations, I have asked the Congress to approve of the use of armed force in Europe, in order to defeat and repel this illegal and unprovoked invasion, for however long is necessary.

Our plans in Europe and in Cuba are very simple. They lose, and we win. Their aggression will be defeated, and we will defend both ourselves and our allies however high the cost.

The cost of defending freedom in this world may be high, and the American people know the costs of war. But we also know the alternative to paying that cost is far greater, and the consequences of allowing ourselves or our allies to be bullied either by subterfuge or direct attack would be unthinkable.

The free world now answers that call to arms, with clarity of mission and an iron resolve. Our wish is for peace, but we are ready, willing and able to fight for our freedoms.

Thank you."

*​

"Son of a bitch!" Those were the first words President John F. Kennedy uttered upon being notified of the Soviet-led invasion of West Germany at 23:00 EST on the 1st of November. The time difference between Europe and North America ensures that Americans consider the start of the European war on the 1st rather than the 2nd. Anyway, there was now a war in Europe. Upon digesting the report, he orders a full civil defence alert. Across the United States, air raid sirens begin to blare. No aircraft or missiles are heading towards North America but no one in the general public knows that, to them the world in finally ending around them. From San Francisco, California to Portsmouth in Maine, basements are filled and roads are jam-packed with those desperate to escape aerial incineration.

Within several hours, the CONELRAD network proclaims that the alarm was just that, an alarm. No nuclear weapons are headed for the Americas. But the war continues unabated. In the Atlantic, Soviet submarines were attacking and sometimes sinking NATO convoys and many Americans have died in the European theatre already. By the time Kennedy addresses the nation from the Oval Office at 09:30 EST on the 2nd, it's evening in Germany and the Soviet 8th Guards Combined Arms Army is advancing on the town of Fulda. The world holds its breath. Cuba has still to be dealt with. The invasion there will begin less than 24 hours.

---

At 06:00 German time sharp, the ground invasion began. All across the frontier, Warsaw Pact tanks and infantry pour forward to take positions they believed to have been destroyed, their initial lack of fire from the "offensive" positions encourages them - they've been told their order are simply to destroy NATO forces facing them. When the enemy begins shooting back at them they begin to worry, but they've been training for war for years and fight well.

In the north, forward units of the British 1st Division engage the Soviet 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division (moved from Belarus) around the heavily-bombarded town of Helmstedt before falling back to more defensible positions near Cremlingen whilst the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army engages the [West] German 1st Corps outside Wolfsburg. In the south, Soviet and Czechoslovak armies butt heads with the U.S. VII Corps and German II Corps. The main fight however is in the south, between the US V Corps and the Soviet 8th Guards Combined Arms Army in the vital Fulda Gap.

At 07:45 local time, men of the Soviet 61st Naval Infantry Brigade and the 76th Air Assault Division land in the northern Norwegian isles and launch a frontal attack on Kirkenes. The attack in Norway is a diversionary assault designed to seize territory to bargain with in any peace conference - assuming there will be anyone left to attend a peace conference. In the Baltic straits, Polish and Soviet marine units land in the Danish isles, supported by the Soviet Baltic Fleet.

Across all fronts, fighting is vicious as men bleed and die because some hotheads in the Caribbean didn't get the word. The Caribbean is far from the front of the minds of those on the frontline, nor those waking up to air and missile strikes in their towns. They're more preoccupied by the sum of all fears unfolding before their eyes, and questions such as how does total war involving three nuclear-armed states end? Thankfully for them, they would not have to wonder very long.

Both NATO and Warsaw Pact forces went into battle went plentiful amounts of tactical nuclear weapons such as the Frog or the Honest John. In the event they were given authority to do so, battlefield commanders could use them to against enemy forces to prevent their own destruction or to take out rear-area operations. By the early evening, with losses mounting and available arsenals of weapons depleting very very fast, a Soviet push through the Fulda Gap manages to break the line held by the US V Corps. Soviet tanks were speeding towards the city of Frankfurt - home to Rhein-Main, the principal U.S. Air Force base in Germany.

At 21:57 local time, the commander of the U.S. 3rd Armoured Division, Major General John Ramsey Pugh, is having a very bad day. By the early evening, the Hesse town of Hünfeld and Gersfeld had fallen. The battlelines are chaotic as Soviet artillery pummels the retreating elements of the 3rd Armoured. He's receiving confused reports of Soviet armour on the outskirts of Fulda. A colonel within the 3rd Armoured Division is suddenly informed of a large burst to the north of the city. An aide reports to him that a large explosion and a mushroom cloud were spotted on the horizon. Having spent the last several hours bombarded by Soviet artillery and under intense pressure, the Tennessee resident doesn't even think before ordering tactical nuclear release, believing the Soviets to have launched first; they hadn't, the blast had actually come from a fuel dump that was struck by a Soviet Komet missile. In the chaos of the battle, the colonel's orders are hardly questioned.

"Mobile area commander has authorized the release of tactical nuclear weapons to relieve 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry...

...prepare sequence of firing..."

"God help us all!"​

---

The war in Europe went nuclear at 02:24.19 local time on the 2nd of November 1962 when a 10-kiloton Honest John missile detonated over the heads of the 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division north of the town of Marbach in Hesse. Over 1,000 Germans and several thousand Soviet soldiers are killed instantly. News reaches Soviet commanders quickly both from the blinding flash of light, the mushroom cloud and the agonised screeching on the radios before they go dead. The fighting around the area ceases as men are distracted by the sight. WIthin twenty minutes, three more blasts light up the sky as the Soviet divisional commander authorises the launch of three 20-kiloton 9K52 Luna-M artillery rockets against the town of Fulda, obliterating it and tens of thousands of German civilians still in the city.

