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Perhaps the most well-known close call occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Amid heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, Soviet forces considered launching a nuclear torpedo in response to American naval movements. This brinkmanship highlighted how even cautious decisions could have spiraled into nuclear war, had miscommunications or miscalculations occurred.
The Soviet Consideration of Nuclear Weapons against China
Further amplifying the danger, the Soviets contemplated using nuclear weapons against China during conflicts in the late 1960s. These deliberations reflect the volatile nature of Cold War geopolitics, where the use of such devastating weapons was ever a real possibility.