Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and

dangerous confrontation between the United States and the
Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when
the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict.
The events that led to the outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis
started with the overthrow of the American Cuban dictator
Fulgencio Batista by Fidel Castro in 1959. Once in power, Castro
nationalized the American companies in Cuba which caused an
outrage in the United States. The US government answered
with an embargo against Cuba in 1960 forcing Castro to turn to
the Soviet Union.
In 1962 Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev reached a secret
agreement with Cuban premier Fidel Castro to place Soviet
nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter any future invasion attempt.
Construction of several missile sites began in the late summer.
President Kennedy issued a public warning against the
introduction of offensive weapons into Cuba. Despite the
warning, on October 14, 1962 a U.S. U2 aircraft took several
pictures clearly showing sites for ballistic nuclear missiles under
construction in Cuba. These images were processed and
presented to the White House the next day, thus triggering the
beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
That same day, Kennedy sent a letter to Khrushchev declaring
that the United States would not permit offensive weapons to
be delivered to Cuba, and demanded that the Soviets dismantle
the missile bases already under construction or completed, and
return all offensive weapons to the U.S.S.R.
The President also went on national television that evening to
inform the public of the developments in Cuba and the
potential global consequences if the crisis continued to
escalate.
U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba indicated the Soviet
missile sites were nearing operational readiness. With no
apparent end to the crisis in sight, U.S. forces were placed at
DEFCON 2

On October 26, Kennedy told his advisors that only a U.S.

attack on Cuba would remove the missiles, but he insisted on
giving the channel a little more time. The crisis had reached a
virtual stalemate.
That afternoon, however, the crisis took a dramatic turn. ABC
News correspondent John Scali reported to the White House
that he had been approached by a Soviet agent suggesting that
an agreement could be reached in which the Soviets would
remove their missiles from Cuba if the United States promised
not to invade the island.
Finally on October 28, Khrushchev announced that they were
withdrawing the missiles from Cuba. In the spring of 1963, the
U.S. quietly removed the missiles from Turkey that equally
threatened the Soviet Union.
Soon after this incident, the famous "hotline" was installed
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to help resolve future
conflicts. It was later learned that the missiles on Cuba were
operational and were armed with nuclear warheads.

Australia and the Vietnam War (2nd Vietnam War)

Australian support for South Vietnam in the early 1960s was in
keeping with the policies of other nations to stem the spread of
communism in Europe and Asia. In 1961 and 1962 Ngo Dinh
Diem, South Vietnams leader, repeatedly requested security
assistance. Australia responded with 30 military advisers. These
advisors were highly skilled in jungle warfare. They had been
involved in the confrontation with Indonesia and had learned
from Australian action in the jungles during World War Their
arrival in South Vietnam in July 1962 was the beginning of
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.
Compulsory military training and universal conscription had
been briefly re-introduced in 1951. The Australian people had
been told so often to prepare for war that they all thought it
was only a matter of time before they would have to go into
battle with the communists.
By 1964, it was clear that the South Vietnamese forces would
be beaten by the combined efforts of the Viet Cong and North
Vietnam. If nothing was done, the South Vietnamese
democracy would fall into communist hands.
In the next two-and-a-half years, the Australian commitment to
Vietnam was expanded on a number of occasions. By August
1965, there were over 1000 soldiers making a Battalion group.
From 1962 until 1971, nearly 50 000 Australians served in
Vietnam.
Although the majority of Australian troops fighting in Vietnam
came under American command, they were able to use their
own tactics in fighting the Viet Cong. The Australian troops
spent the majority of their time walking the jungles and
searching villages for Viet Cong troops.

In 1966 Australian soldiers took part in the significant and now

famous battle of Long Tan. They beat the Viet Cong after being
lured into an ambush in a rubber plantation. The Viet Cong
came to realise that unlike the majority of the Americans,
Australians had previous experience of jungle warfare and were
a force to be reckoned with.
Australia's troop numbers kept climbing, as did the budget. The
war in Vietnam eventually took 520 lives, wounded over 2000
more men and cost $200 million. The year 1968 was the worst
year for Australian casualties.
By late 1970 Australia had also begun to wind down its military
effort in Vietnam. The last battalion left Nui Dat on 7 November,
while a handful of advisers belonging to the Team remained in
Vietnam the following year. Australia's participation in the war
was formally declared at an end when the Governor-General
issued a proclamation on 11 January 1973.