What is the closest the USA and the Soviet Union came to war during the Cold War?
Historians generally agree it was the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The Soviets were building a missile base in Cuba, which would have placed nuclear missiles in America’s backyard that could strike their targets minutes after launch. Washington demanded removal of the Soviet missiles and “quarantined” Cuba, meaning the US Navy would stop ships carrying cargo for the bases. The crisis reached its climax when Soviet cargo ships appeared en route to challenge the blockade and US President Kennedy authorized the loading of nuclear weapons on US strike aircraft in Europe. The crisis passed when the Soviet government backed down and agreed to shelve the missile base plan, and the Americans provided the face-saving commitments to not invade Cuba and to withdraw obsolete US missiles from Turkey.
