International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

Historical Investigation:

To what extent did Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's efforts during the Cuban Revolution provide sustenance to the rebel army?

By Danila Otavin

Word-count: 2033 (excluding headings)

International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section A – page 3

Section B – pages 4 to 5

Section C – page 6

Section D – page 7

Section E – page 8

Section F – page 8

International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

Section A

Although known world-wide for his participation in the Cuban Revolution, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's role therein has often been debated and remains questioned to this day; making the search for his true value in the grand scheme of events a life-long pursuit. His role as a key leadership figure within Castro's rebel force however remains unquestioned, and thus investigating this specific area of interest is a realistic goal. Personally inspired by his persona as an intellectual revolutionary and by his empiricism, I have opted to look deeper into Guevara's role in leading the rebel force to victory.

Having proposed the question of to what extent did Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's efforts during the Cuban Revolution provide sustenance to the revolutionary force under Fidel Castro, it is required to first look deeper into what roles he took during his time with the rebels in Cuba. Furthermore, it is worth investigating and reading into the accounts of those who were around Guevara at the time, as well as historical works regarding the events written in retrospect for an optimally balanced and objective collection of information. Having gathered the aforementioned, I will analyze the efforts of Guevara during the time of the Cuban revolution, focusing on his efforts in regards to keeping the rebel effort afloat and keeping within the historical context as to understand to what extent his efforts helped the rebels lead to victory over the Batista regime.

International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

Section B

In order to understand the impact of Guevara's efforts on the sustainability of the revolutionary army under Fidel Castro, the means by which the livelihood of the said army was sustained must be organized into sections. These sections are outlined below, each containing evidence that shows Guevara's efforts within each department.

Morale− Guevara enhanced the morale of the rebel army by uniting the rebels under one ideology and

finding a common direction for the revolutionary struggle by having “participated actively in political debate influencing issues such as the direction of the struggle, policy for alliance and ideology of the leadership”. 1

− The manner in which Guevara dealt with prisoners and defectors resulted in him becoming a feared and respected leadership figure. This was enhanced by Guevara's attitude in and outside battle during personal hardship 2

− Guevara's efforts were instrumental in the creation of the 'Radio Rebelde'3 – a radio station dedicated to broadcasting the messages and announcements of the rebels throughout Cuba4, often disproving propaganda messages and misinformation aired by the Cuban army.

− Guevara's personal involvement in educating of new recruits5 and the manner in which this was done created a greater sense of comradery, enhanced by Guevara's entertaining of the troops.

− Leading the rebels into, and eventually victoriously out of the battles of Las Mercedes and Santa Clara boosted the rebels' spirit.

Organization & Communication

− By Guevara's orders, 'Radio Rebelde' sent out communications to troops and supporters all over Cuba regarding the situation and condition of the revolutionary struggle, often debunking misleading information spread by the Cuban army and thus enhancing the organization of the rebels.

− Guevara created an infrastructure within rebel camps for efficiency purposes, including educational facilities for those who cannot read and write; enhancing communications. Furthermore, these facilities educated new recruits on the basics of Guerilla warfare.

− Guevara had the rebels spread information using the newspaper6, as to keep all rebel camps aware even without an unavailable radio transmitter.

1 Castaneda, Jorge G. "Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara." Vintage, Oct.-Nov. 1998.2 Guevara often carried on during battle to the amazement of his fellow troops, despite serious wounds; i.e. a neck wound - Harris,

Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P71) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.3"Guevara was the main proponent of establishing this clandestine radio station." - Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P79) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.4 “Soon, Radio Rebelde began regularly broadcasting news of the Rebel Army's actions as well as the declarations of the 26th of July

Movement, speeches by Castro, Cuban political news, and coded messages from the movement's members to their loved ones. It subsequently also provided radio communications between the rebel columns operation in different parts of the island.” - Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P79) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

5 “Castro had Guevara take charge of creating a training school for new recruits that were joining the Rebel Army in increasing numbers” - Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P79) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

6 “On November 4, 1957, the first issue of El Cubano Libre (The Free Cuban), the newspaper of the Rebel Army, was published by Guevera in the Sierra Maestra” - Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P79) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