Following the Fulda exchange, tactical nuclear release starts taking place across the whole front. By the time the clock hits midnight, over 20 nuclear detonations will take place on German soil. Kennedy hears the news of the Fulda blast 15 minutes after it occurs, Khrushchev hears after 25. Panic sets in. Khrushchev realises that his gamble has failed. It was a long shot that it would succeed, but now it's too late to change course. Kennedy realises the mess he is in, he'd tried as hard as he could to avoid this but now he was looking at a two-front nuclear war. This is World War III. In Washington D.C. it is now almost seven in the evening of the 2nd. The 48-hour deadline elapsed just under two hours ago. In Florida, soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines are given their final briefings by their commanders.

SCABBARDS begins in 10 hours.


Footnotes
- [1] Apologies for the clapping, it's the best I could find for that part of Swan Lake.

Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

PARISH NOTICE: I was a little careless with my research, as I have just discovered that Mariel was to be a landing zone in the planned invasion of Cuba. My mistake, I have had to change that, sending an army through radioactive fallout seems like a bad idea. If you go back to chapter 4 ("Resolution"), you'll see I've changed it so that the second American bomb is dropped in Santa Clara instead. Apologies for the inconvenience, but I've written this here to avoid inconsistency.

Chapter 9 – Into the Jaws of Death​

3 November 1962​

​

“Cannon to right of them,​

Cannon to left of them,​

Cannon in front of them​

Volleyed and thundered;​

Stormed at with shot and shell,​

Boldly they rode and well,​

Into the jaws of Death,​

Into the mouth of hell​

Rode the six hundred.”​

– Alfred, Lord Tennyson​

The resumption of the Warsaw Pact offensive in Germany at 07:45 local time on the 3rd of November was preceded by a large-scale nuclear release. In the north, seven 9K52 Luna-M tactical missiles were launched against the British First Army (a renaming of NORTHAG). Through the new holes in the fromtline, the Soviet 3rd Red Banner Combined Arms Army punches through the holes towards the Weser River. Fearing encirclement, remaining First Army units retreat. To the north, the Dutch I Corps retreats from the Elbe towards the Weser. At 10:30 local time, the Soviets (dressed in full NBC gear) reach the Weser and begin to assemble pontoon bridges to cross after the regular bridges were destroyed by retreating British, West German and Dutch forces. Early in the afternoon, they cross the Weser and begin advancing on the Ruhr.

To the south, the Soviet 8th Guards Army, having regrouped with forces from the 1st Guards Tank Army, releases yet more Luna rockets against the US V Corps and advances on Frankfurt. From Rhein-Main, the US Air Force continues to pound the advancing communist units. The Americans also make use of tactical nuclear weapons, and a number of Davy Crocketts and Honest Johns and fired back towards the Soviets. In return, Soviet bombers destroy Rhein-Main and most of Frankfurt with two 1-megaton "Kelt" cruise missiles. By midday, they have reached the ruins of Frankfurt and are closing on the Rhine.

Throughout the afternoon of the 3rd, operational targets across Western Europe are struck. In the Netherlands, Eindhoven, Leeuwarden, Volkel and Gilze-Rijen Air Bases are annihilated by Soviet Kh-22s. Ramstein Air Base was struck by a 1-megaton bomb, taking most of Kaiserslautern with it. In addition, the HQ of the US Air Force in Europe at Wiesbaden was also struck. In Bavaria, tactical nukes fly left and right as the front closes in on Regensburg.

In retaliation, NATO air forces retaliate against military targets inside East Germany. NVA Air Force command headquarters in Strausberg is hit by a British Valiant bomber, and is wiped from the face of the earth. The blast is witnessed by the forces fighting in Berlin - bringing a temporary silence to the city before fighting there resumes. Holzdorf, Preschen and Trollenhagen Air Bases are also eliminated by the mid-afternoon.

Any semblance of order in West Germany evaporates. Roads are clogged with evacuating civilians - leading to numerous incidents of NATO and Warsaw Pact armour simply ploughing through refugee columns, crushing many in their cars. Many without cars either walk, run, cycle or ride on the roofs of other peoples cars. There are also "questionable" trades made to secure a ride out of the conflict zone whilst others choose violence. Among some, the coming end of the world is an opportunity to sin their backsides off before they are cremated at high heat, others simply snap. The end result is the same, looting becomes rampant to grab as many good supplies as possible before rushing west or underground

Many wonder whether there will be a Germany left by tomorrow? Since the morning, half of the German death toll during the entirety of the First World War has been added to the death toll. Many veterans of that war still live, and some can't help but think of that war fondly in comparison to this. Others can't, the pain to too great.

Compared to what is about to come, today's nuclear war has been tame.

---

Operation SCABBARDS - the American invasion of Cuba - began shortly after 05:00 EST on the 3rd of November EST (11:00 in Germany) with the most intense bombardment of Cuba since the 27th of October. Over a thousand Tactical Air Command F-84s, F-100s and F-105s as well as aircraft from four carriers - the USS Enterprise, Independence, Wasp and the recently recommissioned Tarawa - deliver bombs and missiles against Cuban military targets along the northern coastline and further inland. Despite the loss of two F-84s and an F-100, they meet little resistance as most Soviet and Cuban aircraft have been destroyed over the last week.

