Bibliography

Johnson, HB. "The Bay of Pigs." http://www.answers.com/topic/bay-of-pigs-invasion. http://www.answers.com/, n.d. Web. 28 May 2010.

Meyer, K. E. "The Cuban Invasion." http://www.answers.com/topic/bay-of-pigs-invasion. http://www.answers.com/, n.d. Web 28 May 2010.

"The Bay of Pigs."
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/JFK+and+the+bay+of+pigs.htm
http://www.jfklibrary.org/, 24 May 2010.

"Bay of Pigs Invasion." 2010. The History Channel website "
http://www.history.com/topics/bay-of-pigs-invasion. The History Channel website,
30, May 2010. Web. 28 may 2010

US Reaction Continued

Maxwell Taylor Survey: Maxwell D. Taylor, Robert F. Kennedy, Arleigh Burke, and Allen Dulles were asked by JFK to explain why the invasion went so wrong, and the lessons the US could learn from it.

The report stated that the defeat was the result of lack of early realization of the impossibility of success by covert means, inadequate aircraft, limitations of armaments, pilots and air attacks to attempt plausible deniability, and loss of important ships and ammunition.

November 1961, CIA inspector general Lyman B. Kirkpatrick wrote a report titled 'Survey of the Cuban Operation' that remained top secret until its eventual release in 1996.

The conclusions Kirkpatrick came to were:

1. The CIA exceeded its capabilities in developing the project from guerilla support to overt armed action without any plausible deniability.

2. Failure to realistically assess risks and to adequately communicate information and decisions internally and with other government principals.

3. Insufficient involvement of leaders of the exiles.

4. Failure to sufficiently organize internal resistance in Cuba.

5. Failure to competently collect and analyze intelligence about Cuban forces.

6. Poor internal management of communications and staff.

7. Insufficient employment of high-quality staff.

8. Insufficient Spanish-speakers, training facilities and material resources.

9. Lack of stable policies and contingency plans.

US Reaction

December 29 1962, John F. Kennedy attended a ceremony for Brigade 2506 veterans at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Consequences: 1. Embarassed the Kennedy Administration

2. Castro is prepared to face any future US intrusions in Cuba

3. Huge blow to Cuban Resistance forces previously determined to fight Castro

4. Gave momentum to Castro's Revolution and other Soviet attempts at establishment and expansion

In a note to JFK, Che Guevara wrote "thanks for Playa Giron. Before the invasion the revolution was weak. Now its stronger than ever."

Prisoners Continued

September 8, 1961 fourteen former Brigade 2506 members were convicted of violent crimes committed before the invasion. Nine of whom were imprisoned for thirty years, and five of which were executed.

March 29 1962, 1,179 were indicted on charges of treason. on April 7, 1962 all of them were convicted and sent to prison for 30 years.

April 14 1962, 60 wounded and sick Brigade members were freed and sent to the U.S.

December 21 1962, US lawyer James B. Donovan and Fidel Castro decided on an agreement that exchanged 1,113 prisoners for $53 million in food and medical supplies.

December 24 1962, prisoners are transported to Miami or on the ship African Pilot with 1,000 family members granted permission to leave Cuba.

Prisoners

On April 18, 1961 in the Pinar del Rio province, two Americans hired by the CIA, Angus K. McNair and Howard F. Anderson were executed along with seven Cubans.

April-October 1961 hundreds of Cubans are executed. The invasion provoked the Cuban government to imprison and execute any resistance to Fidel Castro and his Communist government.

Students, ex-Battista supporters and soldiers, and underground members of the Cuban Resistance were rounded up and killed.

1,204 Brigade 2506 members were captured in the aftermath of the invasion. In May, 1961 Castro announces he will exchange the remaining prisoners for 500 farming tractors. He later changed the ransom to $28 million.

Casulties

Originally reported:

Cuban Armed Forces - 176 killed

Brigade 2506 + American: 10 exiles and 4 American airmen along with an American paratrooper.

Projected Actual Total:

Cuban: thought to be about 4,000-5,000 killed in entire conflict by American writers. Cuban writers report about 2,200 dead.

Continued

April 19, Brigade 2506 forces begin to retreat back to the beaches, due to low ammunition and no air support to combat Cuban tanks, artillery and infantry.

Two U.S. destroyers (USS Eaton and USS Murray) were ordered to evacuate the remaining Brigade forces, but were forced to retreat because of Cuban tank fire.

April 20, visual intelligence missions are launched, and boats are dispatched to find and rescue the scattered survivors on islands, reefs and beaches. Only about 24-30 are rescued.

Continued

Various Brigade 2506 positions came under attack by Cuban infantry, who were later joined by Fidel Castro himself.

