Cuban rebel army
Rebel Army (Spanish Ejército Rebelde ) was the name chosen for the Cuban guerrilla movement during the Cuban Revolution itself .
The rebel army comprised several factions united in the struggle against Fulgencio Batista's government, the dominant force of which was the July 26th Movement led by Fidel Castro . Parallel to the military struggle of the rebel army, the Batista opponents pursued a successful strategy of urban underground struggle through sabotage, assassinations and terrorist attacks aimed at destabilizing the state.
The political and military headquarters of the Movement of July 26th was at the foot of the Pico Turquino ( 1974 m ) in the Sierra Maestra , from where Castro coordinated the activities of his troops as well as the underground fighters of the movement. From there he communicated since February 1958 via the radio station Radio Rebelde .
The guerrillas of the Second National Front of Escambray (SFNE) and the Revolutionary Board of Directors on March 13 had their headquarters in the central Cuban Escambray Mountains .
The highest rank was that of the comandante ( major ) - which was awarded to around 70 guerrillas by the end of the war, sometimes as a posthumous honor for fallen fighters. Below the Comandante there were the degrees of Capitán ( captain ) and Teniente ( lieutenant ).
The most important commanders in the rank of Comandante
Comandantes of the July 26th Movement
- Fidel Castro , Comandante en Jefe (since the beginning of the guerrilla: December 1956, head of the 1st Front);
- Ernesto "Che" Guevara (since July 1957, head of the "South and Center of Las Villas" front);
- Raúl Castro (since February 1958, Head of the Second Front);
- Juan Almeida (since February 1958, Chief of the Third Front);
- Crescencio Pérez (since March 1958);
- Ramiro Valdés (since March 1958);
- Camilo Cienfuegos (since April 1958, head of the front "North of Las Villas");
- Delio Gómez Ochoa (since April 1958, head of the IV Front);
- Juan Vitalio Acuña Núñez (since November 1958)
- Huber Matos (since August 1958, later dissident)
Comandantes of other troops
- Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo , head of the Second National Front of Escambray (later dissident );
- William Morgan , deputy chief of the SFNE (later dissident);
- Faure Chomón , Head of the Revolutionary Directory March 13;
- Rolando Cubela , military chief of the Revolutionary Board of Directors March 13 (later dissident);
See also
literature
- Ernesto Che Guevara, 2002: Pasajes de la Guerra Revolucionaria. Cuba 1959-1969 . Reimpresión La Habana.