Cuban Missile Crisis To War: The Final Updates and the Final Hour - Completed

[sentinel]

January 1963

   Congress has not met together in one body since before the beginning of the war making the swearing in of new Congressman especially complex, but nonetheless, they were all sworn in.

January 3rd 1963 – The first major landing of American forces takes place in Belgium. 100,000 Americans head towards the battle line with the Soviet Union.

 January 8th 1963 – A Soviet Advance pushes NATO forces behind the French border, NATO intelligence informs military officials that Soviet reinforcements will be there in less than two weeks.

January 10th 1963 – A Yugoslavian military patrol near the Hungarian border encounters Hungarian-Romanian forces conducting some sort of exercise and fire is exchanged. Both sides blame the other, but Yugoslavia threatens that if this happens again, Yugoslavia will give NATO forces passage through Yugoslavia.

January 13th 1963 – Yugoslavian officials secretly contact NATO and Italian military officials. American forces join the battle on what is being called the Eastern Front (French border with Soviet-occupied Western Germany).  First interaction between Soviet and American forces at a village near Strausbourg, leaving 13 Americans dead or wounded and 38 Soviets dead or wounded.

January 18th 1963 –ABC reports that Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson has not been seen by the media since Christmas. CBS and NBC make no mention of this. Albania also falls to Greek forces around this time.

February 3rd 1963 – President Kennedy and his top military advisors agree that American forces in Cuba can now play an occupying role with only small remnants of Soviet and Cuban forces scattered around on Cuba.  Kennedy reaffirms the objectives of this war, to liberate East and West Germany. Bobby Kennedy advises his brother against any invasion of Russia while the President agrees saying he does not want to expand this war with ground troops beyond the Polish border. 

February 17th 1963 – 8 Hungarian soldiers on border patrol antagonize 4 border patrol guards on the Yugoslavian border. The Hungarian border patrol crosses and challenges the Yugoslav soldiers to fight. Even though outmatched, the Yugoslav guards slaughter 7 of the 8. The last one is left alive to tell his commanding officer about his defeat.

The incident quickly moves up the chain of command in the Hungarian military, as well as the Soviet, with Hungary demanding an apology and the Yugoslav border guards who killed the Hungarian soldiers. The Yugoslav Government bluntly refuses.

February 19th 1963 – Hungary begins massing troops near the Yugoslav border while Yugoslavia responds in the same.

February 23rd 1963 – Yugoslavia grants NATO forces passage through Yugoslavia.
March 2nd 1963 – NATO forces have been pushed back to the front with

March 8th 1963 – The Civil Rights Act of 1963 quietly passes in the United States with all the focus on the war. 62 members of the Senate vote in favor of the bill and 296 members of the House of Representatives vote for the bill. Democrat and Republican War Hawks put a rider on the bill condoning the use of nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union if American freedoms were endangered.

Kennedy’s approvals are at 67%.

Gallup Poll: Do you approve of the way President Kennedy is handling the war against the Soviet Union?

Yes: 83%
No: 10%
No Opinion/Unsure: 7%

March 17th 1963 – Senator Barry Goldwater is asked if he has any interest in running for President in 1964 “I will not be a candidate in 1964, I have no intention on inheriting this war.”

A large number of NATO forces, excluding American forces, cross into Yugoslavia.
March 20th 1963 – Soviet forces lose ground and are pushed back on the Eastern front but not by much, they are still injected into France.

April 1st 1963 – NATO forces land near Kiel, Germany.

April 2nd 1963 – The Japanese Diet contemplates declaring war on the Soviet Union, China threatens to intervene if this happens. Intelligence reports say that North Korea is mobilizing.  Double agents in the Soviet military inform NATO military officials that Hungarian-Soviet forces have detected the NATO forces in Yugoslavia. Yugoslavian and NATO forces begin a preemptive attack on Hungary.
April 3rd 1963 –

5:00am: Officials announce that Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson had been found dead on his bed. The cause of death is currently unknown.

5:00pm: The first nuclear missile is launched.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

This timeline is truly a thriller! Keep it coming!

[Bo]

Kennedy was young, naive, and inexperienced. We should have taken out Fidel when we had the chance. Now the lives of many Cubans have been lost to communism and dictatorship. Nixon was the better choice.

How come Ike didn't take out Fidel?

[Derek]

Kennedy was young, naive, and inexperienced. We should have taken out Fidel when we had the chance. Now the lives of many Cubans have been lost to communism and dictatorship. Nixon was the better choice.

How come Ike didn't take out Fidel?

He didn't pose a threat or a chance of becoming strong. My mom's uncle was in the Bay of Pigs Crisis and still frustrates over not taking out Fidel Castro.

[sentinel]

April 3rd 1963



Shortly after Vice President Johnson is found dead…

President Kennedy after finding out about Vice President Johnson’s death.

