Friday-Saturday, October 27-28, 1961: Standoff in Berlin

For 16 tense hours, tanks from the United States and the Soviet Union face off on either side of the Berlin Wall, at the Friedrichstrasse crossing point (also known as Checkpoint Charlie). Tensions had escalated over the past several days over the issue of Allied access to the Soviet sector. In the end, neither side was willing to take the next military step, though all the tanks were fully armed. After back-channel negotiations, Soviet tanks pulled back first, followed by the Americans.

* Summary from U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center: @

* Summary from Frederick Kempe, author of "Berlin 1961": @

* Summary from The Atlantic Times (monthly newspaper in Germany): @

* Summary and CNN video (from www.liveleak.com): @

* Footage from www.britishpathe.com: @

* "Berlin crisis: The standoff at Checkpoint Charlie" (from The Guardian newspaper; click on photo with story for explanation): @

* Checkpoint Charlie (from berlin.de): @

* "Kennedy and the Berlin Wall" (book by W.R. Smyser): @

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