invasion of Cuba in 1962

i'm sure this has bee done before but what if the US did airstrikes on the Soviet missles in Cuba & invaded? how would the war go & turn out?

Also take full scale nuclear war out of the picture. No more than 3 stratigic or tactical strikes for the US or Soviets a peace
 
The U.S. was not aware of tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba. Things would have gotten very sticky when U.S. troops set off from Florida.

However, the U.S. also had Cuba blockaded, so the Soviets will not be able to reinforce or resupply Cuba once things get nasty. Even if the entire invasion force is destroyed, the Soviet position in Cuba is doomed in the long run.

If cooler heads can prevail and the war remains localized, maybe it won't turn into worldwide MAD.

Here's an idea: The U.S. retaliates against Cuban and Soviet forces with nukes of their own. The Soviets choose to lose their strategic missiles in Cuba rather than launch them at the U.S. or other Latin American targets and escalate to Mosow-nuking levels.

However, taking advantage of the distraction, they swallow West Berlin. Then they offer a deal--they'll leave Cuba to the U.S. in exchange for recognition of Soviet control of all of Berlin.

The immediate threat to the U.S. homeland is gone, but the U.S. has suffered massive losses and been handed a fait accompli only a general war can undo. The Soviets have suffered significant losses themselves (Soviet forces in Cuba, their ships in the Caribbean, whatever losses they took in Berlin), but it's still a net victory for them.

Cuba is not going to be in good shape. Even though only tactical nukes are used in this scenario, Cuba is a small island.
 
I thought I read in Richard Rhodes book on the Hydrogen Bomb that there were indeed tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba and that the Cubans were given authorization to use the weapons. If that's the case, a Cuban
invasion could hardly avoid being a nuclear exchange.
 
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