The paratroopers begin landing in Cuba at 05:50 EST. The 82nd Airborne Division lands in José Martí International Airport and San Antonio de los Baños Airfield, both outside Havana. The American paratroopers are greeted by heavy resistance from the Cuban defenders, digging in under heavy fire. The 101st Airborne Division lands further east at Playa Baracoa airfield and in the port town of Mariel. The port is secured cleanly, except embarrassingly for a blue-on-blue incident with a team of Navy SEALs inserted prior to the paratroop landings. Thankfully, no one dies - yet. The Cuban artillery shelling the port is silenced by American fighters (taking full advantage of their air supremacy) and the lead elements of the 1st Armored Division are unloaded and begin pushing to secure the rest of the town, fighting bloody street battles with what Cuban infantry weren't cowed by the intense bombardment, air strikes and paratroopers falling from above. In keeping with the interests of speed, the men of the 1st Armored refuse to be bogged down in prolonged fighting with the Cubans, and quickly reach Guanajay on the road to San Antonio de los Baños. Emerging among the American landing force in Cuba is the feeling that "maybe there are more Soviets here than we thought?". In this belief, they are right.

East of Havana, the story is different. The areas natural defenses make the American landings harder, not helped by Soviet conventional cruise missiles sinking multiple American transport ships. From Tarará to Varadero, men of the 2nd Marine Division fight their way inland to secure the port of Matanzas. At Playa Jibacoa, the 2nd Marine Regiment finds itself facing a well-stocked and dug-in company of Cuban infantry, supported by a handful of recently-donated Soviet tanks. After a close-run battle, the beachhead is secured and the 2nd Marines push south towards the main road. By late afternoon, the port of Matanzas is secured.

In Havana, Fidel Castro is losing his mind. In the morning, he appeared publicly to a terrified Havana populace and reassured them he would not flee the city and that the Americans would be driven back into the sea and "bear the historic consequences of their aggression, never before seen in history." By now, he is well aware than his army can't stop the US Army and Marines with solely convention weapons. By late afternoon, the Americans have secured Guanajay and the port of Matanzas. To the east of Havana, the 2nd Infantry Division is beginning to unload. In the west, Cuban and Soviet positions are also being forced back under the weight of America's overwhelming control of the air. The only man in Cuba unhappier than the Prime Minister is Soviet Army General Issa Alexandrovich Pliyev, commander of all Soviet forces on Cuba - including the nuclear weapons, which a large force of Cuban soldiers is attempting to seize, claiming they have orders from Castro personally. The last week for him has been awful. Out of the original 42,000-strong Soviet force, over 26,000 of them are dead and the rest are being chewed up fighting the invasion force. Pliyev knows that the men are doing their duty faithfully, resisting the invasion, but as news continues to filter in he receives more and more frantic messages from Havana urging him to deploy nuclear weapons against the Americans. He is thus far reluctant, but he is fast losing control of the situation. Firstly, he is weakened by kidney disease. Secondly, at over 300,000, Cuban forces outnumber his almost ten to one. Already, he conceded to turning on the air defence radars that allowed the U-2 to be shot down on October 27th. Already, he conceded to the use of Komet missiles on Guantanamo Bay, in contravention of Moscow's orders. Already, he has placed almost all of the remaining Soviet ground troops and air crew (pressed into the infantry role without aircraft to fly) under effective Cuban control. The war and Castro's badgering is wearing him down, and his poor health only worsens matters. In the afternoon, he pays a visit to the force guarding the remaining missiles in western Cuba. The knot in his stomach undoes itself when he sees they are still there and under his force's control - for now. The Cubans at the site know their comrades are being pushed back all across the front from radio communications.

At 17:51 local time, a car arrives at the missile site. It's been driven flat out on rutted back roads to avoid American air strikes. From the back comes a Cuban officer branding a message, from Castro. "Prepare the R-12 and Luna missiles for launch," it reads. Castro himself has signed it. He's made his mind up. He can't win the conventional game, so he'll flip the table, then burn it. Pliyev's face goes as white as the ghosts of his dead soldiers. If he launches the R-12s, they'll all die. Cuba will be destroyed and their will be an intercontinental nuclear war.

Pliyev refuses to authorise the launch. The Cuban officer is not happy. He's been given direct orders by Castro himself, who did this Russian think he was to defy the leader of the revolution? He asks again, more forcefully. Pliyev says no. The Cuban officer pulls out his sidearm and asks again, more forcefully. Again, Pliyev says no.

*BANG*

At 18:09, the Cuban officer order that the missiles be prepared for launch. If the imperialists cannot be driven out, they will be incinerated, or so runs his logic. The Soviet personnel as well as several Cubans trained on the Soviet equipment set to work.

Between 20:33 and 20:38 local time, three SS-4 missiles and six tactical FROG missiles are launched from the small settlement of Brujo, north of San Cristóbal.


Comments?

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

PARISH NOTICE: Fast-forward the music to 58 seconds in before reading.

Chapter 10 – So Long, Mom​

3 – 4 November 1962​

​

“I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”​

– Genghis Khan​

The White House has been a strange place for the past several days. It is almost entirely empty, save for the President, his brother, General LeMay and a skeleton team of aides and advisers. All the doors inside are left open so as to make evacuating the building easier. President Kennedy is rarely ever not followed by two Secret Service agents ready to yank him into an awaiting helicopter should the balloon go up. Ten minutes away on the other side of the Potomac, the Pentagon has undergone similar arrangements with only Secretary McNamara and Admiral Anderson as guiding personalities. Outside both buildings await Army and Marine Corps helicopters kept permanently with the engines running since SCABBARDS began. If - or when - things get hot, they can be airborne in minutes.

At 20:36 EST, the first of the FROG missiles strikes the American-held port at Mariel. One missile explodes over Playa Carenero whilst another detonates directly above the town - destroying it. The twin fireballs are seen by soldiers and sailors aboard ships far enough out to see to avoid the blast, for many it is the last thing they ever see. One FROG suffers technical failure and plops into the ocean without ever detonating whilst the other three blast the beachheads from Mariel to Playa Baracoa. In the space of minutes, over 31,000 Americans die, surpassing the bloody battle of Antietam.

