Operation Ortsac was the code name for a possible invasion of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

planned by the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in 1962. The name was derived from then

Cuban President The president of Cuba ( es, Presidente de Cuba), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba ( es, Presidente de la República de Cuba), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution of ...

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

by spelling his surname backwards. During the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, upon discovery of SS-4 missiles being assembled in Cuba, the U.S. Government considered several options including a blockade (an act of war under international law, so it was called a "quarantine"), an airstrike, or a military strike against the Cuban missile positions. The nuclear weapons supplied from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

could be destroyed by a military strike with the help of substantial air raids before they were operational. The plans were rejected in favor of a blockade, as U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was against a sneak attack. It can be argued that an American attack could have resulted in the deaths of Soviet soldiers and lead to a retaliatory strike on the United States. Such moves would likely have resulted in

World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...

. An airstrike would probably have failed to destroy in entirety all of the missiles, with many of the positions hidden to U-2 reconnaissance planes, and would also have failed to prevent Soviet Premier

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

from sending further reinforcements to Cuba, making a full blown military strike deposing Castro necessary to prevent further missiles from being placed on Cuba. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians revealed that the medium-range missiles on Cuba were already almost fully operational at that time, and operational command of smaller, battlefield-tactical nuclear missiles also present had, incredibly, been given to field officers, though that authorization was quickly rescinded.

Order of battle

Cuban Invasion Force (Corps) *

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

(Secure

Jose Martí Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

and

San Antonio de los Baños Airfield San Antonio de los Baños Airfield is a military air base located near San Antonio de los Baños, a municipality in the province of Havana (La Habana) in Cuba. It is located approximately southwest of the city of San Antonio de los Baños, abou ...

s) *

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

(Secure Mariel and Baracoa Airfields) * 1st Marine Division (Secure beaches at

Tarará Tarará is a gated resort town in the municipality of Habana del Este in the city of Havana, Cuba. It is about 19 km east of the city centre and west of other beaches including Santa Maria del Mar and Guanabo. Geography This resort commun ...

) *

2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina ...

(Secure beaches at Tarará)

Order of battle

See also