“Mr. President, I regret to inform you that Vice President Johnson died suddenly this morning…”

“What!? How did this happen? I can’t believe this…”

“Sir, we don’t know the cause of death but it does not appear to be a violent one…we will need to wait for an autopsy and toxicology test to be performed…”

“I can’t believe this. Do we have any reason to believe that the KGB or the Soviets are behind this?”

“No, not yet at least. Our cameras and officers all reported no suspicious activity last night but members of the Vice President’s staff reaffirmed that. Mr. President right now we need to get you to a secure location, as you know Defense Secretary McNamara was shot by a Soviet infiltrator and we can’t take any more chances after the Vice Presidents death”

“It seems to me that being in a secure location won’t do me any good. If Lyndon was killed by a KGB member, then clearly our security has been breached. If he was poisoned, then hell, I could be poisoned too.”

“Sir, we have a doctor waiting for you at the secure location who is ready to look into that, we need you to come now.”

5:23am
“Mr. Speaker…the President’s senior staff just called. The Vice President was found dead…”
“Mr. Speaker, we’re here to move you to a more secure location following recent events, we have reason to believe that your location and security has been compromised…”

(Partial) Current Line of Succession as of 6:00am April 3rd 1963
1)   Speaker of the House of Representatives John W. McCormack (D – Massachusetts, 72yrs old)
2)   President Pro Tempore of the Senate Carl Hayden (D- Arizona, 86 yrs old)
3)   Secretary of State Dean Rusk (D, 54yrs old)
4)   Secretary of the Treasurey C. Douglas Dillon (R,  54yrs old)
5)   Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (R,  47yrs old)

Around the same time after Carl Hayden is informed of the Vice President’s death, Hayden says privately to a close advisor ”God forbid the powers of the Presidency devolve unto me…I do not think I could do it…I would resign and let the powers devolve unto the next in line if there were still a next in line…”

7:00am – The Office of the President announces that Vice President Johnson has died. Military forces, already on high alert, are put on an even higher state of alert.

Noon – In a preliminary report to the President, the Coroner looking at the Vice President’s body says that toxicology tests will be needed and that there were no signs of a struggle or violence on the body. Heart failure is the cause of death but by what means remains the question.

1pm – NATO intelligence picks up troop movement along the Yugoslavian-Romanian/Hungarian border. Soviet and satellite forces are moving away from the border.

2pm – Soviet Premier Khruschev calls Yugoslav President Tito and demands Tito’s promise to stay out of the war and to allow Soviet forces to enter Yugoslavia. Tito bluntly refuses. Khruschev says that “I will convince you.”


5pm – Soviet bombers drop a “Tsar Bomba” nuclear warhead on the Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade killing most of its one million inhabitants…

The Soviets release a statement after the dropping of the bomb…”Let this be a lesson to the governments of Yugoslavia and the Allied forces…it is clear who will become the winner of this conflict of aggression against the Soviet Union and her allies…”

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

This is an absolutely chilling timeline, one of the best I've ever read. Keep it coming!

[Bo]

Great job. Keep it coming.

[sentinel]

The Aftermath

Hours after the destruction of Belgrade the Parliament of Japan votes to declare war on the Soviet Union and condemns the use of nuclear weapons saying “We cannot sit idly by and watch one million innocent lives are destroyed in an instant…we cannot sit idly by and let this happen to another nation…”

The United States condemns the attacks saying “…the world has just seen the reason why we are fighting this war…”

President Kennedy does not rule out nuclear retaliation during a live press conference.

The United Kingdom and other NATO and Western European nations all condemn the attack. Australia offers its support against the Soviet Union.  Finland and Sweden begin mobilizing their armed forces.

Humanitarian organizations begin working near Belgrade, they estimate the death for the initial impact could be over one million and over three hundred thousand more as a result of the destruction whether it is from starvation or radiation.

7,500 NATO soldiers and 12,000 Yugoslav forces were killed or wounded in the blast.

The Doomsday Clock is moved to midnight. Millions believe that nuclear Armageddon is now imminent.

In the hours after the attack, American fighters intercept Soviet warplanes over Alaskan Airspace.

Some members of Congress call for a preemptive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, many saying that that Washington DC is next on the Soviet list. Congress unanimously backs the President and condemns the attack on Belgrade calling its destruction “unwarranted.”

The Soviets occupy all of the Netherlands, parts of Belgium, Luxembourg and some of eastern France and have pushed Allied forces back to Nogent, France.  Hungarian, Romanian and Soviet forces are pouring over the border with Yugoslavia...President Tito of Yugoslavia declares war on the Soviets and aligns himself firmly with NATO.