The SS-4s are headed elsewhere, further afield. At 20:35, a radar station in central Florida picks up the three missiles lifting off from Cuba. Is it a test? The crew check. It's not. The American mainland is being attacked with nuclear weapons. The news is flashed to Washington along with their trajectory, with five minutes warning. Kennedy receives the call at 20:36, he orders a full Civil Defense Air Emergency and the evacuation of the White House. Within seconds, he is being rushed along by the Secret Service along with his brother Robert Kennedy towards the awaiting Marine One outside. Outside, the sirens begin to wail. There are shouts about SAC, about striking back. Kennedy has no choice but to ignore these. The Navy and Air Force have pre-delegated launch authority. He can't stop for a minute to phone Omaha, but they can still launch.

From 20:38 to 20:40 the SS-4s hit their targets. At Jacksonville and Homestead in Florida over 120,000 Americans die as the 2.3-megaton warheads detonate above their heads. At the latter, Homestead AFB is taken out, destroying many aircraft involved in the fighting in Cuba. The final SS-4 is headed north. Thankfully the President didn't evacuate via Air Force One as it is destroyed as the final Cuban missile slams into Andrews AFB in Maryland. Thankfully, President Kennedy and Attorney General Bobby are are already airborne heading northwest. Before vacating the Pentagon, Admiral Anderson ordered the Navy to launch. Over 100 Polaris missiles will soften Soviet targets up for the Air Force, he expects them to be grateful.

At 20:45, SAC commander General Thomas Power hears news of the Cuban attack. Instantly, he attempts to phone Washington. The President doesn't pick up. He tries again, but the line is quiet. The President can't be reached and America has been attacked with nuclear weapons, he remembers what his powers are in this circumstance. He remembers the Presidents own words

"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."​

At 20:47, he sends out orders to SAC forces worldwide to initiate the SIOP. Within seconds, bells toll and sirens wail as men rush from their barracks to their awaiting aircraft. Across the world, Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombers and missiles get themselves airborne. The first ICBMs take off at 20:53. Within 25 minutes, they will be in Russia, and Eastern Europe, and China. Out of 182 ICBMs available, 155 are released. Four hours later, the bombers will arrive.

Faces turn towards the sky as they are propelled upward, the noise almost drowning out the sirens. A symphony for Armageddon.

In the United Kingdom, the head of RAF Bomber Command, Air Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross, gets a phone call directly from SAC at 01:50 UK time. The two countries have been refining joint-strike plans for years, now they will be tested. General Power informs him of events. "The Soviets are attacking, are you with us?" is the jist of his message. Back on the 29th of October, Cross has been vested with the authority, as a nuclear deputy, to give the launch order himself in an emergency. He hesitates for a second, should he consult with Corsham? "Not enough time," he thinks. He'll give the order. If the Soviets are going all-out, there won't be much time before Britain gets it hard. He gives the launch order to the V Bomber and Thor missile force to launch. Regarding the latter, the Americans also manning the Thors cooperate with the Brits to get them airborne, avaiding any confusion of command. By 02:10, the last Thor missile are launched from RAF Helmswell as the Valients, Vulcans and Victors are already on their way to Russia. Forty-four airfields, Twenty IRBM sites, Ten air defence sites and Sixteen cities are about to get a very rude awakening, their last awakening.

At 03:15 UK time (22:15 EST), the V Bombers arrive, alongside bombers from SAC aircraft flying from Britain and Morocco. Some crews revel in arriving before their American allies, most don't say such stupid things. Many arrive much later to find their assigned targets already ablaze as America's intercontinental missiles have struck hard on the Soviet Union, forcing the Brits to fly elsewhere to find a target and then wheel back home. America's ICBMs arrived at 21:24 EST, beaten to Russia by the Navy's 112 submarine-launched Polaris missiles by ten minutes. Around twenty missiles fail to detonate or break up upon reentry (largely among the older Atlas missiles - none of which were kept as a reserve). 25 ICBMs strike targets inside China while the remaining 107 missiles level population centers, industrial facilities, command posts and military bases from Murmansk to Moscow and from Baku to Vladivostok. Millions of Soviets die not even one hour after the launch from Brujo.

Not even Khrushchev or the GKO know of that before they hear America's response. From their armoured train they hear reports of bases and cities going up in flames. They conclude that the Americans are striking first. At 21:19 EST (05:19 ex-Moscow time) they send out their own launch orders to any surviving Soviet commanders who will listen. "Strike back" it reads bluntly. After the ICBMs hit, they have several hours in which to get their remaining force off the ground and into the air. Within 40 minutes, 48 surviving Tu-95 and M-4 Bison bombers are headed for North America, some carry one bomb - others two. Following behind them are occasional launches of surviving Soviet ICBMs. Out of 42 SS-6 and SS-7 weapons, only 10 will be launched. Surviving naval bomber are loaded with nuclear Kh-20 missiles and send after Allied carrier groups.

The first Soviet ICBMs are picked up by Clear in Alaska. Over the course of the next 13 hours, seven American and two Canadian cities will be destroyed by uncoordinated Soviet missiles. The first of these strikes Chicago, killing over 2.1 million and exceeding Antietam 95-fold.

As for Cuba, where this whole mess began, SAC B-47s rain death and devastation. Out of a pre-war population of 7.6 million, only 1.9 million will remain. Castro himself will perish as Havana is wiped out by three Mark 39 gravity bombs, each 3.8 megatons.

