Bay of Pigs Invasion

United States invasion of Cuba
Part of the Cold War
Cuban soldiers supported by T-34 tanks attacking near Playa Giron. April 19, 1961
Date 16 April 1961 - 19 April 1961 Location Bay of Pigs, southern coast of Cuba Result Decisive cuban victory
Belligerents
United States	Cuba
Commanders and leaders
John F. Kennedy Charles P. Cabell Robert McNamara Maxwell D. Taylor Robert Kennedy Allen Dulles	Fidel Castro Ruz Ernesto Guevara Efigenio Ameijeiras Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado Eloy Gutiérrez
Units involved
Brigade 2506 CIA U.S Air Force	FAR MTT
Strength
1,500 ground forces[A] 8 American B-26 bombers 5 supply ships	25,000 Cuban army[1] 200,000 Cuban Militia[1][2] 9,000 armed police[1][2] (across the country)
Casualties and losses
Brigade 2506: 118 killed 360 wounded[D] 1,202 captured[E] United States: 4 killed 2 B-26 bombers shot down 2 supply ships lost	Cuban Army: 176 killed 500+ wounded[B] Militia: 2,000 killed and wounded[3]
class=notpageimage| Location within North America

During the Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 17, 1961), the United States government and 1,400 Cuban exiles tried to invade Cuba and remove Fidel Castro from power.^[4][5][6] The invasion happened at the Bay of Pigs on Cuba's southern coast.

The invasion went wrong almost from the start, and it was defeated in two days.^[6] It was one of many attempts the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) made to remove Castro from power. They were never successful.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Szulc (1986)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} FRUS X, documents 19, 24, 35, 245, 271.
3. ↑ Quesada 2009, p. 46. sfn error: no target: CITEREFQuesada2009 (help)
4. ↑ "Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Alabama Air National Guard". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
5. ↑ "The Bay of Pigs | JFK Library". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "The Bay of Pigs Invasion and its Aftermath, April 1961–October 1962". United States Department of State Office of the Historian. Retrieved September 26, 2024.