The Bay of Pigs: Cuba 1961 (Elite) - Softcover

Quesada, Alejandro De

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846033233 ISBN 13: 9781846033230

Publisher: Osprey Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

Osprey's examination of the events in the Bay of Pigs (1961) that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). In early 1961 President John F. Kennedy gave the go-ahead to an existing plan for Cuban exiles to return to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist regime. While the CIA helped in the planning stages, the attempt would not be assisted by any US armed forces. On the night of April 16, 1961, a force of 1,400 exiles, known as 2506 Brigade, landed at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba, supported by a few World War II vintage aircraft flying from Nicaragua. While they succeeded in knocking out some of Castro's small air force on the ground, the remaining Cuban aircraft sank two of the exiles' support ships, and the beachhead became isolated. Fighting continued for three days before Castro's army overwhelmed the landing force. Most of the exiles were captured and suffered a harsh imprisonment before the US negotiated their release. This episode, followed by the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba, led directly to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, and continues to affect US/Cuban diplomatic relations to this day. This book, written by the nephew of a surviving 2506 Brigade veteran, includes detailed color plates, unpublished photographs, and interviews with veterans.

About this title

About the Author

Alejandro de Quesada is a Florida-based military history writer, an experienced researcher and collector of militaria, photos and documents and runs an archive and historical consulting for museums as well as for films as a secondary business with a strong Military History content. He has written over 100 articles and over 25 books, including several for Osprey, and is a leading authority on Latin-American subjects. 

Author of the following Osprey titles to date: The Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection; The US Home Front 1941-45; Roosevelt's Rough Riders; The Bay of Pigs; The Mexican Revolution; The United States Coast Guard during World War Two; Spanish Colonial Fortifications in North America.

Review

“Quesada provides all of this information in an easy-to-read format. He includes several photographs from private collections that have never been seen by the public. Also, illustrator Stephen Walsh includes some excellent illustrations that show the uniforms, insignia, and weapons of the combatants and some battle scenes... This book gives an excellent overview of the men who tried and failed to overthrow Fidel Castro in 1961.” ―Jeff Grim, Collected Miscellany, www.collectedmiscellany.com (July 2009)

About this edition

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1846033233
• ISBN 13: 9781846033230
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Walsh Stephen