April 4th 1962

“Mr. Speaker.”
"Mr. President, how can I help you?"
"Senator Birch Bayh tried to get in touch with my staff earlier and he suggested some sort of amendment clarifying Presidential succession...I'm very interested in this and the ability to appoint a new Vice President should be therein...please have your staff look into this immediately."
"Yes, of course Mr. President."

[Barnes]

This is very good, but, one question:

How exactly can Kennedy install a new VP? The 25th Amendment wasn't ratified until 1967.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

Another great update. Keep it coming!

[sentinel]

This is very good, but, one question:

How exactly can Kennedy install a new VP? The 25th Amendment wasn't ratified until 1967.

Good point. I missed that. I'll have to fix it.

[sentinel]

This is very good, but, one question:

How exactly can Kennedy install a new VP? The 25th Amendment wasn't ratified until 1967.

Good point. I missed that. I'll have to fix it.

Fixed.

[Barnes]

This is very good, but, one question:

How exactly can Kennedy install a new VP? The 25th Amendment wasn't ratified until 1967.

Good point. I missed that. I'll have to fix it.

Fixed.

OK, cool.

You know, an amendment might not be necessary. If you look at Article Two, Section Six:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That could be interpreted to mean that Congress needs to simply pass a law about filling the Vice Presidency.

Of course, write your story the way you want it.

[sentinel]

This is very good, but, one question:

How exactly can Kennedy install a new VP? The 25th Amendment wasn't ratified until 1967.

Good point. I missed that. I'll have to fix it.

Fixed.

OK, cool.

You know, an amendment might not be necessary. If you look at Article Two, Section Six:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That could be interpreted to mean that Congress needs to simply pass a law about filling the Vice Presidency.

Of course, write your story the way you want it.

I appreciate the idea, not sure if I'll go that route or not, but I'll definitely think about it. I may update tonight.

[sentinel]

April - June 1963

   The Supreme Court rules on Gideon v. Wainwright saying that the poor must be provided with a lawyer in court.

   At home the nation is focused on the war and most legislation passed in Congress is defense-focused with most other issues falling to the wayside; however, with the help of Edmund Muskie the Clean Air Act of 1963 passes the Senate and the House who have met in secret locations (both Houses never at the same time or place). Also thanks to the help of Senator Muskie the Equal Pay Act, designed to limit disparities of wages between the sexes, has left committee and hopefully will get to the floor of the Democratic controlled Congress soon.

   On the war-front, some naval skirmishes are breaking out between North and South Korea as the tension on the border is escalating immensely. The experts at the United States Department of Defense believe that a second Korean War is imminent and many experts are advising the President not to become entrenched in a second Korean War when the Soviet Union is the major threat to American security.

   The Japanese have made several air attacks on Vladivostok and other small cities in Siberia and the eastern USSR but have not made any attempts at landing troops on the Asian mainland yet. China has partially mobilized and the Japanese have been on high alert for a Chinese attack. Soviet responses to Japanese attacks in Siberia have been limited.

   In the European theatre of war, more American troops have landed and Yugoslavia has been taken by Soviet forces. Greece and Turkey barely hold off the Soviet Union in southeastern Europe while Turkish forces are crumbling on their eastern border with the Soviet Union, however; hopes are still bright due to small groups of rebellions in the Soviet Republics of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.

   Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and northeastern France are occupied by the Soviet Union and her allies. The USSR has installed one large puppet government for these three nations that some in the United States are calling the Soviet Republic of Benelux.
   NATO forces in Europe have largely become defensive in the previous months but some reports say that Supreme Allied Commander General Lyman Lemnitzer has been working with the Finnish and the Swedes on something.

   Soviet forces are 50 miles from Paris by the end of June.

   It is worth mentioning that the NATO landing in what was East Germany near Kiel was ultimately defeated.   

   The American occupation of Cuba is going surprisingly well. A large amount of American forces has kept rioting and any insurgency to a minimum.  The American Navy is keeping its eye on the Caribbean Sea with a high presence there. All of the major supporters and cabinet members of former Cuban President Osvaldo Torrado have been rounded up. How long to occupy Cuba, or what to do with Cuba after, has not made its way to the national discourse yet but undoubtedly will in the future.

   In late June, Senator Birch Bayh with the leaders of both parties in Congress proposes what would be the 24th or 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution depending on how fast it passes Congress and is ratified. The current amendment that is being ratified by the states would prohibit the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of poll taxes and would be the 24th Amendment if the Bayh amendment does not get ratified first. The proposed amendment reads:


“Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.”

The Senate and House plan to vote upon the Amendment in July. President Kennedy has endorsed the amendment calling it “pragmatic and necessary.”

President Kennedy’s approvals have remained high by the end of June but are polling around 65%. Unemployment is normal around 5%.

