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Moncada barracks shortly after the attack

The Moncada Barracks, near Santiago de Cuba, was the site of an armed attack by a small group of rebels led by Fidel Castro that sparked the Cuban Revolution. These barracks are named after the "Ebony Giant" Guillermon Moncada, a War of Independence Hero (see his image at [1]). The date on which the attack took place, July 26, was adopted by Castro as the name for his revolutionary 26th of July Movement (Movimiento 26 Julio or M 26-7) that would, in 1959, take power in Cuba. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... site of an attack by guerillas that sparked the Cuban Revolution Source: http://shakti. ... site of an attack by guerillas that sparked the Cuban Revolution Source: http://shakti. ... , Santiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in eastern Cuba. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (pron. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... // Pre-Columbian Cuba The archeological record and evidence from mitochondrial DNA studies indicate that Cuba and the Antilles have been inhabited by peoples ancestral to the indigenous inhabitants for at least several thousand years. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... Flag of the 26th of July Movement The 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio) was the revolutionary organization led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Attack on Moncada Barracks

On July 26, 1953, at 5:00AM, Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl led 160 poorly-armed and perhaps overeager insurgents in an attack on dictator Fulgencio Batista's second largest fortress in Cuba, headquarters of the 1,000 (others say about 400 strong Antonio Maceo regiment. July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (pron. ... Raúl Castro waving the Cuban flag. ... Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar General Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was the de facto military leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1940 and the de jure President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944. ... This biographical article needs to be wikified. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ...

The night before the attack, 25 July, was host to a festival in Santiago de Cuba and the rebel group believed the soldiers would be hungover. Also, the rebels had stolen army uniforms to wear these during the attack. The group formed an automobile caravan in order to give the appearance of being a delegation headed by a high-ranking officer sent from western Cuba. Their plan was to take the barracks, including the radio transmitter within it, and use it as a centre from which to broadcast propaganda to the Cuban people, with the ultimate hope of bringing down the Batista government. July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ... , Santiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in eastern Cuba. ... A hangover is the sum of unpleasant physical effects following heavy consumption of alcohol or the use of other drugs. ... It has been suggested that Propaganda in the United States be merged into this article or section. ... Batista may refer to: Fulgencio Batista - Cuban dictator Miguel Batista - Dominican baseball player Norkys Batista - Venezuelan actress Dave Batista - professional wrestler This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ...

However, the attack began poorly. The caravan of automobiles became separated by the time it arrived at the barracks, and the car carrying the guerillas' heavy weapons got lost. Further, many of the rebels who would have taken part in the attack were left behind for a lack of weapons. The net result of these events was the rebels being outnumbered more than 10 to 1. The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ...

When it was finally carried out, the attack on the Moncada Barracks was a total disaster. Sixty-one rebels were killed in the fighting, and one third of them were captured. Half of the men captured were tortured to death. A handful of rebels, including Fidel Castro, escaped into the nearby countryside but were apprehended shortly thereafter. Torture is any act by which severe pain, whether physical or psychological, is intentionally inflicted on a person as a means of intimidation, a deterrent, revenge, a punishment, or as a method for the extraction of information or confessions (i. ...

The barracks still bears the bulletholes inflicted during the attack.

On July 26, 1953, at 5:00AM, Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl led 160 poorly-armed and perhaps overeager insurgents in an attack on dictator Fulgencio Batista's second largest fortress in Cuba, headquarters of the 1,000 (others say about 400 ) strong Antonio Maceo regiment. July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (pron. ... Raúl Castro waving the Cuban flag. ... Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar General Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was the de facto military leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1940 and the de jure President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944. ... This biographical article needs to be wikified. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ...

The night before the attack, 25 July, was host to a festival in Santiago de Cuba and the rebel group believed the soldiers would be hungover. Also, the rebels had stolen army uniforms to wear these during the attack. The group formed an automobile caravan in order to give the appearance of being a delegation headed by a high-ranking officer sent from western Cuba. Their plan was to take the barracks, including the radio transmitter within it, and use it as a centre from which to broadcast propaganda to the Cuban people, with the ultimate hope of bringing down the Batista government. July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ... , Santiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in eastern Cuba. ... A hangover is the sum of unpleasant physical effects following heavy consumption of alcohol or the use of other drugs. ... It has been suggested that Propaganda in the United States be merged into this article or section. ... Batista may refer to: Fulgencio Batista - Cuban dictator Miguel Batista - Dominican baseball player Norkys Batista - Venezuelan actress Dave Batista - professional wrestler This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ...

However, the attack began poorly. The caravan of automobiles became separated by the time it arrived at the barracks, and the car carrying the guerillas' heavy weapons got lost. Further, many of the rebels who would have taken part in the attack were left behind for a lack of weapons. The net result of these events was the rebels being outnumbered more than 10 to 1 (others accounts differ). The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ...

When it was finally carried out, the attack on the Moncada Barracks was a total disaster. Sixty-one rebels were killed in the fighting, and one third of them were captured. Half of the men captured were tortured to death. A handful of rebels, including Fidel Castro, escaped into the nearby countryside but were apprehended shortly thereafter. Torture is any act by which severe pain, whether physical or psychological, is intentionally inflicted on a person as a means of intimidation, a deterrent, revenge, a punishment, or as a method for the extraction of information or confessions (i. ...

The barracks still bears the bulletholes inflicted during the attack.

Aftermath of the Attack

Castro, a lawyer, defended himself at his trial. His defence speech, "History Will Absolve Me," was written down by a court reporter. It became the platform of the 26th of July Movement, detailing plans for reform in Cuba, and was later frequently used in Castro's speeches. Castro was sentenced to death; however, at the urging of Roman Catholic priests, Batista abolished the death penalty just before Castro's execution, and he was sentenced instead to fifteen years in prison on the Isle of Pines (Now known as the Isle of Youth). A lawyer is a person qualified to give legal advice who advises clients in legal matters and represents them in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution. ... A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... Flag of the 26th of July Movement The 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio) was the revolutionary organization led by Fidel Castro that in 1959 overthrew the Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The name Isle of Pines can refer to more than one thing: The former name for the Isle of Youth, Cuba The Isle of Pines, an island off New Caledonia The Isle of Pines (1668) is a book by Henry Neville. ... The Isla de la Juventud (English: Isle of Youth) is the largest island of Cuba after Cuba proper. ...

Two years later, in 1955, a group of prisoners' mothers launched a campaign to free Castro and the other rebels imprisoned with him. A group of political leaders, editors, and intellectuals signed a public appeal demanding "liberty for the political prisoners". That year, the Cuban Congress passed a bill granting general amnesty to political prisoners. After being signed by Batista, the imprisoned rebels were freed. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up mother in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, speculate on, or ask and answer questions with regard to a variety of different ideas. ... A political prisoner may be someone held in prison or otherwise detained, perhaps under house arrest, because their ideas or image are deemed by a government to either challenge or threaten the authority of the state. ... Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion) is an act of justice by which the supreme power in a state restores those who may have been guilty of any offence against it to the position of innocent persons. ...

References

• Leo Huberman Paul M. Sweezy. Cuba: Anatomy of a Revolution.

External link

• "History Will Absolve Me" (English translation on marxists.org)