Women revolutionaries preserve testimony of the attack

A group led by Abel Santamaría took the Saturnino Lora Civil Hospital as part of the Moncada plan. Many participants were captured after the assault failed.

Raúl Castro commanded a detachment assigned to the Palace of Justice overlooking the Moncada complex.

Revolutionaries attacked the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Barracks in Bayamo to hinder reinforcements from reaching Santiago.

The attackers lost the element of surprise and withdrew. Batista’s forces then pursued, tortured and killed many captured rebels.

Abel Santamaría, a principal organizer of the operation, was captured and later killed in custody during the repression following Moncada.

Before the attack, Castro framed the action as a struggle to restore popular sovereignty and the democratic Constitution of 1940.

Haydée Santamaría and Melba Hernández participated directly, preserved testimony and later helped reproduce the political programme of the movement.

A significant group of young workers and activists from Artemisa joined the attacks; many were killed after capture by Batista’s forces.

After several days in the hills outside Santiago, Fidel Castro surrendered to a patrol. Lieutenant Pedro Sarría prevented his immediate killing and delivered him for trial.

The government placed surviving attackers on trial in Santiago. The proceedings became a public indictment of Batista’s dictatorship.