The Battle of Santa Clara
Santa Clara was attacked on December 31, 1958 by two guerrilla columns led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. Che Guevara first captured the garrison at Fomento. Then he had his soldiers destroy the railroad tracks derailing a train containing troops and supplies from Batista. The two columns came together and attacked Santa Clara. The battle was clouded in chaos, the defenders where scattered. Some chose to fight others surrendered before the first shot was even fired. It took Batista 12 hours to flee after Santa Clara fell.
Once Castro found out about Batista he planned to take over Santiago de Cuba. Colonel Rubido, the military commander of the city surrendered the city on January 2 1959. Manuel Urrutia Lleo became president January 3, 1959.
After the war ended hundreds of Batista supporters where put on trial. All trials were quick and ended with one verdict, execution. The United States stopped sending Cuba military supplies shortly after Castro took over. When the US government commented on the executions Castro accused them of stepping into their affairs. The relationship between Cuba and America had soured. Cuba turned to the Soviet Union which sent them supplies in return for Cuba being Americas backyard.
Cuba wasn't the same country it was before. Before the war things had been going just fine, the economy had been good and relationships with other countries had been solid. If it hadn't been for Fulgencio Batista's corruption the revolution might have never happened.
The aftermath of the war had some positive things to it. There were major advances in their health and education system. But that was about it. The economy had taken a hit and Castro had started exiling upper class Cubans. This was a big mistake because the businesses those Cubans owned also went down. The war had also sparked rebellion in Latin America, the amount of guerrilla warfare and terrorist acts had risen a lot after the Cuban Revolution had ended.
The Cuban Revolution had been a fight for restored order. When the fight was over however Castro chose to rule with a communist state of mind.
Once Castro found out about Batista he planned to take over Santiago de Cuba. Colonel Rubido, the military commander of the city surrendered the city on January 2 1959. Manuel Urrutia Lleo became president January 3, 1959.
After the war ended hundreds of Batista supporters where put on trial. All trials were quick and ended with one verdict, execution. The United States stopped sending Cuba military supplies shortly after Castro took over. When the US government commented on the executions Castro accused them of stepping into their affairs. The relationship between Cuba and America had soured. Cuba turned to the Soviet Union which sent them supplies in return for Cuba being Americas backyard.
Cuba wasn't the same country it was before. Before the war things had been going just fine, the economy had been good and relationships with other countries had been solid. If it hadn't been for Fulgencio Batista's corruption the revolution might have never happened.
The aftermath of the war had some positive things to it. There were major advances in their health and education system. But that was about it. The economy had taken a hit and Castro had started exiling upper class Cubans. This was a big mistake because the businesses those Cubans owned also went down. The war had also sparked rebellion in Latin America, the amount of guerrilla warfare and terrorist acts had risen a lot after the Cuban Revolution had ended.
The Cuban Revolution had been a fight for restored order. When the fight was over however Castro chose to rule with a communist state of mind.