The Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon (), or , was an all-female military platoon created by

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

, Celia Sánchez, and Haydée Santamaría during the

26th of July Movement The 26 July Movement (; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, part of an at ...

on 4 September 1958, named after the Cuban icon

Mariana Grajales Cuello Mariana Grajales CuelloPullés, Víctor Manuel (2015)«Algunas informaciones necesarias sobre Mariana Grajales Cuello»(‘Some necessary information about Mariana Grajales Cuello’), article of June 25, 2015 in the ''Granma'' newspaper (La&nbs ...

who served in the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Litt ...

History

After a group of women led by Isabel Rielo pleaded with Fidel Castro to create a women's unit, Castro summoned the leaders of the rebel army for a debate on 3 September 1958. After seven hours of discussion, at about 1a.m. Castro authorized the creation of the platoon. Isabel Rielo was selected to lead the platoon as the result of a shooting test. It is estimated by several accounts that women only made up about 5% of the total rebel forces during the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. So the Mariana Grajales Platoon, which was composed of 13 young women, was a unique component of the revolutionary army. The platoon was essential in the rebels' 28 September 1958 victory over the

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...

forces at Cerro Pelado (near modern-day Bartolomé Masó) after a three-day battle. Members of the platoon used

M1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States carbine, caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine chambered in the .30 carbine (7.62×33mm) cartridge that was issued to the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, and t ...

s as their weapon of choice. Following victory in January 1959, the members of the platoon worked to build schools in the mountainous portion of eastern Cuba. On 4 September 1988, the 30th anniversary of the founding of the platoon, a commemorative event was held at the headquarters of the Women's Anti-Air Artillery Regiment. In attendance were Vilma Espín, president of the

Federation of Cuban Women The Federation of Cuban Women () (FMC) was established in 1948 by a group of activists including Mirta Aguirre, María Argüelles, Edith García Buchaca, Ana M. Hidalgo, Celia Machado, Candelaria Rodríguez, Caridad Sánchez, Cipriana Vidaurreta, a ...

, Nguyễn Thị Định, then-Vice President of Vietnam and member of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( Vietnamese: ''Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam''), commonly the Party Central Committee (PCC; - or ), is the highest organ between two national congresses ...

, and Corps General

Julio Casas Regueiro Corps General Julio Casas Regueiro (February 18, 1936 – September 3, 2011) was a Cuban politician. He was a vice-president of the Council of State of Cuba, Council of State and the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Cuba), minister of d ...

of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Members

* Haydée Santamaría * Isabel Rielo Rodríguez (commanding officer) * Teté Puebla (second-in-command) * Olga Guevara Pérez * Eva Palma Rodríguez * Lilia Rielo Rodríguez * Rita García Reyes * Angelina Antolín Escalona * Edemis Tamayo Núñez * Norma Ferrer Benítez * Flor Pérez Chávez * Juana Peña Peña * Orosia Soto Sardiña * Ada Bella Acosta Pompa

References

{{Reflist

History

Members

See also

References

Further reading