The Cuban Revolution
OVERVIEW
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953, and finally ousted Batista on January 1, 1959, replacing his regime with Castro's revolutionary government. This government later reformed along communist lines, becoming the present Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965.
EARLY STAGES: 1953-1956
The first phase of the Cuban Revolution began when Fidel Castro's armed rebels attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago and the barracks in Bayamo on July 26, 1953. The survivors, among them Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl Castro Ruz, were captured shortly afterwards. In a highly political trial, Fidel Castro spoke for nearly four hours in his defense, ending with the words: "Condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve me. " Fidel Castro was sentenced to 15 years in the Presidio Modelo prison, located on Isla de Pinos, while Raúl was sentenced to 13 years.
Thereafter, the Castro brothers joined with other exiles in Mexico to prepare a revolution to overthrow Batista, receiving training from Alberto Bayo, a leader of Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. In June of 1955, Fidel met and joined forces with the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The revolutionaries named themselves the "26th of July Movement", in reference to the date of their attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953.
DECEMBER 1956 TO MID-1958
The yacht Granma arrived in Cuba on December 2, 1956, carrying the Castro brothers and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement. It arrived two days later than planned because the boat was heavily loaded, unlike during the practice sailing runs. This dashed any hopes for a coordinated attack with the llano wing of the movement. After arriving and exiting the ship, the band of rebels began to make their way into the Sierra Maestra mountains, a range in southeastern Cuba.
During this time, Castro's forces remained quite small in numbers, sometimes fewer than 200 men, while the Cuban army and police force numbered between 30,000 and 40,000 in strength. Yet, nearly every time the Cuban military fought against the revolutionaries, the army was forced to retreat. An arms embargo–imposed on the Cuban government by the United States on 14 March 14, 1958–contributed significantly to the weakness of Batista's forces. The Cuban air force rapidly deteriorated: it could not repair its airplanes without importing parts from the United States.
MID-1958 TO JANUARY 1959
On August 21, 1958, after the defeat of Batista's ofensiva, Castro's forces began their own offensive. In the "Oriente" province (in the area of the present-day provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Guantánamo, and Holguín), Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, and Juan Almeida Bosque directed attacks on four fronts . Descending from the mountains with new weapons captured during the ofensiva and smuggled in by plane, Castro's forces won a series of initial victories. Castro's major victory at Guisa, and the successful capture of several towns including Maffo, Contramaestre, and Central Oriente, brought the Cauto plains under his control.
On January 2, the military commander in the city, Colonel Rubido, ordered his soldiers not to fight, and Castro's forces took over the city. The forces of Guevara and Cienfuegos entered Havana at about the same time. They had met no opposition on their journey from Santa Clara to Cuba's capital. Castro himself arrived in Havana on January 8 after a long victory march. His initial choice of president, Manuel Urrutia Lleó, took office on January 3.
AFTERMATH
In 1959, Castro traveled to the United States to explain his revolution. He said, "I know what the world thinks of us, we are Communists, and of course I have said very clearly that we are not Communists; very clearly. " Hundreds of suspected Batista-era agents, policemen, and soldiers were put on public trial for human rights abuses and war crimes, including murder and torture. Most of those convicted in revolutionary tribunals of political crimes were executed by firing squad, and the rest received long prison sentences.
One of the most notorious examples of revolutionary justice was the execution of over 70 captured Batista regime soldiers, directed by Raúl Castro after the capture of Santiago. For his part in Havana, Che Guevara was appointed Supreme Prosecutor in La Cabaña Fortress. This was part of a large-scale attempt by Fidel Castro to cleanse the security forces of Batista loyalists and potential opponents of the new revolutionary regime. Others were fortunate enough to be dismissed from the army and police without prosecution, and some high-ranking officials in the ancien régime were exiled as military attachés.
Source: Boundless. “The Cuban Revolution.” Boundless U.S. History. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 31 Jan. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/politics-and-culture-of-abundance-1943-1960-28/policy-of-containment-217/the-cuban-revolution-1211-8654/
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953, and finally ousted Batista on January 1, 1959, replacing his regime with Castro's revolutionary government. This government later reformed along communist lines, becoming the present Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965.
