The evolution of armed conflicts has increased casualty lists while also making ordinary people less willing to take up arms. This especially proved the case during the Cold War, where the overriding aim of most countries was to prevent World War III. In several instances, 11th-hour diplomatic interventions averted major conflicts and saved countless lives.1. Berlin Crisis of 1961American and Soviet tanks face each other at Checkpoint Charlie, 1961. Source: War on the RocksDuring the Cold War, one of the Soviet Unions main objectives was to unify Berlin under Communist control. Both Soviet and East German officials resented that many people in East Berlin wanted to flee to the Western side. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev issued an ultimatum to the West: withdraw military forces from Berlin and make it a demilitarized city. After a period of time, Berlin would be reunited and West Germany would only be allowed access to the city if the East German government consented.This ultimatum angered Western governments and it was rejected. After John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, Khrushchev agreed to meet with him for discussions on a range of matters, including Berlin. During their meeting in Vienna, both leaders agreed to back down to avoid a clash. However, the East German government still aimed to stop the flow of people going to West Berlin. GDR President Walter Ulbricht convinced the Soviets to build a wall and cut off Western access to Berlin entirely. In June 1961, Khrushchev threatened to withdraw from the four-power treaty governing control of Berlin.The Kennedy administration did not want to seem weak in the eyes of the Communists and ordered a call-up of reservists. They prepared to redeploy military units to protect West Berlin. Mercifully, the Communists backed down when they saw the American response and lifted their blockade. While the wall still went up, the threat of conflict over Berlin passed for the time being.2. Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962An American SP-2H Neptune flying over a Soviet cargo ship bound for Cuba (1962). Source: The BulletinRight after the Berlin crisis passed, a new threat of war between the US and the USSR flared up. After Cubas successful communist revolution in 1959, the new government in Havana initially considered staying out of the Cold War entirely.However, after the Americans failed to overthrow Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, Castro sought closer cooperation with the Soviet government. Khrushchev saw a chance to humiliate the United States and he ordered Soviet forces to begin stationing equipment in Cuba. He then ordered the shipment of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to the island.American intelligence picked up signals of a Soviet buildup and U-2 spy planes began flying over Cuba to see what the Communists were up to. By late August in 1962, the administration had proof that the Soviets were building emplacements for SS-4 and SS-5 nuclear missiles. These weapons could strike deep into the United States, including Washington DC.Kennedy reacted by forming ExComm, or the Executive Committee, to bring together a group of political and military officials to give advice on how to respond. These included a direct attack, a blockade, or negotiations. Kennedy decided on a hybrid approach, ordering the US Navy to blockade Cuba while seeking to talk to Khrushchev.President Kennedy during a meeting with ExComm, 1962. Source: JFK LibraryOn October 22, Kennedy wrote to Khrushchev saying he would not allow offensive weapons to be based in Cuba. This kicked off a round of direct diplomacy between Kennedy and Khrushchev. Over the next several days, multiple Soviet ships were stopped by American naval vessels.The chance of conflict was very high, until ABC reporter John Scali revealed that the Soviets were offering to remove the missiles if America backed away from an invasion of Cuba. Khrushchev sent Kennedy a note urging him to back down. He subsequently asked that America remove its Jupiter missiles from Turkey.Kennedy seemed interested as the Jupiter missiles were going to be removed anyway, but the shootdown of an American U-2 threatened to derail negotiations. However, an agreement was reached following a private meeting between Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. The Soviets would remove their missiles and bombers and the Americans would pull their missiles out of Turkey at a later date. By October 28, the crisis was averted. It remains the closest the world has come to a nuclear war.3. Sino-Soviet Border Crisis in 1969Soviet and Chinese troops confront each other on Damansky Island, 1969. Source: Russia Beyond the HeadlinesThe Communist world had long been riven with internal divisions during the Cold War. Chinese officials, including Chairman Mao Zedong, were outraged by Nikita Khrushchevs denunciation of Stalins crimes and excesses. As a result, the Soviets and Chinese began to publicly feud over a variety of issues, such as how to assist North Vietnam. When the Soviets claimed that other Warsaw Pact member states only had limited sovereignty, the Chinese saw a chance to become the leader of the Communist world.Mao began ordering Chinese forces to the disputed border region in eastern Siberia. He hoped to increase his legitimacy at home and abroad by stoking a conflict with the Soviets. On March 2, 1969, Chinese troops ambushed a Soviet patrol on the disputed Bolshoi Damansky Island (Zhenbao Island in Chinese).Over the next several weeks, both armies fired light weapons and artillery at each other, inflicting hundreds of casualties. The situation threatened to get out of control because Chinese officials felt emboldened to keep attacking and feared a Soviet attack in Xinjiang. Moscow considered using nuclear weapons on Beijing if the fighting got worse.The death of North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh