A Hot Cuban Missile Crisis

[Jim Smitty]

I got to many ideas in my head.

Anyways, lets say Nixon was elected in 1960 instead of JFK and the ITL verison of Bay of Pigs still fails. Now lets move forward to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Nixon is informed of the Missiles and invokling the Monroe Doctrine, orders the Marines and Army to invade Cuba. But unknown to Nixon or the Americans, the Soviets have a few operation Scud and Sandal missiles ready and tip with nuclear warheads. When the Americans break out of Gimto and land in Cuba they are hit with nuclear tip Scuds.

From here things just loose all control and within hours bothsides launch a few nuclear spread.

What kind of damage would this nuclear Third World War cause to the Soviet Union, America, Europe, and Cuba?

 

[deathscompanion1]

IMO it will end with the Soviet Union gone, Europe a complete mess and the USA badly damaged but definitely better off than Europe.

 

[asupackman]

Second the recommendation of "The Cuban Missile War." Excellent, Excellent!

 

[mrmandias]

I got to many ideas in my head.

Anyways, lets say Nixon was elected in 1960 instead of JFK and the ITL verison of Bay of Pigs still fails. Now lets move forward to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Nixon is informed of the Missiles and invokling the Monroe Doctrine, orders the Marines and Army to invade Cuba. But unknown to Nixon or the Americans, the Soviets have a few operation Scud and Sandal missiles ready and tip with nuclear warheads. When the Americans break out of Gimto and land in Cuba they are hit with nuclear tip Scuds.

From here things just loose all control and within hours bothsides launch a few nuclear spread.

What kind of damage would this nuclear Third World War cause to the Soviet Union, America, Europe, and Cuba?

I think you're better off sticking with Kennedy up to the point of your POD. Its unlikely that with Nixon on board you're still getting to have a Bay of Pigs invasion, and have it be unsupported so it fails, and have the specific dynamic with the Sovs that leads to the missiles being put into Turkey which leads to the missiles in Cuba, and its also unlikely that Nixon decides to invade for the same reasons that Kennedy didn't.

Different Presidents means things are going to go differently *before* your POD.

 

[isabella]

yes, with Nixon at the time of the OTL Missile Crisis likely Cuba will be under American Control after the invasion of the precedent year...
Do not forget who the plans for an invasion of Cuba was not of Kennedy or his administration but was made on order of Eisenhower and/or Nixon (and the latter was thinking to apply that during his presidency, before losing the elections) and Kennedy inherit them from the previous administration and with Nixon in charge the invasion will be amply supported from the US Armed Forces because the president was favourable to an armed invasion.

 

[Archangel]

The Cuban Missile War TL from Amerigo Vespucci, is indeed the best scenario of a nuclear war in the early 60's that can be found here.
Specific details of the post war can always be improved, but the basic execution and outcome of a war in that scenario are all there.

 

[Cook]

I think you're better off sticking with Kennedy up to the point of your POD. Its unlikely that with Nixon on board you're still getting to have a Bay of Pigs invasion...

Bay of Pigs was planned during the Eisenhower Administration, Kennedy felt himself to inexperienced to challenge it. Why would Eisenhower’s former Vice-President not proceed with the plan?

 

[isabella]

Bay of Pigs was planned during the Eisenhower Administration, Kennedy felt himself to inexperienced to challenge it. Why would Eisenhower’s former Vice-President not proceed with the plan?

Because the point is not the programmed op but the realization. Nixon, who likely was one of the main supporters of the plan, almost surely will send the US armed forces to supported the attempted invasion of Cuba and thus the operation will likely succeed and probably Castro's regime will be overthrown but is possible who the relationship with Russia will be broken and the Cold Ware became hot after that invasion.

 

[mrmandias]

Bay of Pigs was planned during the Eisenhower Administration, Kennedy felt himself to inexperienced to challenge it. Why would Eisenhower’s former Vice-President not proceed with the plan?

He probably would proceed with the plan, but that would result in a different Bay of Pigs invasion. OTL's Bay of Pigs was a product of OTL's Kennedy administration.

Perhaps you should explain why Nixon would do everything the same as Kennedy right up the point of the Missile Crisis, and then go radically off course.

 

[Chris S]

A hot Cuban Missile Crisis could well have started out with an operation other than Operation Plans 312, 314 or 316; during the crisis contingency operations were developed such as Operation Raincoat (air strikes against Soviet missile sites in Cuba in the event diplomacy failed), Operation Full House (originally a nickname for "Option of [Operation] Shoe Black"; for the synchronized attack on all SAM sites in Cuba) and Operation Royal Flush (the destruction of the entire Cuban air defence system). Both Full House and Royal Flush could be launched on two hours notice.

Even after the crisis had basically ended there were still drawing up new plans to deal with a mini-crisis over the removal of Il-28 bombers (Operation Hot Plate; a special plan to use 24 F-100 and F-104 fighter/bombers to destroy the IL-28s on the ground or airborne at Holguin and San Julian airfields in Cuba)

A hot Cuban Missile Crisis could also see the tragi-comedic situation of the order to Execute Operation Scabbards being issued, rescinded and then re-issued (for real this time and not by mistake as before).