Inertia sets in for the intercontinental war as both sides await the arrival of the others bombers. There is no such inertia in Europe. The plentiful numbers of short- and medium-range missiles and aircraft gives no such pause as bombs and missiles fly in an unstopping barrage from East to West and vice verca. Soviet SS-4s strike the V Bomber, Thor and SAC bases in Britain, killing millions before including the strikes on the cities. France is hit similarly hard, with only a handful of bombs to retaliate with. The two German states effectively cease to exist as almost every population center with more than 20,000 people is obliterated and the frontlines are carpeted by small nuclear as well as chemical weapons. In Berlin, an overzealous Soviet air base commander launches a 1-megaton missile at the divided city. If he and his countrymen are to die, the enemy will come with them. It is destroyed by the large blast. Other states unfortunate enough to believe their neutrality would save them are soon relieved of such thoughts as the Swedes and Finns find themselves losing cities left and right.

There is no rest for the wicked as the 3rd of November ends. At 01:15 EST on November 4th, the first wave of SAC's aerial apocalypse crosses into Soviet airspace. A hundred of their ranks have already been downed by Soviet interceptors in vicious aerial fighting, losing an untold number of nuclear bombs in the process. Over a thousand continue southward towards their targets. If the wrath of God could ever be replicated, this would be as close. The sky is still rich with targets for surviving Soviet interceptors and SAMs, who take down several dozen more. Their colleagues striking China from Guam, Japan and the Philippines find their story playing out similarly as Chinese resistance is progressively ground down.

By 09:30 EST, Soviet bombers have reached the Mid-Canada line. Out of the original forty eight, thirty five made it through the Distant Warning line. By the time they reach the United States, nineteen will be left to fly through the teeth of American interceptor aircraft and SAM missiles. No Soviet bomber will ever go home, though one Tu-95 crew decides they've had enough of this and land their bomber, saving Fairchild AFB from destruction. Castro's original belief that the United States would be destroyed in a nuclear war will never come true, though millions of Americans and Canadians will die.

Throughout the morning and early afternoon, cities and military bases in the United States and Canada will be destroyed by many of these surviving bomber before they are destroyed.

At 15:35 EST, the first wave of SAC bombers passes out of what used to be the Soviet Union and heads to (presumably) safe airfields in Canada. The second wave passes them by. This wave won't find as many targets for their weapons, but the resistance they face is almost non-existent. Soviet resistance has been crushed and the last interceptor base has been destroyed. The SAC bombers can now fly unopposed throughout the skies of the Soviet Union from over the Arctic and from over Chinese airspace as though it were 1945 and they were in B-29s over Japan.

At 17:21 EST, the last Soviet bomber in North America is destroyed. The intercontinental war will be over when the second wave of SAC planes finish their mission.

At 20:00 EST, President Kennedy makes a special address from Mount Weather in Virginia, a shell-shocked and devastated America awaits with eager ears by their radios.

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

President Kennedy's Oval Office Address on the Nuclear Attack​

4 November 1962​

Good evening, my fellow citizens:

I speak to you tonight, by both radio and television, from a classified location. For many years, contingency plans have been devised to allow the continuity of the federal government in the event of a nuclear attack. Those plans are now in effect.

Seventeen years ago the advent of nuclear weapons changed the course of the world as well as the war. Since that time until now, all mankind struggled to escape from the darkening prospect of mass destruction on earth. The world of communism and the world of free choice have been caught up in a vicious circle of conflicting ideology and interest, each increase of tension bringing an increase of arms; each increase of arms bringing an increase of tension.

Since the beginning of history, war has been mankind's constant companion. It has been the rule, not the exception. Even a nation as young and as peace-loving as our own has fought through nine wars. And six times within the last eight days, including tonight, I have been required to report to you as President that this nation and the Soviet Union were engaging in direct military confrontation in the Atlantic, in the Caribbean, and in Europe, culminating in the nuclear exchange of the last two days.

On Saturday night, a number of nuclear missiles were launched from Cuba against American landing sites and against targets on the American mainland. From that point on, further restraint became impossible. With the capital city of this country under nuclear attack, existing plans for retaliation against such an attack were put into effect. Our strategic forces began retaliatory operations against the Soviet Union and its cobelligerent allies and they are still operating as I speak to you tonight. In spite of our best efforts, Soviet intercontinental missiles and strategic bombers continued to launch nuclear attacks against the United States.

The results of these attacks have been devastating. This government does not at present have all the necessary information needed to provide an accurate picture of the number of casualties. I can, however, confirm that the following locations have been struck by Soviet nuclear weapons: Washington D.C.; New York City; Anchorage, Alaska; Bremerton, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Fairbanks, Alaska; Homestead and Jacksonville in Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Syracuse, New York. In addition, several cities, such as Topeka, Kansas; Rapid City, South Dakota; and others located near military facilities have been heavily damaged by the enemy's nuclear forces. To the north, our neighbors in Canada were also struck hard. We do not, however, hold sufficient quantities of information to relay to you the nature of the damage in that country.

At present, we have lost contact with our NATO allies in Europe, though they too were attacked as we were. In undertaking our retaliatory strike operations, we were aided by our close friend and ally, the United Kingdom, who contributed their own strategic forces to aid us as well as undertake their own operations. The destruction wrought in Europe is likely far worse than the destruction we have witnessed here. Though we have lost contact with our forces in Europe, as well as the governments of our European allies, from the testimony of the flight crews of our bomber force as well as aerial photographs, we are aware that most of the major old cities of that continent have been destroyed.

Though tonight we are a nation in great pain, the pain that we feel is only a fraction of what we have inflicted upon the enemy's force. The Soviet nuclear weapons arsenal, including the weapons in Cuba, is likely mostly destroyed, in addition to the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact in Europe and those of Red China engaged in attacking our ally India - the armies of communism are defeated, as the armies of fascism were defeated in 1945. The actions of the Soviet Union made the events of the past two days unavoidable. When presented with many opportunities to pursue a diplomatic resolution and withdraw their ballistic missiles from Cuba, they refused and recklessly continued to escalate the tension until the situation could no longer be contained. While we are not proud of the destruction that our retaliation has caused, we are grateful that the threat of further large-scale attacks against the American mainland has been mostly removed.