Weaponry & Equipment

− Ordered by Guevara, the rebels setup factories to produce their own grenades within rebel camps.7

− Part of Guevara's personal take on Guerilla warfare included secretly raiding Cuban barracks for equipment, or surrounding these and forcing the troops and equipment out.8

Healthcare

− Guevara setup clinics and hospitals in rebel camps. In these he also taught fellow rebels the basics of treating wounds.9

− Guevara was a field-medic himself at all times, despite his active role in the battle or column. He recovered injured troops from the battlefield, aside from treating the wounded who could regroup with the rest of the rebels on their own intitiative. 10

Strategic Assets & Tactics− Guevara was appointed as the Commandante, or the second in command (to Fidel Castro) and thus the

majority of orders were on his behalf and under his supervision. − Guevara taught Guerilla warfare to fellow rebels, rather than simply have them follow orders.

− Having aided communications and organization of the rebel forces, performing tactical maneuvours became easier and more efficient.

− Battles of Las Mercedes and Santa Clara wielded a great tactical advantage under the leadership and guidance of Guevara himself.11

7 "CUBA: Castro's Brain." TIME Magazine. TIME Magazine, Aug. 1960. Web <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869742,00.html>.

8 “They would surround barracks or forts and then force them to surrender after cutting off their supplies and threatening to set fire to, or in some cases actually setting fire to, the buildings government forces occupied. The guerrillas promised to release them after they surrendered if they would hand over all their weapons and ammunition, would listen to a lecture about the goals of the revolution, and agreed to leave the province immediately” - Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P85) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

9 Haney, Rich (2005). Celia Sánchez: The Legend of Cuba's Revolutionary Heart. New York: Algora Pub

10 Saul Landau (1997). Poster Boy of The Revolution. The Washington Post, October 19, 1997, p. X01. 11Anderson, Jon Lee. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. New York: Grove, 1997. Print.

International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

Section C

Che Guevara: A Biography

Origin: Written by Richard L. Harris (2010), a professor of Global Studies at California State University, Ph.D in Political Science. Further credentials include his function as an independent lecturer traveling world-wide, with his most noteworthy lectures held for the university of Harvard.Purpose: According to the book itself, Harris wrote this biography for the purpose of educating its readers in-depth in regards to the persona of Ernesto Guevara and the nature of his efforts and the consequences thereof.Value: With Guevara taking the role of a leader, his influence on the rebels' morale is arguably one of the most important factors. Partially because of this I chose Harris' book – it provides insight into the mind of Che himself, and how his thoughts rubbed off onto the rebels. Additionally, the book covers the effects of Che's mentality on Batista's army to an extent, thus helping me investigate whether his mentality also helped his rebels.8 21 20 Furthermore, Harris compares Guevara's diaries with those of his fellow rebels, and contrasts the notes and observations in an attempt to filter through false information. Moreover, this book mentions how Guevara's efforts to improve communications assisted his Guerrilla warfare tactics, even to the extent of saving the lives of Castro and his men.19

Limitations: Its limitations lay in many of its would-be strengths. For example, personal accounts by Castro are frequently cited and these may have been altered by him or on his order for political purposes. However for the purpose of this investigation these accounts were not used as these did not cover the issues investigated herein. Furthermore, several accounts regarding Guevara's actions have been taken from multiple Cuban newspapers, all from different areas of the country and each with its own regional interpretation. For one, the language barrier makes it impossible for me to verify this information, and furthermore the regional differences on how Guevara and his aftermath are viewed have countless amounts of (cultural) reasons behind them, and thus objective information from the same regions wherein Guevara fought, from around the same time, are hard to come by and to recognize.

