16. Kruschev received a letter from Castro urging nuclear war
Nikita Kruschev was receiving communications from more than just the Kennedy Administration. Within his own government there were numerous demands that he refuse to remove the missiles from Cuba, or that at the very least extract further concessions from the Americans to remove them. Soviet naval authorities demanded that Soviet vessels refuse to honor the American quarantine line at sea. And the continuous threat of invasion of Cuba, in which Soviet missile technicians would be at risk, compelled him to consider actions against NATO in Europe, since the Soviets lacked the capability to send additional troops and air support to Cuba in the face of the increased American naval strength in the Caribbean.
Kruschev received a letter from Fidel Castro on October 27, in which the Cuban leader urged the Soviets to launch a nuclear attack on the United States. Castro referred to the United States as “imperialists” and wrote to the Soviet premier that the American, “aggressiveness is extremely dangerous and if they actually carry out the brutal act of invading Cuba in violation of international law and morality, that would be the moment to eliminate such danger forever through an act of clear legitimate defense, however harsh and terrible the solution would be”. Castro’s call for a nuclear attack on the United States became known as the Armageddon Letter. It was later that same day that the Soviet submarine B 59 was averted from launching nuclear torpedoes against the American flotilla which was hounding it, and an “accidental” U-2 mission overflew Soviet airspace, causing Soviet fighters to scramble over the Bering Sea, and American F-102 fighters to scramble in response.