Given the devastation the Soviet Union has inflicted upon us, and the reckless conduct from them which has brought the present disaster about, we demand from the Soviet government and their allies full and unconditional surrender. We will accept nothing less.

As President and Commander-in-Chief, I have ordered that the following steps be taken, as initial steps towards recovering from this crisis.

First, I am declaring a state of martial law across the United States and its possessions until further notice. Regular forces and National Guard troops are authorized to aid civil, local, and state authorities wherever necessary to maintain law and order throughout the nation. In areas hit by nuclear weapons, the National Guard will be responsible for evacuation of the remaining inhabitants and maintaining security zones around the areas. They are authorized to use lethal force to prevent entry into said security zones if necessary.

Second, I am ordering a moratorium on all public debts and instituting emergency wage and price controls on essential items to ensure that such essentials remain affordable to the American people, and to safeguard against profiteering.

Third, I reluctantly ask that the Congress and the nation's Governors pass an emergency amendment to the Constitution to allow for a delay to the upcoming midterm elections scheduled for November 6th. Given the present circumstances, this unprecedented move in our nation's history is necessary. I can promise that the elections will take place as soon as circumstances warrant.

Tonight, we are a grieving nation. I ask for your prayers, for those who who have perished, and for all those worlds have been shattered. We pray that God will comfort them in in these dire times, as spoken in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."

We have been subjected to the greatest test this nation has ever faced. The cost will be devastating, the final casualty count will almost certainly be in the millions. Yet, despite this, we have survived as a nation. And although the next several weeks and months, likely years, will be among the hardest we have faced, we will pull through like we always have when put to the test if we do not lose hope or faith. America has faced great crises before; this will be no different.

Finally, I urge you all to continue following the orders of your local civil defense authorities, and to remain close to your radios.

Life may never be the same as it was before this black week in human history. We can, however, make sure such a tragedy never happens again and leave the world a better place for our children and our grandchildren. A world without the fear of nuclear holocaust.

God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America.

Thank you.

​

“I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. But better off than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world.”​

– Ecclesiastes 4:2-12​

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

PARISH NOTICE: I made some slight alterations to Chapter 10.

Chapter 11 – Crawl Out Through the Fallout​

4 – 18 November 1962​

​

“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”​

– Revalation 6:3-4​

Caroline opened her eyes. Was she dead? Had it all been a dream? A few times bashing her head against the wall tells her it's all real, and that her son in Germany really is dead. She pulls the knife from the drawer, to see his face one last time in paradise. Fatalities in Philadelphia: 1.

---

The South Dakota farmer was always the independent sort, he couldn't help but look out at the world from his window - even when ordered not by his radio not to. He sees the mangled wreck of a Bear's left wing in one of his distant fields. The sun is just starting to set. At least it's fucking over now.

---

Phil and Susie take one look up at the sky as the sirens sound, then down at the New York streets from their window, then at each other. There was always a thing between them, now they have all the time in the world - which is about twenty minutes.

---

The air policeman can't quite believe his eyes, a Russian bomber is landing on his airstrip. He shuts his eyes, praying they make it quick. By the time he opens them again, the crew are trying to get his attention. Hands raised, white rag in the pilot's hand, they approach slowly. The plane will have to be moved at some point.

---

In New Jersey, the scientist can't take his eyes off his hands. No matter what he tells himself he can't shake the dreading feeling that this is all his fault. He wondered if Fritz Haber felt the same way about his invention.

---

In Idaho, the engineer walks slowly up to the crater. The rest of the crew have moved safely to their shelters. How do you dispose of an unexploded nuclear bomb? Probably not by kicking it.

---

Deep underground in Nebraska, SAC C-in-C General Power collects himself. He prays the blast was far enough that his air supply is safe, he'll find out soon enough. He finds himself shedding a tear, not for the enemy - they brought this on themselves, but for the families of his own aircrews who will never come back from Russia.

---

What future generations will call "A-Day" had killed over half a billion people in under 36 hours. Whether in North America, Europe, or China, the sight, sound and smell of burning cities and human skin keeps all of the human senses alert. Most will never be able to forget them.

Whilst they did know it at the time, the Americans had gotten off comparatively light. The immediate death toll for A-Day was 11,000,000. Whilst by far the greatest catastrophe in American history, it is a far smaller proportion of their population to lose when compared with that suffered by the rest of their allies, never mind their enemies. A combination of good geography, well-trained and numerous defences and the fact they had arguably launched first means they "only" lose the following locations:

Population Centres
· Washington D.C.
· Anchorage, Alaska
· Bremerton, Washington
· Chicago, Illinois
· Colorado Springs, Colorado
· Fairbanks, Alaska
· Jacksonville, Florida
· Minneapolis, Minnesota
· New York City, New York
· Omaha, Nebraska
· Portland, Oregon
· Seattle, Washington
· Syracuse, New York

Military Targets
· Andrews AFB, Maryland
· Beale AFB, California
· Clear Missile Early Warning Station, Alaska
· Eielson AFB, Alaska
· Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming
· Kinchloe AFB, Michigan
· Malmstrom AFB, Montana
· Mather AFB, California
· Minot AFB, North Dakota

In Cuba, of the original landing force of over 120,000, two-thirds are now dead. The remaining troop ships still out at sea have a choice, continue to Cuba and await reinforcement and supply, or return home and pray that there is an undamaged port that they can reach. Most choose the latter.

For the servicemen in the European theatre, they don't even have that option. Almost half a million American forces were in Europe before A-Day. Now it is less than 11,000, most of whom are in the United Kingdom.

