Camilo Cienfuegos, the son of Spanish anarchists, was an important figure in the Cuban Revolution. Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos each commanded a column of the Rebel Army. In 1958, Batista's army attempted to launch an offensive against the Rebel Army. It was largely unsuccessful, and was met by a counter-attack.
"Forty days of march, often with the south coast and a compass as the only guide. During fifteen days we marched with water and mud up to the knees, travelling by night to avoid ambushes…during the thirty-one days of our journey across Camagüey we ate eleven times. After four days of famine we had to eat a mare…Almost all our animals were left in the marsh."
Cienfuegos and Guevara attacked into Camagüey and inflicted severe damage on the government troops at Las Villas. When Fidel Castro told Guevara and Cienfuegos to occupy Havana, Cienfuegos marched his column in to take Camp Columbia. His force of 700 men took over there while the Rebel Army took other local forts as well. On the 13th of March, Cienfuegos attacked the Presidential Palace. Cienfuegos became immensely popular among Cubans. He was nearly as popular as Fidel Castro, but they shared one difference. Unlike the others, Cienfuegos was not a Communist. In 1959, Cienfuegos' plane mysteriously disappeared over the sea. A search was immediately called for, but he was never seen again. |
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