The Assault on Moncada
The Assault on Moncada was Castro's first move. The revolutionaries needed weapons if they wanted to be revolutionaries so they chose to attack the Moncada barracks. This proved to be an epic failure. They attacked at dawn hoping they'd have the element of surprise work in there favor, it did not. The compound was to strong for them due to the lack of men and arms, only 19 of the men survived the attack including Castro and his brother.
Fidel Castro stood trial and spoke for 5 hours. He ended his long speech with the words, "Condemn me, it does not matter, History will absolve me." He was condemned when his sentence ended up being 15 years in the President Modelo Prison. Luckily a few years later with the help of severe political pressure the Batista government freed all the political prisoners including Castro and his brother thanks to Fidel's childhood teacher.
The Castro brothers went to Mexico with the other exiles and began planning to overthrow the government again. This time though they had help. Alberto Bayo and Ernesto "Che" Guevara joined the cause. They called their group the 26th of July Movement.
Fidel Castro stood trial and spoke for 5 hours. He ended his long speech with the words, "Condemn me, it does not matter, History will absolve me." He was condemned when his sentence ended up being 15 years in the President Modelo Prison. Luckily a few years later with the help of severe political pressure the Batista government freed all the political prisoners including Castro and his brother thanks to Fidel's childhood teacher.
The Castro brothers went to Mexico with the other exiles and began planning to overthrow the government again. This time though they had help. Alberto Bayo and Ernesto "Che" Guevara joined the cause. They called their group the 26th of July Movement.