THE GRANMA EXPEDITION:

The landing of the 82 men of the Granma yacht expedition on the southern coast of the then Cuban province of Oriente, on December 2, 1956, marks the inception of the Rebel Army, which played a decisive leading role in the national liberation war that led to the revolutionary victory of January 1, 1959.  That is why the Revolutionary Armed Forces Day is celebrated every year on that date. 

In the fifties, the economic, political and social situation of the country was increasingly unbearable.  In 1952, Fulgencio Batista, seeing the possibility of a popular triumph in that year’s election, staged a coup d’etat  and established a murderous dictatorship fully supported by the United States government.  This aggravated the hardships suffered by the people. 

Fidel Castro Ruz, at the head of the so-called Centennial Generation, paying homage to José Martí’s 100^th birthday, trained and organized a numerous group of youths who attacked the Moncada Army Garrison, in the city of Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953.  This action failed due to various fortuitous tactical factors, but it pointed the true way for the revolution and drew up a national liberation program. 

After several months of imprisonment, Fidel and his comrades who survived the Moncada exploit were liberated as the result of an amnesty decreed by the Batista regime due to the people’s pressure.  They went into exile in Mexico and along with other revolutionists who joined them in that country made preparations which allowed them to disembark from the Granma yacht on the Las Colaradas beach on December 2, 1956 to reinitiate the armed struggle. 

An initial setback reduced the incipient Rebel Army to a small group of men with only 7 rifles.  But soon new revolutionary combatants joined their ranks, mainly workers and peasants.  The close links with the people and the will to fight shown in their constant spirit of offensiveness made it possible to organize new fronts and extend the war to other territories until, after only two years, Batista’s forces were defeated. 

Five years, five months and five days after the attack on the Moncada Garrison took place, on January 1, 1959, the Cuban Revolution triumphed.

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