The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a military operation in which troops of Cuban exiles, supported by the United States invaded Cuba in April 1961, to try to create a beachhead, form a provisional government and seek the support of the Organization of American States and the recognition of the international community. The action ended in failure in less than 65 hours. It was completely crushed by the Militias and the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of Cuba. More than a hundred invading soldiers died, and the Cubans captured another 1200, along with important war material.
The Soviet government took advantage of the aborted invasion as justification for the parking of Soviet troops in Cuba. The installation in Cuba of medium-range ballistic missiles, which could attack many points in the US, was also decided.
In response, President John F. Kennedy quarantined the island, and after several intense days the Soviets decided to withdraw in exchange for the US promise. not to invade Cuba and the withdrawal of missiles in Turkey (Kennedy-Khrushchev Pact). After this brush with the nuclear war, the two leaders banned nuclear tests in the air and underwater after 1962. The Soviets also began a huge and escalating arms race. The withdrawal undermined Khrushchev, who was overthrown shortly thereafter and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.