The war has outshined many Presidential announcements. President Kennedy has confirmed that he will run for reelection but will be focusing on the job at hand and vows not to let campaigning get in the way of managing the war.

 Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who was widely expected to run for the Republican nomination, declines to run along with former Vice Presidential candidate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota announces that he will seek the nomination along with Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii and Senator Thomas Henry Kuchel of California

[Barnes]

It's very interesting to see a "contained" nuclear war going on. Much more fascinating then all out nuclear holocaust.

[sentinel]

It's very interesting to see a "contained" nuclear war going on. Much more fascinating then all out nuclear holocaust.

I see the USA and USSR less inclined to drop nuclear bombs on each other for fear of nuclear retaliation. Yugoslavia was a quasi-ally of the USA/NATO so the USSR bet that NATO wouldn't respond in the same manner, for fear of retaliation on their homeland...would it be worth it to defend an ally like Yugoslavia while risking the destruction your own people?

Thanks

[sentinel]

July 15th 1963 –

The Bayh Amendment passes 83-7 with 10 Senators not voting for security reasons in the Senate and overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives. It now moves onto the states for ratification. President Kennedy asks the states to expedite the process. Massachusetts will be the first state to consider the amendment at the end of July. Texas, the home state of former Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, New York, California, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and New Jersey also all plan to take up the bill in August. 38 states are required to ratify the amendment before it is the law of the land.

President Kennedy is asked about the Vice Presidency during the same press conference where he says if  possible, he wants the next Vice President confirmed sooner than January 1965. The Kennedy Administration has been leak proof on this, and many believe that even his closest advisors do not know who he has picked. There may be only two people in the world who knows who the next Vice President will be.

July 19th 1963

President John F. Kennedy is rushed into a bunker around five minutes to noon and is told that within moments the French will be launching an intercontinental nuclear missile at Russia within moments. The President is told that the stimulus for the missile launch was Soviet forces entering Paris. The President is also told that the French have offered the Soviets an ultimatum: leave Europe or while taking France you will be annihilated from the skies.
In the Kremlin, the ICBM is detected and officials are being evacuated from the city or into bunkers. Soviet Premier Khruschev is reportedly in Moscow.

A short while later the nuclear bomb explodes in Moscow, thwarting the USSR’s missile defenses.

Most of Moscow’s population of 5 million is killed instantly or within the ensuing hours.

President Kennedy is evacuated from Washington DC while the cabinet is taken to different corners of the United States.

French President de Gaulle threatens to use more nuclear bombs if the Soviets do not leave France. Premier Khruschev is unaccounted for.

Japan immediately  condemns the use of nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union calling it contradictory to the Allied cause.

Khruschev is still unaccounted for hours after the blast. A power struggle emerges between Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev and Soviet Minister of Defense Rodion Yakovievich Malinovsky. 

Brezhnev  orders the military to respond with nuclear retaliation on Paris while Malinovsky tries to intercept the command. Due to this no nuclear launch is made in the immediate few hours after the destruction of Moscow but the world is on the edge of their seats awaiting the inevitable retaliation of the United Soviet Socialist Republic.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

This is great stuff. Keep it coming!

[Yelnoc]

This is great stuff. Keep it coming!

[Bo]

This is great stuff. Keep it coming!

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

One question: What was LBJ's cause of death? Has it been determined yet, or did I just miss a post?

Noon – In a preliminary report to the President, the Coroner looking at the Vice President’s body says that toxicology tests will be needed and that there were no signs of a struggle or violence on the body. Heart failure is the cause of death but by what means remains the question.

[sentinel]

Yes, i saw that part. I was just wondering if he's decided on what the ultimate cause of death was.

"Heart failure is the cause of death but by what means remains the question."

It's been a few months since his death, shouldn't we be finding out by now what the potential cause of his heart failure was? The author of this TL left open the idea that he was poisoned. I was just wondering when we would hear from him about that.

Indeed, I did leave that out. I will address it on my next update.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

Yes, i saw that part. I was just wondering if he's decided on what the ultimate cause of death was.

"Heart failure is the cause of death but by what means remains the question."

It's been a few months since his death, shouldn't we be finding out by now what the potential cause of his heart failure was? The author of this TL left open the idea that he was poisoned. I was just wondering when we would hear from him about that.

Indeed, I did leave that out. I will address it on my next update.

I'm looking forward to reading it!

[sentinel]

Yes, i saw that part. I was just wondering if he's decided on what the ultimate cause of death was.

"Heart failure is the cause of death but by what means remains the question."

It's been a few months since his death, shouldn't we be finding out by now what the potential cause of his heart failure was? The author of this TL left open the idea that he was poisoned. I was just wondering when we would hear from him about that.

Indeed, I did leave that out. I will address it on my next update.

I'm looking forward to reading it!

Sorry bout the delay. Expect an update this weekend.