The Attack on El Uvero was an armed confrontation between the

26th of July Movement The 26th of July Movement ( es, Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates its 26 July 1953 attack on the army barracks on San ...

and the Cuban military on May 28, 1957, part of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

. It was the first major confrontation between the 26th of July Movement, led by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

, and the Cuban military, led by

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

, since the latter settled in

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view it a ...

Battle

On May 28, 1957,

made the decision to attack a military garrison that was located in the coastal town of

El Uvero Uvero, also known as El Uvero, is a Cuban village and ''consejo popular'' ("people's council", i.e. hamlet) of the municipality of Guamá, in Santiago de Cuba Province. In 2011 it had a population of 2,581. History The toponym derives from the S ...

, in

. The Castro guerrillas then had 127 armed and trained combatants who had not yet openly engaged in combat. The combat was particularly bloody because the rebels did not have concealed positions of attack and had to openly expose themselves. After two hours and forty-five minutes of intense fighting, the garrison surrendered. The guerrillas lost 7 men and had 8 wounded, among them

Juan Almeida Bosque Juan Almeida Bosque (February 17, 1927 – September 11, 2009) was a Cuban politician and one of the original commanders of the insurgent forces in the Cuban Revolution. After the rebels took power in 1959, he was a prominent figure in the Co ...

, while the Cuban military lost 14 men and had 19 wounded. After the fighting had ceased, Fidel Castro ordered

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

, then a rebel medic, to remain with the wounded. Guevara treated the wounded on both sides and made a "gentlemen's agreement" with the barracks doctor to leave the most seriously wounded on condition that they were respected when they were detained, a pact that the Cuban army respected. Anderson, Jon Lee (1997), Che Guevara. A revolutionary life. Barcelona: Anagrama, pag. 252

References

Cuban Revolution Opposition to Fidel Castro 1957 in Cuba Conflicts in 1957

Sources

''El Combate de El Uvero'', por Ernesto Che Guevara, Pasajes de la guerra revolucionaria
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