After the Bay of Pigs, the leader of Cuba asked the U.S.S.R for help to keep their country safe. The U.S.S.R then secretly held missiles in Cuba.
Cuba
My country was almost overthrown please help
U.S.S.R
No problem! Let me hide missiles in Cuba to keep you protected
When the U.S found out about the missiles, they intercepted all missile shipments heading towards Cuba. This made Cuba angry and was considered an act of war. The U.S insisted on the removal of the missiles but the U.S.S.R said they were only defensive.
DO NOT LET ANY SHIPMENTS GET TO CUBA
Rudolph Anderson, a U.S pilot was shot down by a soviet missile
A Soviet submarine was then hit by a U.S navy vessel. This caused everyone to think war was going to happen and lead to the U.S military setting itself to DEFCON 2
Kennedy and Dobrynin secretly met to make a compromise that removed missiles from France and Turkey and not invade Cuba in exchange for the Soviet withdrawal from Cuba