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary LifeOrigin: Written by Jon Lee Anderson (1997), an investigative journalist and renowned staff writer for The New Yorker. Anderson has always specialized in reporting from war-zones, covering mostly political conflicts and revolts. Purpose: At the time of writing this, Anderson was aware that much information regarding Guevara and his aftermath remained hidden, thus he set out to find it. Having uncovered new records and received exclusive first-time interviews, Anderson set out to unleash a collection of new information and analysis of the revolutionary life of Guevara.Value: There are several things of great value in this book: Anderson was the first to gain access to some of the hidden archives, as well as exclusive interviews with, for example, Guevara's widow and the CIA men involved in watching Guevara's every move. With these sources he not only uncovered new information, but also disproved some of the older material out there – Rojo, once believed to be a close friend of Guevera, and his book “My Friend Che”, came under criticism for greatly exaggerating the relationship between Guevara and many of the rebels. While at first the sight Guevara appeared to be the one who essentially was a friend to all the rebels, it became clear that he was more of a crazy-with-passion caretaker; with this information I have seen Guevara's efforts within the revolutionary cause under a whole different light. For example his 'summary trials' and his definition of 'treason' (including suicide) intrigued me deeply and gave me insight into how Che struck into the minds of those around him; friend or foe.15

Limitations: The primary limitations of this book are the interviews held with the individuals, seeing as these sometimes mention information never uncovered before and often unsupported by any archives simply because no files have been created. This leaves a lot of doubt, however even that Anderson addresses in the 'Notes' section, carefully covering every fault of his work. For the most part however, Anderson's work is – from what I

International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

can tell – an absolutely wonderful encyclopedia on Che and his escapades.

Section D "Castro had Guevara take charge of creating a training school for new recruits that were joining the Rebel Army in increasing numbers"12, so began Guevara's role in sustaining the rebel forces. With the new job assigned to him, Guevara's enthusiasm only grew: “"It was now late October 1957, and Che wanted to begin buildingan 'industrial' infrastructure to sustain a permanent guerrilla presence there."13 He began the construction of this infrastructure by providing healthcare to the rebels, as to sustain the numbers – a “rudimentary hospital”¹³ was built. “Soon, in addition to his bread oven, there was an embryonic pig and poultry farm as well as a shoe-making and a saddler's workshop, and his "armory"was going full tilt."¹³ With his efforts, Guevara took care of some food supplies, equipment care and weapon sustainability for the rebel camp. Despite this progress, many among the rebels had low morale and resorted to robbing and violating the farmers nearby – the same farmers that majorly supported the rebel cause. Already soon Guevara picked up on this, and harsh punishments – executions – followed. Not much time was wasted on the trial, as Guevara himself wrote: “"In view of his status as a deserter, the trial was speedy, then proceeding to his physical elimination. The execution of antisocial individuals who took advantage of the prevailing atmosphere in the area to commit crimes was, unfortunately, not infrequent in the Sierra Maestra."14 As evident, he quickly set the morale standards for the rebel force: There was to be no treason, whether by going AWOL, whether by betraying the people you are fighting for. Even those rebels desperate and lost enough to commit suicide, eventually let Guevara to forbid the act, and see it as treason, too; those who managed to take their own lives anyway deserved no burial.15 With this attitude Guevara became feared among the supporters of Batista, as well as the rebels, although those fighting for Batista appeared to fear him most. A convert of the Batista army wrote the following in his own diary: “"[It was said] that any soldier he took prisoner he tied to a tree and opened up his guts with a bayonet."16 Clearly however, this fear worked in the rebels' advantage. Even those who split from the rebels to form their own outlaw circles or revolutionary groups were soon convinced by Guevara to return, allowing for him to create a “more or less common front”17 between those wanting to fight Batista's regime. Through these controversial methods of conditioning one's mind into a certain state, the rebels were prepared to go all-in for the revolutionary cause, giving the rebel forces maximum momentum. With the foundations of Guerilla warfare in their minds, a place to call home, and enough weaponry18, the rebels pushed forwards and even in setbacks, such as spread of propaganda by the Batista regime, Guevara's efforts (by the means of the radio station and the newspaper in this case) would prevail. Even in worse scenarios, such as a trap into which Castro and his columns walked into, the guerrilla tactics of Guevara proved nearly flawless and saved Castro as well as the rebels.19 Lastly, the last attacks of the rebels stood strong as he led them into battle, predicting the enemy's moves20 and seizing anything to his advantage21. With the final battle of Santa Clara being won by the rebels, within the next twelve hours Batista fled and the revolution was declared successful over the radio and the newspapers – without Guevara's ability to have Batista's troops surrender to him galore, and without his tactical ability to

