The Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, the Soviet Union sent both offensive and defensive medium and intermediate missiles with nuclear warheads to Cuba and started building missile sites there. When the photos showed that missile sites were under construction and some missiles had been installed, the American government was shocked. For a few days, the two superpowers stared at each other, with the possibility of a nuclear war looming large. Then Khrushchev backed down and accepted American conditions.
