đź“… 9 July 1955
Soon after Castro’s arrival, the Argentine doctor Ernesto Che Guevara joined the planned expedition and its anti-imperialist project.
đź“… 20 June 1956
Mexican authorities arrested Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and other expedition members, temporarily disrupting their preparations.
đź“… 25 November 1956
Eighty-two revolutionaries sailed from Tuxpan aboard the overcrowded yacht Granma to begin an armed struggle in Cuba.
đź“… 2 December 1956
The expedition landed late at Las Coloradas in difficult mangrove terrain, far from its planned meeting with the urban underground.
đź“… 5 December 1956
Batista’s troops surprised and dispersed the exhausted expeditionaries. Only small groups survived to regroup in the Sierra Maestra.
đź“… 17 January 1957
The guerrillas captured a small army post on the coast, their first military victory after the Granma disaster.
đź“… 28 May 1957
The Rebel Army attacked a fortified coastal garrison. The costly victory demonstrated its growing military capacity.
đź“… 10 September 1957
The Rebel Army attacked an army position and strengthened its control of routes in the Sierra Maestra.
đź“… 29 November 1957
Rebel forces fought an army unit in the Sierra Maestra; commander Ciro Redondo was killed in the engagement.
đź“… 16 February 1958
The Rebel Army launched a coordinated attack against a larger government position.
đź“… 17 February 1958
The victory yielded weapons and reinforced the guerrillas’ capacity to resist larger government formations.
đź“… 24 February 1958
Che Guevara’s column established a rebel radio station that circulated news, instructions and political messages across Cuba.
đź“… 21 August 1958
The order assigned Column 8 to carry the war from the Sierra Maestra into central Cuba and coordinate revolutionary forces there.
đź“… 31 August 1958
The columns of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos moved across difficult terrain while pursued by government forces.
đź“… 16 October 1958
Column 8 arrived in central Cuba and began coordinating with other anti-Batista forces despite political differences.
đź“… 28 December 1958
Forces under Che Guevara attacked strategic positions in Santa Clara, Cuba’s central transport hub.
đź“… 29 December 1958
Guevara’s fighters disabled and captured a train carrying troops and weapons, breaking a central pillar of Santa Clara’s defence.
đź“… 31 December 1958
The government’s defence of the central city collapsed, making Batista’s position untenable.
đź“… 2 January 1959
Guevara’s column entered the capital and took control of La Cabaña fortress.
đź“… 26 November 1959
Guevara’s appointment signalled the increasing role of revolutionary leaders in restructuring Cuba’s economy.
đź“… 28 May 1957
Medical work after the battle helped establish the Rebel Army’s claim to different rules of conduct from Batista’s forces.
đź“… 21 August 1958
Che Guevara was instructed to cross Cuba, unite forces in Las Villas and disrupt the island’s main transport routes.
đź“… 1 December 1958
The July 26 Movement and Revolutionary Directorate agreed to cooperate militarily against Batista in central Cuba.
đź“… 10 December 1958
Rebel units attacked transport connections and isolated garrisons, preventing government reinforcement of central Cuba.
đź“… 15 December 1958
Column 8 and allied forces surrounded the town and its garrison as part of the offensive toward Santa Clara.
đź“… 18 December 1958
After several days of fighting the garrison surrendered, widening rebel control in Las Villas.
đź“… 20 December 1958
A military order identified sugar districts under rebel control and attempted to establish administration behind the advancing front.
đź“… 23 December 1958
The capture of the strategic town further isolated Santa Clara and government forces in central Cuba.
đź“… 23 December 1958
July 26 and Revolutionary Directorate fighters expanded control of central Cuba during the final offensive.
đź“… 26 December 1958
The port’s fall weakened government access to the north coast of Las Villas.
đź“… 26 December 1958
Revolutionary forces took the colonial town during the advance that converged on Santa Clara.
đź“… 28 December 1958
Local activists supplied intelligence, guides and support as rebel columns entered Cuba’s central city.
đź“… 29 December 1958
Arms and ammunition from the derailed armoured train were used against remaining government positions in Santa Clara.
đź“… 27 January 1959
Guevara described the armed movement’s commitments to agrarian reform, sovereignty and transformation beyond a change of rulers.
