Evaluate_the_Success_of_Castro_in_Bringing_About_a_Revolution_in_Cuba.

Castro began to have ideas of how to have a revolution when he first joined a group that opposed the idea of dictatorship and this is when he figured out how to successfully fight the Cuban army through the use of Guerrilla warfare. Castro’s success began with the Assault on the Moncada Barracks, the court case and speech and finally the Maestra Mountains. Through these series of events Castro manages to win the peoples heart’s and they help him bring about the revolution in Cuba but the question is what part of these events actually helped bring around the revolution. Castro decided to attack Moncada when he became convinced that nothing was going to happen to cause a rebellion against Batista’s dictatorship and he had to be the one to start it to bring dictatorship down and allow for people to have equal rights. Castro went by a rule that his army was to be made of lower classes because if you can’t count on them then nothing makes sense. To attack the Moncada barracks Castro needed an army but because of a lack of political culture this ment that Castro had to convince men that the lack of employment, the abuse and injustice that the people faced was no the fault of individual politicians but of the system that Cuban’s were living under. In just a few months Castro through his using of convincing speeches and the way he talked to men who were unsure of the political system Castro managed to recruit up to 1200 men and it wsa a specific number as the less amount of people discipline was essential and wasn’t as much as it would be for a big army. The day before the assault Castro’s army of 1200 gathered at Siboney Farm which had been rented 3 months before the attack as it provided Mango trees which had good cover, it had a well which Castro hid guns in so that if there was a search of the houses no weapons would be found and it was also Castro’s headquarters and safe house and was disguised as a chicken farm to disguise the movement happening on the farm grounds. On the night of the attack Castro had his soldiers all wear the uniforms of Batista’s army and be the rank of sergeant so that they would not be questioned when infiltrating the base but with his careful thing Castro knew that his men had to have a way to distinguish friend from foe and so Castro used different shoes from Batista’s army. When the assault happened there was a unexpected patrol that saw the guards at the guard post be killed and shots were fired destroying all hope of the mission being finished as Castro was relining on stealth and surprise derailing the mission and forcing a retreat back to Sibony making the whole mission a failure and getting Castro arrested. Castro was arrested when retreating into the mountains with his brother Raul where the Cuban army was waiting and subsequently captured them but because of this daring attack and the arrest Castro was catapulted into the forefront of the anti-Batista forces and convinced many Cuban’s that only an armed struggle could bring Batista down. While in jail Castro wrote “History Will Absolve Me” which was the most historical speech ever read and went for 6 hours. This speech was read before his sentencing and in it Castro associated his movement with the ideals of Marti and Chibas and called for reforms of the Cuban political system, an end to the economic dependency upon the USA and social justice for all Cubans. This speech saved Castro and instead of serving the 11 year sentence he was given he only served 11 months however Batista exiled Castro to Mexico however while here Castro planned to return to Cuba with a new strategy . When Castro returned to Cuba he came with 80 men however the government alert to his plan reduced this number to 8 who escaped to the nearby mountains which successfully isolated Castro in the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The area that Castro was isolated to was the region home to around 50,000 peasants living in various degrees of poverty and misery. These peasants worked as low-paid labourers for low-production farmers or squatted on land that belonged to distant landowners and who faced constant eviction notices. Castro had an army as these angry and desperate peasants became the earliest recruits for the rebel and they began their war against Batista. In 1958 Batista launched a military offensive against Castro but failed to Castro’s advancing guerrilla army who were quickly taking towns and villages and caused Batista’s army to fall into disarray causing Batista to depart from the Dominican Republic and the Cuban army ordered a cease-fire and surrendered. Castro when he started to use guerrilla warfare was aiming more for psychological warfare that was being caused by the surprise attacks as no one knows if they were the next to be attacked by Castro’s forces. Due to this type of warfare Castro managed to develop it so that they killed the vanguard first which would then make entire enemy columns to withdraw and then they would attack their flank while the enemy retreated causing them to become demoralized. When Castro started his war he wanted the people of Cuba to help him as he knew that he wouldn’t succeed if they did not support what he was doing and could have ended his rebellion. Castro was successful in removing Batista and over time gained power himself which was his lifetime goal. Castro was successful in his rebellion thanks to some reasons such as his ability of organising guerrilla warfare, his ability of psychological warfare and also there support of the Cuban people. If Castro had no support his rebellion would not have been successful. Castro was also able to create such warfare thanks to his learning at school as well as the books he read that gave him points on how to create a rebellion.