Combat of La Plata
​​​​Image: Cubarte Portal

Havana, January 17 (RHC)-- Cuba today recalls the actions of the La Plata combat, the first victory of the Rebel Army, led by Fidel Castro, against forces of Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship.

The assault took place on January 17, 1957 by 29 members of the guerrilla that was reorganized after the landing of the Granma yacht on the eastern coasts of Cuba, and demonstrated that this rebel force was operational and with combat capacity.

From the military point of view it was a small action, but it gave a strong blow to the government propaganda about the total annihilation of the guerrilla group in Alegria de Pio and raised the combat morale of the troops.

In his campaign diary, Ernesto Guevara, who would later rise to the rank of commander of the Rebel Army, wrote that the action was a wake-up call to all and reaffirmed the possibilities of the final triumph.

The combat lasted 40 minutes and allowed to put into practice several strategies of the guerrilla struggle that later would constitute a fundamental part of the military operations of the Rebel Army.

La Plata, located in the foothills of the Sierra maestra, in the southeast of Cuba, would later play an important role in the actions of the revolutionaries, since it was there that Fidel Castro would locate the Command of his troops.