The war at sea continues almost unaffected by the exchange. Convoys continue to navigate the Atlantic, Soviet submarines attack them and the attacking submarines are then destroyed, sometimes with nuclear weapons. The noticeable difference this time is that lost ships are not replaced. No new convoys leave America for Europe, and the ones already in Europe realise they have little means of getting home.

At home, the situation is very bad. Across the Continental United States, a refugee crisis of unparalleled proportions is developing. Tens of millions of Americans are now internally displaced, overwhelmingly from the north and west of the country. Over the next few weeks and months, those who realise that their home city or town isn't destroyed will return there, but almost 23,000,000 will remain as homeless refugees. How they will be clothed, fed and housed is a challenge all of its very own, and there are real fears of a famine unless they can be catered for.

Among the surviors, a new killer slips quietly in amongst them. For most, it will come within several hours. The nausea and vomiting are chalked up to the shock. The hair falling out in thick clumps alerts the sufferer that something is really wrong. By the time they want to scream they have wasted away so much, they don't have the energy to do so. They scream as much as they wish in their heads. To the outside world, it looks like death comes for them excruciatingly painfully, in dark rooms, between soiled sheets. Over the next two weeks, another 3,000,000 Americans will perish this way. As the winter came early in 1962, no aid could be spared for the rest of the world besides their immediate neighbour, Canada. Despite the generous spirit of the American people, they can't save the world this time, not yet. They have the winter to pull through themselves.

To the north, the situation in Canada is near-apocalyptic. Given the geography and population structure of Canada, most of their population is clustered into a few large cities in the south of the country's territory. The results on A-Day were as follows:

Population Centres
· Calgary, Alberta
· Edmonton, Alberta
· Montreal, Quebec
· North Bay, Ontario
· Ottawa, Ontario
· Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
· Toronto, Ontario
· Winnipeg, Manitoba
· Vancouver, British Columbia

Military Targets
· RCAF Cold Lake, Alberta
· RCAF Comox, British Columbia
· RCAF Cranberry Portage, Manitoba
· RCAF Dawson Creek, British Columbia
· RCAF Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Just as the U.S. capital is forced to move, Canada's too will move. For now, the government in the Diefenbunker has to worry about how to get food to surviving settlements. If they can't, there will be famine. 10,000,000 Canadians are already dead, well over half of the pre-war population. For them, the situation is far worse than that of their southern neighbours. At the moment, they will have to sit out the next two weeks and wait for the fallout to clear.

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

Chapter 12 – From Russia, with Love​

4 – 18 November 1962​

“My arms are up to the elbows in blood. That is the most terrible thing that lies in my soul.”​

– Nikita Khrushchev​

Sergei looks up at the sky; the morning sun is so bright he doesn't need to open his eyes to see it.

---

The Marshal can feel the vibrations from nearby detonations. Having been moved with his family to this dacha in Nowhereville, Georgia, he knows this war is over. It's not as glorious as the one he'd won seventeen years prior.

---

Kirill thanks the Lord like he never has done before, he's had to hide his faith for years. Out of his window, his home in Saransk is untouched. The city was never on America's SIOP plans.

---

Vladimir and Elena embrace one another warmly. He's a soldier, dodging the frontline. If he's going to die, it's going to be here in his wife's arms, not in a ditch in Germany.

---

Mikhaila doesn't know where her son is. From what she knew the government had been resisting Russian demands to send troops to Germany. He was probably somewhere in Poland.

Daniil sits in his bunker in Poland, counting his lucky stars. He wishes he was anywhere but here, the stress must be killing his mother - if the bombs haven't already.

---

The Soviet Union effectively ceased to exist between the 3rd and 4th of November 1962. Over those two days, the United States and the United Kingdom dropped over 5,000 megatons on the USSR, the Warsaw Pact and Communist China. Almost every major population centre in the USSR was destroyed, and the few that survived did so either by not being included in SAC's SIOP plan (such as Saransk) or by Anglo-American weapons not reaching their targets (such as Gorky). Over 150,000,000 people, 65% of the pre-war Soviet population, are dead, a statistic only comparable to the devastation in the two Germanies and western Czechoslovakia. Over the next two weeks, a further 40,000,000 Soviets would die. In the rest of the Warsaw Pact, casualty figures span from 15-40% of the pre-war population.

Almost all of the Soviet Army deployed in Germany and in Eastern Europe are dead, almost all of their major cities are gone and much of their remaining territory is either irradiated or on fire. Among the survivors are the GKO in their armoured train. They were between Volgograd and Saratov when the Americans had struck. From there they are able to move to the nearby city of Kamyshin - one of the few surviving in the country - and attempt to re-establish contact with Soviet forces worldwide, to bring the war to an end. The war isn't over yet; technically speaking, it was never formally declared anyway. The GKO are a government without a state. With its major cities obliterated, not only has the Soviet Union been crippled, but the cultural pillars of civilization are wiped out. Intelligentsia, gone. Statesmen, (except for the GKO) gone. Architecture, gone. Religious structures, gone except for the local level. There are still surviving people and settlements, but after 1,100 years, Russia is dead.

