Military history of Cuba
The Military history of Cuba begins with the island's conquest by the Spanish and its battles afterward to gain its independence. After the Communist takeover by Fidel Castro in 1959, Cuba became involved in many major conflicts of the Cold War in Africa and the Middle East, where it supported Marxist governments and fought against Western proxies. Castro's Cuba had some 39,000–40,000 military personnel abroad by the late 1970s, with the bulk of the forces in Sub-Saharan Africa but with some 1,365 stationed in the Middle East and North Africa.
Colonial period (1511–1902)
American Revolutionary War
During the American Revolutionary War, Cuban soldiers, shoulder to shoulder with Mexicans, Spaniards, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans fought under General Gálvez' command as far north as present-day Michigan..
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War was the first of three wars that Cuba fought against Spain for its independence. The Ten Years' War began when Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers of patriots from his sugar mill La Demajagua began an uprising. Dominican exiles, including Máximo Gómez, Luis Marcano and Modesto Díaz, joined the new Revolutionary Army and provided its initial training and leadership. The war ended with the signing of the Pact of Zanjón. Spain sustained 200,000 casualties and the island sustained over $300 million in property damage.Cuban War of Independence
The Cuban War of Independence was the last major uprising by Cuban Nationalists against the Spanish Colonial Government. The conflict culminated with American intervention during the Spanish–American War.Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War was a major war fought by the United States and the Kingdom of Spain in the Spanish territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The war was triggered with the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor. Cuban rebels fought alongside American troops throughout the war on the Cuban island. The war lasted for 10 weeks..
Cuba was occupied by US military troops on July 17, 1898. In the Treaty of Paris, Spain renounced its sovereignty over Cuba without naming a receiving country. Cuba then established its own civil government, which was recognized by the United States as the legal government of Cuba upon the announcement of the termination of United States Military Government jurisdiction over the island on May 20, 1902. This date is celebrated as Independence day for the Republic of Cuba.
Early republic (1902–1959)
Spanish Civil War
Approximately 1,000 Cubans fought in Spain in the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War.World War II
Cuba entered World War II in December 1941. The Cuban Navy performed convoy escort duties and antisubmarine patrols during the Battle of the Caribbean; despite its small size, the Cuban Navy quickly developed a reputation for being extremely efficient. The most notable success of Cuban forces was the sinking of by a Cuban submarine chaser squadron. Six Cuban merchant vessels were sunk by German submarines in the conflict and 79 Cuban sailors were killed.1952 coup
Military strongman Fulgencio Batista staged a coup on March 10, 1952, removing Carlos Prío Socarrás from power. Cubans in general were stunned, but remembering the bloodshed of the Batista's rule in the 1930s, they were reluctant to fight. Batista created a consultative council from pliable political personalities of all parties who appointed him President months before elections were to be held. Batista’s past democratic and pro-labor tendencies and the fear of another episode of bloody violence gained him tenuous support from the bankers, and the leader of the major labor confederation.The Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution started as an uprising that resulted in the overthrow of the Fulgencio Batista government on January 1, 1959 by Fidel Castro and other revolutionary elements in the country. The Revolution began on July 26, 1953, when a group of armed guerrillas attacked the Moncada Barracks.From 1956 through the middle of 1958, Castro and his forces staged successful attacks on Batista garrisons in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Che Guevara and Raúl Castro helped to consolidate rebel political control in the mountains through guerrilla fighting, building trust with campesinos, and severely punishing traitors and informers. The irregular and poorly armed rebels harassed the Batista forces in the foot hills and the plains of Oriente Province.
The final blow to Batista government came during the Battle of Yaguajay. Castro’s forces were able to capture the garrisons at Santa Clara along with the second largest city. As a result, Batista fled the country and Castro came into power.
Post-revolution Cuba (1959–present)
Dominican Republic invasion attempt
began on 14 June 1959 with an attempted invasion of the Dominican Republic by a mixed group of Cuban soldiers and Cuban-trained Dominican irregulars. The expeditionary force was massacred just hours after having disembarked.Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion, was an unsuccessful attempt by a U.S.-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba with support from U.S. armed forces to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency in the United States. The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the exile combatants in three days. Bad Cuban-American relations were exacerbated the following year by the Cuban Missile Crisis.Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear missiles that were deployed in Cuba and Turkey. The Russian missiles were placed both to protect Cuba from further attacks by the United States after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, and in response to the U.S. deploying Thor missiles with nuclear warheads on the Soviet border in Turkey.The situation reached the crisis point when U.S. reconnaissance imagery revealed Soviet nuclear missile installations on the island, and ended fourteen days later when the Americans and Soviets each agreed to dismantle their installations, and the Americans agreed not to invade Cuba again.
