Invasion Day (1)

Actual Date: May 8, 2011

Historical Date: April 17, 1961

Details from the invasion are coming in waves to me now but this is what I know: At about midnight, a diversion was sent to the North Shore of Cuba. Castro was lured out of the Bay of Pigs as some troops were moved. Then, at about the same time, a force of about one thousand four hundred Cubans in four ships landed in the Bay of Pigs. They had weapons, tanks, and other landing materials. Other smaller vessels carried troops over to other beaches near the Bay of Pigs. Some of the ships did not make it to the coast though because of unforeseen coral reefs in the area. The few militia left remaining at the Bay of Pigs successfully alerted Castro and his men of the invasion force at the Bay of Pigs. At about six thirty, three Cuban airplanes damaged the vessels leaving about 700 men without weapons or supplies. At about 7:30, about 180 paratroopers were dropped with heavy equipment and supplies. This equipment and supplies got lost in the swamps and the paratroopers were unable to block the road leading to the Bay of Pigs.  The troops were pounded with rockets and tanks as their forces started to wear down. I will provide more details as they become available.

Pictured below is a picture of Castro watching the Bay of Pigs invasion.

http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/castro/bay.html