An invasion plan fails, the Iron Curtain becomes real.
The Bay of Pigs (La Batalla de Girón)
la bahía de chochinos (bay of pigs)
One of Kennedy's greatest failures as president began as a CIA plan approved by President Eisenhower in March 1960. The plan, called Operation Pluto, allowed the CIA to covertly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba. It was hoped that the exiles would overthrow Castro's government. Kennedy was informed of the plan a mere nine days after his election, but approved it nonetheless.
landing zones and combat area
The plan utilized a force of cuban counterrevolutionaries who had been displaced to Florida by Castro's new government. On the night of Apri 17, 1961, about 1,400 exiles landed on the Bay of Pigs, mostly on Girón Beach. (Playa Girón)
Though the plan was intended to be secret surprise attack, Cuban intelligence had learned of the plan before its execution via spy work. Also, news of the plan had been loosely talked about by members of the exile brigade, and the plan had been reported by local and foreign newspapers.
An air strike intended to soften the shores for the landing exiles failed to destroy the Cuban Air Force, even though the CIA reported success. The exiles landing on the beach met a Cuban force of 25,000 strong augmented by soviet tanks and aircraft. Unable to mount an effective attack without U.S. air support, and lacking a fallback position, the invasion failed.
In later CIA analysis of the failed invasion, a report was prepared for the main reasons of failure.
Though the plan was intended to be secret surprise attack, Cuban intelligence had learned of the plan before its execution via spy work. Also, news of the plan had been loosely talked about by members of the exile brigade, and the plan had been reported by local and foreign newspapers.
An air strike intended to soften the shores for the landing exiles failed to destroy the Cuban Air Force, even though the CIA reported success. The exiles landing on the beach met a Cuban force of 25,000 strong augmented by soviet tanks and aircraft. Unable to mount an effective attack without U.S. air support, and lacking a fallback position, the invasion failed.
In later CIA analysis of the failed invasion, a report was prepared for the main reasons of failure.
- The administration believed that the troops could retreat to the mountains to lead a guerrilla war if they lost in open battle. The mountains were too far to reach on foot, and the troops were deployed in swamp land, where they were easily surrounded.
- They believed that the involvement of the US in the incident could be denied.
- They believed that Cubans would be grateful to be liberated from Fidel Castro and would quickly join the battle. This support failed to materialize; many hundreds of thousands of others were arrested, and some executed, prior to the landings. (see also Priestland 2003; Lynch 2000). The invasion by a foreign country boosted the support of the Fidel Castro government. -Wikipedia
counterrevolutionary prisoners
The prisoners were traded for a 53 million dollar ransom in food and medicine. Kennedy declared in a speech that the exiles would return to a "free Havana," and that he would resist communist expansion. Castro welcomed continued soviet aid.
"Thanks for Playa Girón. Before the invasion, the revolution was weak. Now it's stronger than ever." -Che Guevara
Crisis Over Berlin
After World War II, Germany had been split in half, with the western half going to the capitalist Europe and the eastern half going to the soviets. Tensions between the halves and their owners increased when increasing amounts of people tried to escape East Germany to escape communism. During a summit meeting in Vienna, Austria Khrushchev demanded that military forces be removed from West Germany. He threatened to sign a treaty with East Germany blocking all access roads to West Germany. The summit was a showdown between relative newcomer politician Kennedy and veteran politician Khrushchev.
"I want peace. But, if you want war, that is your problem"
-Nikita Khrushchev
The summit culminated in the construction of the Berlin Wall, which stood as an ugly symbol of communist oppression. While it choked the flood of people trying to escape communism, over the 28 years of its existence 5,000 people succeeded in escaping and 200 died trying
The tensions of cold war politics constantly threatened nuclear war. As a result, a hot line was set up between the Kremlin and the White House to guarantee instant negotiation in the face of an emergency.
The tensions of cold war politics constantly threatened nuclear war. As a result, a hot line was set up between the Kremlin and the White House to guarantee instant negotiation in the face of an emergency.
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