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu. During the Congo Crisis, a Cuban expedition led by Che Guevara trained the Simba rebels to fight against the weak central government of Joseph Kasa-Vubu and the forces of Mobutu Sese Seko. This would be Cuba's first military action in Africa. The rebellion failed, leading the Cuban mission to withdraw.Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
Some 40–50 Cubans fought against Portugal in Guinea-Bissau each year from 1966 until independence in 1974; several Cubans were killed in the field by Portuguese troops.Bolivia Insurgency
During the 1960s, the National Liberation Army began a Communist insurgency in Bolivia. The National Liberation Army was established and funded by Cuba and led by Che Guevara.The National Liberation Army was defeated and Che Guevara was captured by the Bolivia government aided by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Bolivian Special Forces were informed of the location of Guevara's guerrilla encampment. On October 8, the encampment was encircled, and Guevara was captured and later executed by Bolivian forces.
Eritrean War
Cubans trained Eritreans but later, in a political reversal, trained Ethiopian Marxist forces who were fighting against Eritreans.Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War was the fifth major conflict between Israel and the neighboring Arab States. Cuba deployed 1,500 troops, including tank and helicopter crews, to support the Arabs during the war. Precise Cuban casualty numbers are unknown.Cuban intervention in Angola
Between 1975 and 1991, the Cuban military provided support for the left wing MPLA movement in a series of civil wars. During these conflicts the MPLA emerged victorious due in part to the substantial aid received from Cuba.The Angolan War of Independence was a struggle for control of Angola between guerilla movements and Portuguese colonial authority. Cuba supplied the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola rebels with weapons and soldiers to fight. The Cuban military would fight alongside the MPLA in major battles.
The Angolan Civil War was a 27-year civil war that devastated Angola following the end of Portuguese colonial rule in 1974. The conflict was fought by the MPLA against UNITA and the National Liberation Front of Angola. MPLA was aided by Cuba and the Soviet Union, and UNITA and FNLA were supported by South Africa, United States and Zaire. It became Africa's longest running conflict. Cuban forces were instrumental in the defeat of South African and Zairian troops. Cuban forces also defeated the FNLA and UNITA armies in conventional warfare and established MPLA control over most of Angola.
Angola paid a huge cost for the conflict: 800,000 dead, 4 million displaced, a rural infrastructure and economy virtually destroyed, the majority of the population impoverished, almost two million facing a famine, and human rights abuses becoming the norm. The horrific scenario includes war crimes, such as deliberately attacking civilians and use of chemical weapons by Cuba against UNITA troops and civilians supporting them. Hundreds of thousands of anti-personnel mines were laid across the country and are still in place, causing thousands of deaths and mutilating 70,000 people.
South African Border War
The so-called South African Border War was a conflict that took place in South-West Africa between the Apartheid-era South African Defence Forces and its allied National Union for the Total Independence of Angola against the South West Africa People's Organization and the Cuban-backed MPLA. The Cuban army had a major involvement in some of the most important battles, including the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.Approximately 200,000 people died during the South African Border War, the majority civilians killed within Angola after 1975. Portuguese troops suffered 3,000–5,000 dead, mostly due to mines, ambushes and accidents. Cuba sustained an estimated 2,000 dead as well as three to four times that number wounded or missing. Regular South African forces may have suffered only 1,000 dead, excluding losses among paramilitary units and other irregular formations.
11,335 SWAPO guerrillas were killed in action.
Ogaden War
The Ogaden War was a conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia between 1977 and 1978. Fighting erupted in the Ogaden region as Somalia attempted to annex it. When the Soviet Union began to support the Ethiopian Derg government instead of the Somali government, other Communist nations followed. The Cuban military deployed 15,000 combat troops along with aircraft to support the Derg government and the USSR military advisors in the region.The conflict ended with a Somali retreat. The Somali army, which had taken a severe beating from Cuban artillery and air attacks, was destroyed as a fighting force. Cuban losses were 400 killed, 11 tanks and 3 planes. The USSR lost 33 dead and missing.