offered a chance to defuse tensions. When Hos funeral was held in Hanoi in September 1969, Soviet Premier Alexey Kosygin met with Zhou Enlai, the Chinese premier, to come to an agreement. Both nations agreed to back down, but the border dispute was not resolved until after the Soviet Union collapsed. The United States leveraged the Sino-Soviet split to seek formal diplomatic reopening with China in 1972.4. Able Archer Exercises in 1983An American tank during Able Archer 83, 1983. Source: Livescience.comThroughout the Cold War, both NATO and Warsaw Pact forces staged exercises to prepare for the possibility of a full-scale war. In 1983, NATO held an exercise called Able Archer in West Germany designed to prepare for the worst-case scenario. In this exercise, a coup led to a Soviet invasion of several European countries. The exercise ended with Western policymakers deploying nuclear weapons to stop the Soviet advance. It was one of six separate exercises in Autumn Forge, a NATO drill designed to prepare for several different threats.As NATO commanders went through the motions of the exercise, the Soviets observed from a distance. However, they struggled to identify whether or not NATO was conducting a simulation or actually preparing for a conflict. In 1981, Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov ordered the KGB to assess whether or not America would attack the USSR with nukes. The Americans believed that the Soviets would discount military exercises and chose to continue them. Tensions continued to rise with Ronald Reagans military buildup in Europe and the shootdown of Korean Airlines Flight 007.During Able Archer, Soviet observers claimed that the Americans were preparing to deploy medium-range nuclear-armed ballistic missiles in West Germany. They also believed that America was raising its threat level to DefCon 1. The Soviets began putting their nuclear forces on alert. However, Lieutenant General Leonard Perroots, a senior US Army officer in Europe, urged NATO to end the exercise to defuse tensions. The Soviets subsequently backed down, leading to the opening of talks between Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.5. Pristina Incident in 1999British Army General Mike Jackson meets with Russian General Viktor Zavardin during the Kosovo War, 1999. Source: Balkan InsightThe end of the Cold War did not completely end the tensions between the United States and Russia. When Yugoslavia began to collapse, Russia vowed to defend the Serbian state as it battled separatist movements in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. On June 11, 1999, the war in Kosovo ended after a sustained air campaign by NATO forces against the Serbian regime.Part of the Kumanovo Accords that ended the conflict involved the creation of peacekeeping zones, predominantly by NATO forces, in different areas of Kosovo. The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, NATOs expeditionary force, began deploying units to the country under the command of British General Mike Jackson.At the same time, Russian Colonel General Yuri Baluyevsky ordered the secret deployment of Russian forces to Kosovo. Moscow already had forces stationed in Bosnia to monitor the Dayton Accords. Some of these forces were ordered to Pristina International Airport before the arrival of NATO forces. By June 12, NATO special forces units arrived at the airport to find Russian paratroopers already there. Both sides reinforced their troops and General Jackson went to the airport to meet with Russian General Viktor Zavarzin.When NATO learned that Russia planned to fly in reinforcements to the airport, Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark ordered Jackson to block the runway with armored vehicles. However, Jackson refused, fearing a shootout with Russian units. The crisis was resolved when neighboring countries refused Russia access to their airspace, leading to Moscow backing down. Peacekeeping proceeded smoothly and Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, though this has not been recognised by Serbia or Russia.6. India-Pakistan Crisis in 2019Indian soldiers stand next to the wreckage of an Indian attack helicopter, 2019. Source: ABC NewsFollowing repeated wars over the disputed Kashmir region after the 1947 partition, both India and Pakistan built up massive military arsenals including nuclear weapons. The Line of Control (LOC) came into existence in 1972 as a dividing line between Indian and Pakistani controlled areas of Kashmir. Despite both countries gaining nuclear capabilities, neither country has backed down from their demands regarding Kashmir and several skirmishes continue to this day. In 2019, a series of clashes threatened to escalate to a major war after a terror attack against Indian policemen by Pakistani-backed militants.Indias Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was elected on a promise to gain total Indian control over Kashmir and crack down on Pakistani-backed terror networks. After the attack on the policemen in Kashmir, Indian Air Force jets struck a series of compounds in Balakot, Pakistan, where Kashmiri militants were based. Subsequently, both armies began firing small arms and artillery at each other over the LOC, causing military and civilian casualties. Pakistani planes raided Indian airspace and the fighting escalated quickly.Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down by a Pakistani air defense system, leading to his capture. At this point, both sides decided to lower tensions. India stopped its air and artillery strikes while Pakistan returned Varthaman to India. Thanks to an agreement between Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a ceasefire was put in place and Pakistan arrested several militants at Indias request. Both countries managed to avoid the worst case scenario, though tensions remained high and another significant skirmish took place in May 2025.