Nikita Khrushchev, Russia's Augustulus, sits in the sealed train carriage, he knows he's the last leader Russia will have. He knows it was his idea to put the missiles in Cuba in the first instance. He feels it's his fault. He's destroyed his country, likely forever. Not even the thought that the Americans have suffered a devastating fate too satisfies him - he doesn't know how lightly America got it. By the 9th of November, he's a mess. Neither he nor the rest of the GKO have washed in many days, or shaved, or changed their clothes. They are as broken and ragged as the nation they formally ruled. They also have barely enough food for two weeks. On the 10th, one of the train's guards finds himself unlucky. He made a minor mistake, in usual times this would be overlooked. But now, he's committed a capital offence and he is thrown from the train with a bullet through his temple. One less mouth to feed. Three more meals for the rest. By the 14th, the food situation is intolerable, they have to move. They now move from the train and into the city of Kamyshin itself, well, most of them. Khrushchev takes himself off for a walk in the middle of the day. By the early evening, he is found face down by the waterside of the Volga River with a bullet in his brain. Was he shot, or did he pull the trigger himself? No one will ever know. That evening, the GKO meets and agree to rule as a collective body "for the duration of the present situation". Quickly though, the meeting becomes dominated by a Brezhnev-Malinovsky-Gromyko troika. Their job, end the war, contact the Americans and preserve what little order they can in what small corner of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics they still control. There will be no speeches, no patriotic declarations, just a job to finish.

 

[BurkeanLibCon]

Important Timezones:
- 19:00 D.C. time & Havana time (previous day)
- 00:00 London time
- 01:00 Berlin time & Bonn time
- 03:00 Moscow time
- 05:30 Delhi time
- 08:00 Beijing time

PARISH NOTICE: The phrase in the title is one I believe is equivalent to "Speak of the devil", but if it's wrong please do tell. Additionally, I am not familiar with Chinese names, so - to save myself from embarrassment - I haven't used them as often as I have used names in other chapters for fictional characters. The final overview chapter will be in Europe.

Chapter 13 – Shuō cáocāo, cáocāo jiù dào​

4 – 18 November 1962​

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”​

– Sun Tzu​

The old man closes his eyes. War has come back to his country, he feels a great disappointment that he will be unable to aid it against an enemy far greater in strength than the Japanese twenty years prior. Less than half a second later, he is at peace, permanently.

---

The soldier stays close to his radio. The ground above him shakes, he's thankful than these American nuclear bombs are not nuclear. He thinks of his mother in Changde. The thought that he may never see her again causes him to weep.
The woman in Changde holds the picture of her son, he's a soldier. She doesn't know what's happening on the Indian front, but she's determined to find out. She'll find her son if it kills her.

---

The officer stares across the table, the mystique of the man at its head has worn off now. He thinks he can recreate the Long March. No one else shares his enthusiasm, he's a mere regional functionary. A zealous functionary, but a functionary nonetheless. He has a point though, the world has ended for China innumerable times, and they'll survive this. Not even the Mongols had destroyed China, the American foe will simply pass them over in time.

---

The elderly couple sit on the floor in their house. The end of fifty long years has come for them. War, famine, plague, nothing could break them from one another. They embrace tenderly, awaiting their fate.

---

The People's Republic of China (PRC) hadn't meant to be dragged into World War III. Whilst the world was distracted was the Cuban crisis, Mao Zedong had thought now was the perfect time to seize disputed territory from his neighbour, India. In this endeavour, he was ironically supported by his communist rivals in Moscow, who ceased supplying military aid to India as a result.

However, fate has a strange way of screwing people over, and the undeclared Sino-Indian War in the Himalayas became part of the greater war when India bombed Gonggar. China had retaliated, striking the village of Thembang. That brought the Americans in. The promise of eventual American carriers showing up to aid the Indians kept Nehru in the fight, despite Mao decided that he'd achieved his goals and trying to implement a unilateral ceasefire. The Indian government had escaped A-Day lightly, the Soviet bombing of Amritsar had been more of an afterthought, a last-minute punishment for having sided with the Americans, as was the destruction of Peshawar in Pakistan.

China had also fared better overall than the Soviet Union did. Most of the Chinese population lived in the countryside, compared to the mostly urban USSR. Many cities such as Beijing, Wuhan, Nanchang, Shanghai, Chengdu, Ankang, Zhengzhou, Harbin, Changchun, Dalian and many others had been destroyed by SAC Bombers and ICBMs, many others besides had survived. Chinese fatalities from A-Day numbered over 190,000,000, greater than the Soviet death toll in raw numbers, but a lower percentage of the population overall. The real killer though was the destruction of the Yellow and Yangtze River dams as a result of the bombings. Over the next two weeks, around 50,000,000 more Chinese would perish from radiation poisoning. The next year would see the spectre of famine return for China.

Politically, the PRC had to contend with fractured national infrastructure and the breakdown of its civil authorities in many areas of the country, particularly in the north and east of the country. Local authorities often used bands of PLA soldiers to retain order and guard what food supplies remained. The central government in Beijing had been all but obliterated. The People's Liberation Army, much like the Beiyang Army before, was forced to take regional areas following the decapitation of central command.

The Republic of China on Taiwan had not been nuked, but some PLA Air Force jets had bombed Taipei with conventional munitions before being downed by Taiwanese jets. They were looking at the situation on the mainland closely.

The Hundred States and Myriad Sorrows Period had begun.

Further east, Japan and the Korean Peninsula had also seen the ravages of A-Day. The former had seen seven targets destroyed, the majority of them located in Okinawa while Sapporo and Niigata and the Toshima district of Tokyo on the mainland had been struck by surviving Soviet nuclear-armed fighters on de-facto suicide missions. For the Japanese people, the atomic bomb was nothing new.

In Korea, most damage had been done by the U.S. Air Force, striking over a dozen North Korean targets including Pyongyang (given multiple blasts for good measure), Wonsan, Chǒngjin and tactical targets along the DMZ. The DPRK government had been effectively wiped out in the process. In South Korea, Seoul and Sokcho were taken out.

No other state in Eastern Asia had been struck with nuclear weapons at the present time.

The American forces stationed in Japan, Korea and other states in the region were effectively stranded.


Footnotes
- [1] The Soviets also did this in OTL, only resuming aid to India after the Cuban Missile Crisis had ended.