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The Bay of Pigs: Cuba 1961 (Elite)

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For years, there were few decent English-language accounts about the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 beyond Peter Wyden's journalistic-style account in 1979. However, there have been a rash of new books about this subject since 2000, including this new volume in Osprey's Elite series. Overall, the narrative quality of this volume is both excellent and satisfying and even tries to maintain some balance between the viewpoints of the Fidelistas (troops backing Fidel Castro) and the brigadistas (the CIA-supported rebels). That being said, the graphic quality of this volume is a bit disappointing, with only one tiny map and relatively few color plates on the actual uniforms and weapons used by the combatants. Although Osprey titles are generally written for a military-interest audience, the military content of this volume was not as in-depth as most serious readers would prefer and while this volume would have been impressive if it had appeared in the 1980s, it has a great deal more competition now. Nevertheless, The Bay of Pigs is a good introduction to this subject and if you only want one book on it, this is a good bet.

The author begins with a 4-page introduction that outlines Fidel Castro's revolution in 1957-59 that ultimately seized power in Cuba and the repression of his regime that sparked resistance. He then spends 10 pages discussing the American desire to oust Castro and the CIA's role in creating a clandestine Cuban military force to overthrow Castro. Separate sections briefly describe the training of Assault Brigade 2506, as well as the air and naval components. This CIA operation has long been known to the world but the author manages to cover this well-trodden ground in style. He also juxtaposes the tactical-level training of the brigade in Guatemala with the high-level discussions in Washington between the President, the Joint Chiefs and the CIA about how best to use this tool. Although the idea of landing the brigade in Cuba appeared problematic under the best of circumstances, there was considerable pressure to "do something" before Castro received MiG fighters and more advanced weaponry from the Soviet Union that would make it impossible to remove his regime without overt U.S. military intervention. It is interesting how often in history that the "do something now" approach has often led to serious mistakes, with Bay of Pigs being a real whopper.

Yet the author's main interest in telling the brigade's story and he proceeds to do that in nearly 30 pages. The tactical description of the battle around Red Beach and Blue Beach is very good, although there were several points where I had to wonder `why did they do that?' but without explanation from the author. One mistake that hurts this volume is that the section that describes the brigade's organization and equipment comes after the battle narrative, when it would have been more helpful to have that first. Thankfully, the author does not belabor the political issues that fall outside the scope of a volume that only seeks to describe a particular military unit - although he does make it clear that the brigade was doomed by President Kennedy's decision to withhold air support at a crucial moment.

I was rather disappointed by the 8 pages of color plates, which spend one page on the brigade's training attire in Guatemala, another on what the brigadistas looked like after the battle (incl. an elderly gent in 2006) and a page of insignias. Only one plate depicts Brigadista ground troops in action (plus a paratrooper on another page) and two pages depict Castro's troops (incl. a Red Cross official). Given that this is a volume dedicated to the brigade and its combat actions, the actual graphic content afforded to it is disappointingly small. The last-minute order of battle stuck at the end of the volume is disappointing, since it offers no data on unit strengths, composition or sub-unit commanders. The author does provide information on how many vehicles the brigade had, but since the battalions had different compositions and missions, it would have been useful to spell this out. In particular, more effort could have been spent detailing the tank platoon's capabilities (5 M41s) and the heavy weapons battalion (apparently armed with four deuces, but not spelled out). After the brigade's surrender, the author covers their incarceration and release rather quickly, but then devotes space to discussing how some former brigadistas participated in other CIA operations in Africa. It would have been more interesting if he discussed how many brigadistas were able to evade capture after the Bay of Pigs, which was part of their original mission profile. Judged as a narrative history, this is a good volume, but as a unit history, the Bay of Pigs falls somewhat short in describing this unit.

Several dozen books have been written about the April 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion by Cuban exiles, some topping out at almost 400 pages. In this Osprey 'Elite' series book, author Alejandro de Quesada offers up a 64-page account that works just fine as an overview of that disastrous undertaking.

THE BAY OF PIGS follows the ill-fated efforts by the Eisenhowever Administration/CIA to recruit and train a 1,500-man unit to help overthrow Castro's regime. Supported by a rag-tag air force and 'navy,' the 1,500 members of Brigade 2506 landed on 15 April 1961. Despite the brave efforts of unit personnel, by 19 April Castro's forces had defeated the invasion. In large part, the failure was due to changes in the landing site, cancellation of air strikes and lack of U.S. air cover and support. Author de Quesada, a nephew of a 2506 vet, does a good job of summarizing the initial planning, recruitment and training along with the actual invasion and its aftermath, which saw a fair number of Brigade members executed by Castro.

Interwoven throughout the book are b&w and color photographs, maps and artwork depicting equipment, uniforms, flags and battle scenes.

In short, if you are looking for a fairly brief but comprehensive and well-illustrated summary of the Bays of Pigs operation, de Quesada's book should fill the bill. Recommended.

I was really excited when I saw this book. The Bay of Pigs incident has long been an interest for me and I can see the writer went to great lengths to bring this mysterious piece of history to life on these pages.


The color plates of the various armed forces of each side is carefully displayed on the glossy pages in addition to all of the important tidbits of information leading to the failed invasion of the Anti-Castro forces.

It serves as a brief yet detailed look at why the Bay of Pigs invasion didnt succeed and the events leading up to it.

This volume should serve as a welcome addition for any history fan's bookshelf.

Quesada, Alejandro and Stephen Walsh 2009 The Bay of Pigs: Cuba 1961, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom, and New York. ISBN-10 1846033233 ISBN-13 978-1846033230

Brief but bloody is the price of indecision


Although brief, this is one of the clearest presentations of the Bay of Pigs disaster. It shows the weaponry and mentions the most significant actions. All this underlines the still unfathomable reasons why the Kennedy Administration decided on the fatal course of going halfway and withholding support.


This book also shows the tremendous losses of the Castro militia took, and thus Castro won be default, for President Kennedy decided in the end to leave the playing fields and abandon the exiles to their fate. Here in powerful photographs some of the dead on Castro's side scream silently to the heavens.


These U.S. decisions were unpardonable considering that the memory of the successful implementation of air power that turned the tide for Castillo Armas in Guatemala still fresh in Kennedy's advisors minds. Then it was clear from the Guatemala experience that the communists kill ruthlessly even in defeat, as the crimes of Jaime Rosenberg aided by such as the young Ernesto "Che" Guevara, showed. Yet no steps were taken by the Kennedy Administration to protect those opposing Castro in Cuba from such reprisals.


President Kennedy's actions are partially pardoned by the ransom paid. However, since these missteps led to the Missile crisis, it is clear that selecting advisors from the best and brightest academicians has severe drawbacks.


One day in a free Cuba, perhaps a solemn memorial can be laid down, so that the perhaps 3,000 to 5,000 casualties taken by Castro's own forces can be remember, since Castro has tried to let that memory die.

The book provides a great deal of information from someone who either participated or had acces to inside information on the Bay of Pigs unsuccessful attack placing most of the fault on the CIA for not letting the underground forces in Cuba know of the time of the attack so they could actively participate in it.

In 1961 a handful of freedom fighters, trained and equipped by the CIA, landed at the Bay of Pigs with the intention of riding the crest of a wave of anti-Castro insurgency to victory. However, waffling by the Kennedy administration, poor decisions and just plain bad luck doomed the enterprise to failure.

This book serves as an excellent introduction to the Cubans who tried to free their country from Communist dictatorship. Filled with excellent photos and artwork it is also a must for anyone interested in Cuban history or anticommunist resistance.