At 10:30 on April 18, Cuban troops, with armor support, took back a Brigade 2506 position at Playa Larga after Brigade troops had retreated.

Later that day, Cuban air forces attack a column of buses carrying the retreating men and supplies from Playa Larga to Punta Perdiz. The column was attacked with napalm and rockets and suffered heavy casualties.

April 19, Mad Dog Flight, the last air mission of the battle was made up of pilots from the Alabama Air Guard and CIA contract pilots. One out of five of the planes involved was shot down, and four Americans were killed.

Continued

On the night of April 16, 1961 CIA agents landed at Bahia Honda, Cuba to organize a mock landing using sounds and lure Castro away from the actual invasion site.

On April 17, The invasion force landed along with tanks, and other armor support at the Bay of Pigs, on the southern coast of Cuba.

There were a few militia stationed in the area, but they were quickly defeated. They did however, succeed in informing Castro of the actual site of the landing.

At about 6:30 that morning, Cuban aircraft arrived and began to attack the invasion boats. Only about 240 of the troops had landed so far. This part of the invasion was the first real setback because of the loss of the equipment of the troops in the process of landing.

Invasion Begins

April 16, 1961 Brigade 2506 sails from Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, after taking on arms and supplies at New Orleans.

The Navy term for the invasion fleet and operation were the Cuban Expeditionary Force and Operation Bumpy Road.

The troops were arranged into seven divisions and were transported by five 2,400 ton freighter ships purchased by the CIA.

The force was escorted by 2 submarines, an aircraft carrier, an assault carrier and 4 destroyers.

This U.S. escort was dropped after the fleet was within three miles of the Cuban territorial limit.

Cuban response to U.S. aggression

After the attacks earlier that day, the Cuban government started to round up what it believed to be thousands of Anti-Castro supporters and detaining them in various locations in Havana, Cuba.

The Cuban government or FAR, began to prepare its ships and planes for conflict.

Carrying out the Invasion

On April 15, 1961 eight Douglas B-26B Invasion bombers disguised as Cuban planes by the CIA, simultaneously attacked three major Cuban airfields to clear the way for Brigade 2506.

They were meant to destroy Cuban government aircraft to eliminate the chance of a possible air strike when the invasion force landed. However, they did not destroy nearly enough of their targets, and left most of the Cuban airforce intact.

That same morning, at the UN, Raul Roa, the Cuban Foreign Minister accused the US of deliberately attacking Cuba. The US ambassador to the UN answered by stating that "US forces would not under any conditions intervene in anyway in Cuba," and that the US would ensure that no US citizen would participate in actions against Cuba. He also said that the attacks earlier that morning were carried out by Cuban rebels. He later found out that the CIA had lied to him and to the Secretary of State Dean Rusk.

Bay of Pigs Planning

The Bay of Pigs Invasion took place on April 17, 1961 at a place called "Playa Giron" or the Bay of Pigs.

This action was a direct response to the overthrow of U.S. backed dictator Fulgencio Batista during the 1959 Revolution. The goal of the U.S. was to topple the Communist regime set up by Castro.

The invasion would constitute of 2,000 Cuban exiles called Brigade 2506 trained in Guatemala by the CIA, and what was supposed to consist of air and naval support from the U.S.

After landing, the force was supposed to encourage the people of Cuba to rebel and join the U.S backed forces in their mission to overthrow Castro.


Dwight D. Eisenhower originally planned the invasion but never got the opportunity or excuse to carry it out.

When John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960 the only part of the plan left was the actual invasion.

Planning for Invasion

Planning for the invasion of Cuba by the U.S. began during Eisenhower's administration in 1960 by the CIA. Eisenhower basically handed Kennedy the completed plans when he was elected all Kennedy had to do was actually execute the attack. However, the invasion did not actually take place until Kennedy's administration in 1961.

The U.S. wanted to overthrow the current government in Cuba because it was showing signs of Communism. The former dictator of Cuba was backed by the U.S. His name was Fulgnecio Batista.

Kennedy was in a difficult situation due to the surprise attack planned without an official declaration of war.

Reasons for the Invasion

The reasons for the invasion of Cuba by the United States were to stop communism in its tracks and reestablish capitalism and the US' control of the areas around it.

Bay Of Pigs Project

This is a student project created for a United States History class. The posts in this blog are of historical nature about a specific event in U.S. History. This blog deals with The Bay Of Pigs. This is not meant to be expert scholarship and there may be errors. This is a first attempt at learning something in more depth. There has been a genuine effort to properly cite all pictures, quotes, information gathered in this research project. For a list of sources see the final blog.