Cuban Revolution

     The Cuban Revolution was a civil war that lasted 3 years and battles were fought in mountains and small towns. Many naive Cubans were subdued by Fidel’s promises of freedom and unity for all of Cuba so they joined his revolutionary cause. Nothing was more enticing to the natives then a free democratic society. Little did they know that they would get the exact opposite from Fidel, who would eventually set up a Marxist regime. Fidel fought this war against the “government army”(1) that was controlled by Fulgencio Batista. The whole revolution ended up with Cuba was decolonized into a strict ruling with little to no democratic freedoms.

     The revolution included guerrilla warfare in violent battles throughout the struggle. It all started with an underground movement against the Batista regime and violence was soon initiated (2). The rebels even led an armed attack on the Presidential Palace.

On May 24, 1958, Operación Verano was launched which consisted of seventeen battalions, planes, tanks and ships, they had planned to enter the Sierra Maestra and attempt to force a showdown with many of Castro's rebels.  Though greatly outnumbered, the rebels repeatedly inflicted heavy casualties on the army and drove them back, this was a huge win for Castro and their advancement in the fight for what many thought would have resulted in freedom.

Overall the revolution separated Cuba from Batista who was essentially a “puppet” of the United States, so this was helpful to separate Cuba from the foreign powers that had previously been controlling.

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(1) Phillips, Charles, and Alan Axelrod. "Cuban Revolution." Encyclopedia of Wars, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/ (accessed May 26, 2013)

(2) Leonard, M. Thomas "Cuban Revolution." Encyclopedia of Latin America: The Age of Globalization, vol. 4. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com (accessed May 28, 2013)