Bay of Pigs invasion Flashcards
Who led Cuba prior to the revolution?
The pro-American dictator Batista.
Who led the Cuban revolution and came into power?
Fidel Castro.
When was the Cuban revolution?
1959.
What was the purpose of the Cuban revolution?
To break away from US influence.
How did the USA react to the Cuban revolution and why?
The US had sugar + tobacco business and land in Cuba, all of which became nationalised under Castro.
Eisenhower refused to provide economic aid to Cuba unless it followed specific guidelines, and eventually banned American trade with Cuba.
What did Castro do in 1960?
He signed a deal with Khrushchev: USSR would buy sugar off Cuba, provide economic aid and secretly provide arms.
When did Castro and Khrushchev sign their deal?
1960.
What followed after Castro and Khrushchev signed their deal?
Under the influence of the USSR, Cuba became communist.
How did the USA react to Cuba becoming communist?
Kennedy (became prezzy in 1961) felt pressured to deal with this harshly, partially because he was so young.
He used a CIA plan which trained Cuban exiles living in the US to stage a counter-revolution to overthrow Castro.
What did the CIA plan which Kennedy used entail?
The plan trained Cuban exiles living in the US to stage a counter-revolution to overthrow Castro.
When was the Bay of Pigs invasion?
17th April 1961.
What happened on the 17th April 1961?
1400 Cuban exiles invaded the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. The invasion failed.
How big was the invasion force of Cuban exiles that landed at the Bay of Pigs?
~1400 exiles.
Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail? Give 3 reasons.
1) Castro had already been informed of the invasion (the plan was published in the NY times), and had prepared an army of 20,000.
2) The US force didn’t have enough men or weapons. Americans couldn’t provide support, because it couldn’t look like an invasion.
3) The plan relied on local support, but received none; Cubans were happy under Castro,
How big was Castro’s defensive army?
20,000.
