After
the dictatorship’s 1956 summer offensive was defeated, the commander-in-chief
of the Rebel Army, Fidel Castro Ruz, convinced of the need to extend the war
beyond the eastern region and, as in the invasion of the West in 1895, reach the
other end of the island, considered that it was the right
time to do it. The
increasing success achieved by the revolutionary forces offered a unique
opportunity for creating the columns that would undertake the rebel invasion.
On
August 22, 1958, sixty men under
the command of Major Camilo Cienfuegos left El Salto, Sierra Maestra, in the
eastern part of Cuba, with the mission of reaching the province of Pinar del Río.
To honor the patriot who performed that same feat in the 19th
Century, Column No. 2 was given the name Antonio Maceo.
Nine days later, on the 31st, Column No. 8 Ciro Redondo, named
after a brave rebel soldier killed in combat and commanded by Ernesto Che
Guevara, set out from Las Mercedes, also in the Sierra Maestra, “with the
strategic objective –according to the Commander in Chief- of unceasingly
clashing with the enemy and intercepting the land movements of enemy troops from
West to East until totally paralyzing them.
The
progress of both columns was made crossing over flooded rivers, marshy regions
of sparse population, harassed by enemy troops which outnumbered them in men and
equipment, including aviation. The
trek through Camagüey proved to be particularly difficult, since this province
consists largely of flatlands and was crisscrossed by many roads.
Foiling encirclements and ambushes, fighting whenever necessary, avoiding
losses in men and ammunitions, both columns managed to reach the territory of
the Las Villas province, Camilo on October 7 and Che’s forces five days later.
Taking
into account the complex situation that existed in Las Villa, the Commander-in-Chief
ordered Column No. 2 to also remain in that province operating in the northern
area. The actions undertaken by
these forces were decisive for the revolutionary victory attained on January 1,
1959.
Referring
to this feat, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro said, “Che was an artist of
guerrilla warfare. And he
demonstrated it countless times, but he demonstrated it especially in two
extraordinary exploits. One of them,
the invasion at the head of a column that was pursued by thousands of soldiers,
through a territory that was absolutely flat and unknown to them, thus
performing –along with Camilo- a formidable military feat.
But, moreover, he demonstrated it by his fulminating campaign in Las
Villas, and he demonstrated it, above all, by his daring attack against
Santa Clara, entering this
city, defended by tanks, artillery and thousands of infantry soldiers, with a
column of scarcely 300 men”.
|
Foundations of national defense | Military Doctrine | Revolutionary Armed Forces | Civil Defense | Military Industry | Preparedness for Defense | FAQs about Defense in Cuba |
Home |