What Happened At The Bay Of Pigs ?
According to the original plan of The Bay Of Pigs invasion, two strikes were supposed to be called for against the air bases at Cuba. More than 1,000 armed soldiers would disembark and begin a surprise attack in the dark against their opponents. Paratroopers were to be dropped in advance before this attack in order to disrupt transportation and also repel the Cuban warriors’ retaliation. At the same time, a smaller group of warriors were to land on the eastern coast to create further confusion.
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The main army force would move forward to Matanzas to set up a defensive stand and the United Revolutionary Front would then send its leaders from South Florida in order to set up a provisional government. However, the success of this entire plan greatly depended on the support of the Cuban population during the attack.
During the first mishap on April 15, 1961, obsolete Second World War B-26 bombers were painted to look like Cuban airplanes by the American CIA. However, the bombers missed the targets and did not cause much damage to the Cuban air force. News of the American support to the invasion spread like wild fire and at this stage, President Kennedy decided to call off the second air attack. Two days later, the Brigade 2506 troupe consisting of Cuban exiles landed at the swampy beaches along the Bay of Pigs. Bad weather, soggy equipment and inadequate ammunition hampered the invasion and the Cuban forces sank two ships and destroyed a part of the exile’s air army. The plans of American invasion were completely crushed on April 19, when Cuban forces completely surprised their opponents by attacking aggressively.
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