December 2 1956 Cuban Revolution Begins

On December 2nd 1956, the Cuban Revolution began when Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and eighty other men landed on the Eastern shore of Cuba in a Mexican-bought yacht. The true revolution is not recognised as having occurred until December 1959, when US-supported Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fled Havana on New Year’s Eve.

The landing was met by the Cuban Air Force, which managed to kill most of the 82 revolutionaries. Split into two, the landing party were lost for days, until twelve of the original eighty-two managed to meet on the Sierra Maestra mountain range. There, the Cuban Army launched an attack on the group, injuring Che Guevara and setting the revolution back a further two years until Fidel Castro and the 26th of July Movement managed to overtake the previous government.