Cuban War (PJW)

The Cuban War, also known as the Cuban Intervention, was a war fought between the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista against communist rebels led by Fidel Castro. The revolution began in 1953, but the "Cuban War" is said to begin in 1957, when following an attempted coup to overthrow the Batista regime, American President John Wayne authorized sending military advisers to Cuba to aid the regime. In 1958, Wayne announced that American soldiers would be sent to Cuba. The first major engagement was Operation Autumn, a joint Cuban-American offensive to wipe out the communist strongholds in the mountains. The operation was inconclusive, as the American intervention resulted in Castro's movement gaining enough strength to force a stalemate. American soldiers would remain in Cuba in 1959, where they tried to stamp out guerrilla activities by the Cuban revolutionaries.