Cuban Missile Crisis: Why Did Khrushchev Risk Nuclear War in 1962?

October 1962, Cuba: 13 days where one wrong move meant nuclear war between two superpowers. See how a failed invasion, secret sabotage missions, and missile bases in Turkey pushed Khrushchev and Castro into a secret deal. Follow the Soviet operation to hide nuclear missiles on Cuban soil, disguised under code name Operation Anadyr, and the spy flights that finally found them. Discover why Kennedy called it a gamble, and what both sides risked losing. This is the hidden buildup behind the most dangerous confrontation of the Cold War. If you were advising Kennedy or Khrushchev in October 1962, what would you have done differently? Subscribe for more full stories from history. #cubanmissilecrisis #coldwar #history CHAPTERS: 0:00 Thirteen Days in October 1:23 Washington's Old Order 3:01 Khrushchev's Risky Decision 4:24 Castro Agrees to Missiles 6:00 The U-2 Photographs 7:24 Weighing the Options 8:46 Blockade or Air Strike 10:16 Kennedy Addresses the Nation 11:32 Castro's Nuclear Telegram 13:05 The Turkey Missile Trade 14:23 Warheads Washington Never Found 15:58 B-59 Under the Depth Charges 17:43 Tactical Warheads in Cuba 19:13 Retelling the Crisis Credits: "Havana Street" by ©² (CC BY 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/4628369... "Dormitory in Chernihiv after Russian airstrike on 13 Marc..." by State Emergency Service of Ukraine (CC BY 4.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Cuban Missile Crisis 1962" by Archives New Zealand (CC BY 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/3575998... "1962 Events montage 16-grid version.jpg" by From a variety of images credited above. (CC BY 4.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Exhibition of the Cold War Museum in Lithuania (missile s..." by foundin_a_attic (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034469x (7184765405).jpg" by Florida Keys--Public Libraries from K... (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Lockheed 12A G-AGTL Ringway 14.04.58 edited-2.jpg" by RuthAS (CC BY 3.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Soviet SA-2 SAM Launcher" by smaedli (CC BY 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/7526476... "Red Star Kremlin.jpg" by Kandukuru Nagarjun (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Attack near Playa Giron. April 19, 1961. - panoramio.jpg" by Rumlin (CC BY 3.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed D (46676760404).jpg" by Mike LaChance from Crowley, Tx, USA (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Moscow 2012 Victory Day Parade Rehearsal, Topol-M nuclear..." by Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "The Eternal Blue Skies" by Taymaz Valley (CC BY 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/9257422... "United States Air Force - Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strate..." by James St. John (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed D.jpg" by Eric Friedebach (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Soviet P-15U Termite Anti-ship missile 2.jpg" by kitmasterbloke (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "007 Mil Mi-17 attack helicopter of Cuban Air Force (DAAFA..." by Marek Ślusarczyk ( Tupungato ) Photo... (CC BY 3.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Bristol Freighter, Palmerston North, New Zealand, 1974 -..." by Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Z... (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "Soviet Railways" by Paul Keller (CC BY 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/1825977... "SF-88 (3090956506).jpg" by Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, U.... (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Public-domain images: DPLA, Generated map (Natural Earth), Internet Archive, J. Paul Getty Museum, National Archives Some images: U.S. National Archives. NARA does not endorse this video. More image credits in the comments.