EARLY STAGES: 1953-1956
The first phase of the Cuban Revolution began when Fidel Castro's armed rebels attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago and the barracks in Bayamo on July 26, 1953. The survivors, among them Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl Castro Ruz, were captured shortly afterwards. In a highly political trial, Fidel Castro spoke for nearly four hours in his defense, ending with the words: "Condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve me. " Fidel Castro was sentenced to 15 years in the Presidio Modelo prison, located on Isla de Pinos, while Raúl was sentenced to 13 years.
Thereafter, the Castro brothers joined with other exiles in Mexico to prepare a revolution to overthrow Batista, receiving training from Alberto Bayo, a leader of Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. In June of 1955, Fidel met and joined forces with the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The revolutionaries named themselves the "26th of July Movement", in reference to the date of their attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953.
DECEMBER 1956 TO MID-1958
The yacht Granma arrived in Cuba on December 2, 1956, carrying the Castro brothers and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement. It arrived two days later than planned because the boat was heavily loaded, unlike during the practice sailing runs. This dashed any hopes for a coordinated attack with the llano wing of the movement. After arriving and exiting the ship, the band of rebels began to make their way into the Sierra Maestra mountains, a range in southeastern Cuba.
During this time, Castro's forces remained quite small in numbers, sometimes fewer than 200 men, while the Cuban army and police force numbered between 30,000 and 40,000 in strength. Yet, nearly every time the Cuban military fought against the revolutionaries, the army was forced to retreat. An arms embargo–imposed on the Cuban government by the United States on 14 March 14, 1958–contributed significantly to the weakness of Batista's forces. The Cuban air force rapidly deteriorated: it could not repair its airplanes without importing parts from the United States.
MID-1958 TO JANUARY 1959
On August 21, 1958, after the defeat of Batista's ofensiva, Castro's forces began their own offensive. In the "Oriente" province (in the area of the present-day provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Guantánamo, and Holguín), Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, and Juan Almeida Bosque directed attacks on four fronts . Descending from the mountains with new weapons captured during the ofensiva and smuggled in by plane, Castro's forces won a series of initial victories. Castro's major victory at Guisa, and the successful capture of several towns including Maffo, Contramaestre, and Central Oriente, brought the Cauto plains under his control.
On January 2, the military commander in the city, Colonel Rubido, ordered his soldiers not to fight, and Castro's forces took over the city. The forces of Guevara and Cienfuegos entered Havana at about the same time. They had met no opposition on their journey from Santa Clara to Cuba's capital. Castro himself arrived in Havana on January 8 after a long victory march. His initial choice of president, Manuel Urrutia Lleó, took office on January 3.
AFTERMATH
In 1959, Castro traveled to the United States to explain his revolution. He said, "I know what the world thinks of us, we are Communists, and of course I have said very clearly that we are not Communists; very clearly. " Hundreds of suspected Batista-era agents, policemen, and soldiers were put on public trial for human rights abuses and war crimes, including murder and torture. Most of those convicted in revolutionary tribunals of political crimes were executed by firing squad, and the rest received long prison sentences.
One of the most notorious examples of revolutionary justice was the execution of over 70 captured Batista regime soldiers, directed by Raúl Castro after the capture of Santiago. For his part in Havana, Che Guevara was appointed Supreme Prosecutor in La Cabaña Fortress. This was part of a large-scale attempt by Fidel Castro to cleanse the security forces of Batista loyalists and potential opponents of the new revolutionary regime. Others were fortunate enough to be dismissed from the army and police without prosecution, and some high-ranking officials in the ancien régime were exiled as military attachés.
Source: Boundless. “The Cuban Revolution.” Boundless U.S. History. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 31 Jan. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/politics-and-culture-of-abundance-1943-1960-28/policy-of-containment-217/the-cuban-revolution-1211-8654/