12 Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P79) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.13 Anderson, Jon Lee. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (P98). New York: Grove, 1997. 14 Guevara, Ernesto. Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War. New York: M[onthly] R[eview]; Distributed by Grove, 1968. Print. 15 “I argued that committing suicide under such conditions should be repudiated, whatever good qualities that man may have

possessed. After a few stirrings of insubordination by some of the men, we wound up holding a wake, without rendering him honors.”- Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War. New York: M[onthly] R[eview]; Distributed by Grove, 1968. Print.

16 Anderson, Jon Lee. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (P104). New York: Grove, 1997. 17 Guevara, Ernesto. Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War (P57). New York: M[onthly] R[eview]; Distributed by Grove,

1968. Print. 18 “Guevara's force also captured a large number of weapons and 18,000 rounds of ammunition” - Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A

Biography. (P81) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.19 "He quickly figured out the army's plan and saw that Castro's columns could be saved from disaster only if the army reinforcements

heading toward the area were prevented from reaching the scene. As a result, Guevara ordered his men to ambush these troops and keep them from reaching the scene of battle. His men succeeded in blocking the advance of army reinforcements. This action allowed Castro's columns to slip out of the trap set for them by the army." "This action taken by Guevara's column kept the Las Mercedes battle from resulting in Castro's death or capture by the government forces." Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P81-82) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

20 “As Guevara planned, the train was derailed as it attempted to flee with its cargo of troops, weapons, and ammunition." Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P86) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

21 “After the troops on the train surrendered, the large number of police and four army tanks that were defending the main police station were persuaded to surrender to Guevara's officers”- Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. (P87) Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

International School Groningen – Historical Investigation – Danila Otavin (DP2)

scavenge resources at all times, the rebel forces would have not been able to sustain themselves long enough to actually see Batista leave; leave alone if Castro had died in that trap.

Section E

Having investigated Guevara's efforts during the Cuban Revolution, in particular in regards to his efforts aimed at sustaining the rebel army, I can conclude the following: With his unsual, yet very effective mindset of no retreat, no compromise, Guevara set a truly revolutionary spirit into the rebels, allowing them to push forward even at the hardest of times. With his intellectual assets he was able to create and maintain camps for rebels, where they could get taken care of, stock up on resources, and even relax from time to time. Having put the rebels into the right mindset, and having found a way to prevent their minds from overheating galore, Guevara used his brilliant tactical knowledge to completely outplay Batista's army and gain not only resources, but also manpower and support for this rebels, eventually ensuring victory over the regime. When it comes to the extent to which Guevera provided sustenance to the rebel army, one can hardly disagree that he setup the morale, maintained the morale, and assured for healthcare and resources to be available, together with a potent gameplan to outsmart the enemy. Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was the driving force behind the rebels' momentum and the one who taught them to sustain themselves.

Section F

Printed sources:

Harris, Richard L. Che Guevara: A Biography. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011.

Guevara, Ernesto. Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War. , 1968.

Anderson, Jon Lee. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. New York: Grove, 1997.

Celia Sánchez: The Legend of Cuba's Revolutionary Heart. New York: Algora Pub, 2005.

Saul Landau . Poster Boy of The Revolution. The Washington Post, October 19, 1997,

Castaneda, Jorge G. "Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara." Vintage, Oct. 1998.

Digital sources:

"CUBA: Castro's Brain." TIME Magazine. TIME Magazine, Aug. 1960. Web <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869742,00.html>.

“Ernesto Guevara” COLLETIVO POLITICO. Colletivo Politico. Unknown publish date. Web <http://collettivopolitico.noblogs.org/files/2012/03/Ernesto-Guevara.jpg>

“Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War, and the Politics of Guerrilla Travel Writing”. JP Spicer-Escalante. Academia.EDU. Web

<http://usu.academia.edu/JPSpicerEscalante/Papers/1101534/Ernesto_Che_Guevara_Reminiscences_of_the_Cuban_Revolutionary_War_and_the_Politics_of_Guerrilla_Travel_Writing>