The full transcript of Castro's orders, previously classified, was among the documents publicly released by the Cuban government and made available at the U.S.-Cuba conference on "Playa Girón: 40 Years Later," held in Havana March 22–24. In chronological order as the battle unfolded, the transcript includes all the orders that Castro issued by phone or in person, as well as written instructions.

The article below provides background to the unfolding of the battle and some of the references made by Castro.

The new Pathfinder book Playa Girón/Bay of Pigs: Washington's First Military Defeat in the Americas contains a detailed account by José Ramón Fernández of these events. Playa Girón (Girón Beach), where the main group of mercenaries surrendered, is the name by which the battle is known in Cuba.

The following selection of excerpts appeared in the March 25 issue of Juventud Rebelde, newspaper of Cuba's Union of Young Communists (UJC). The translation and annotation are by the Militant.
 

8:13 a.m.--To Pepín: ...Okay, go and fight those isolated paratroopers, who are doomed to die.... Use the militia force you have against them.... Filiberto will advance through Girón and the battalion you sent with Tomassevich. Then those people should advance toward Girón from Juraguá.... Don't let the enemy escape....

8:20 a.m.--To Del Valle (personally): Order Pedrito Miret to use university students to mobilize at least 12 of the 122 mm. cannon in the direction of the Australia mill, to position them along the coast.... The antiaircraft defense must be prepared. Two Sea Fury planes on the antiaircraft landing strip, for air defense against the B-26s. Have them ready by tomorrow. These planes are arriving this afternoon, fast, and should provide cover for our forces. Today we're going to sink ships, tomorrow we're going to shoot down planes....

8:26 a.m.--To Curbelo, FAR: ...Sink ships, damn it! You have to sink a bunch of ships! Come on, give them fire!...

8:33 a.m.--To Fernández, Australia mill: ...A lot of antiaircraft artillery is headed over there. Don't worry about it, that's where we're going to give them the biggest battle. So more troops are going there, with battalions from Havana bringing up the rear.... How is everyone's morale? Okay, great, talk to you later.

8:48 a.m.--To Raúl Castro: So far, I think you've missed out on the fun, but you should be alert.... They've landed in the south. I can't give you details, I shouldn't give details, but you guys be alert, around the Sierra [Maestra] and all around there, but I think they've concentrated them over here, you see. Okay, good luck. Talk to you later.

8:58 a.m.--To Curbelo, FAR: ...The ships haven't retreated yet? You have to keep shooting at them with everything you've got. Yes, we have to avenge that compañero they shot down, we have to avenge him, compañero....

9:09 a.m.--To Covadonga [sugar mill]: ...Call Aguada de Pasajeros. I'm going to call and have them send reinforcements over there. Resist bravely there, compañeros....

9:18 a.m.--To Fernández, Australia mill: ...You have to hold the highway from the Australia mill on down. The artillery will arrive, there, with a clean cannon blast. Don't worry, we'll take that highway with a clean cannon blast. Make sure not to concentrate the troops too much.... Try to hold the beachhead from Australia to the [Zapata] swamp, hold it at all cost, so we can maintain a beachhead on the swamp side. That's very important, so we can then take the highway and hold on to it from there to the swamp. Send the troops scattered....

9:25 a.m.--To Curbelo, FAR: Hey, Curbelo, you need to see if there's a jet available, to cover our troops over the highway from Australia to Soplillar, where there's a B-26 messing with us....

9:40 a.m.--To Fernández, Australia mill: ...We've been harassing the ships nonstop. They were trying to land, and we were sinking them.... Dig trenches. When they run into the people from the Militias they'll be screwed....

9:42 a.m.--To Curbelo, FAR: ...We'll keep up the attack on the ships, yes, but we'll use the Sea Furies to cover Fernández's advance, starting today, toward Pálpite....

9:49 a.m.--To del Valle (personally). You have to give Fernández cover. That's very important, because then we're going to retake Girón....

9:55 a.m.--To Fernández, Australia mill: ...I'm going to guarantee you cover until you have Pálpite secured. Go to the highway and hang on to Pálpite--that's very important. Then I'll keep the air cover for as long as you need it there....

12:47 p.m.--You clear out anything that moves from Playa Larga to Girón, and then the same thing on the highway from Girón, and from there to near Cayo Ramona--everything that moves, and then you come back....

12:55 p.m.--To [Cuban president Osvaldo] Dorticós: ...The ships are retreating.... Now we're going to shoot at anything that moves over there....

13:02--To Raúl: Hey, Miró Cardona is insisting there's been a landing in Oriente.... Just in case...you have to use a lot of antitank forces.... Hey, Raúl, there's a lot of antiaircraft at the airport.... We can probably go ahead and send you the air force [which] has performed marvelously well.... The little boats that had been messing with us were leaving....

13:06--To Santa Clara: It's Fidel.... How's it going? ...We're advancing on Playa Larga.... Yes, Pálpite's in our hands.... I think everything will be free of the enemy by tomorrow....

7:00 p.m.--[Note to Fernández]: "I've decided to send the other 12 howitzers and support them with two multiple machine-gun batteries plus one antiaircraft artillery battery, because I think it's extremely important to open up an infernal barrage. Try to fire with as many howitzers as possible....--Fidel, Australia mill.
 
April 18, 1961
3:00 a.m.--[Note to Fernández]: "I'm taking care of the cannon ammunition. The other tanks will get to Australia at dawn. During the day we'll decide on the best time to move them. Augusto will stay at the Australia mill. I'll have to leave for Havana in a little while. I will be in constant communication with you guys. Send me continuous updates during the operations. Onward! Fidel.

P.S. I still haven't heard any news since that slip of paper where you told me that the enemy was no longer firing as heavily.

8:30 a.m.--To Ameijeiras: ...The only thing that can happen is if our attack is devastating and we pass them, we get ahead, but otherwise, your move will prove demoralizing.... We have to tell Camp Managua to prepare Roger's column....

8:58 a.m.--...Tell Fernández to attack with howitzers, but to start right away. It doesn't matter how long the tanks take. He has to start thrashing those guys.... he shouldn't wait for anybody.... he shouldn't stop attacking those guys for even a minute....  
 
April 19, 1961
To Roger: Lt. Ermes will explain the column's mission to you in detail. You guys should leave as soon as Ermes arrives. Take the same route as the 111th Batallion; from there cut off the highway from Cayo Ramona to Girón and set up an ambush on that highway to keep the enemy in San Blas from retreating toward Girón, which is where the rest of their troops are.

Today we're attacking San Blas and they'll try to keep advancing as far as they can. When they make contact with the 111th, they must get the latest information on the situation. Your primary mission: to divide the enemy forces in two. It's a simple, easy operation. It's very important to avoid any confusion. Regards, Fidel.

5:52--To del Valle: We have to use the antiaircraft units. See if we can shoot down one of those American planes.

6:07--To Pedro Miret: ...Don't shoot at Cayo Ramona, shoot at the intersection, where the highway forms a "Y." On your way back from Girón, hit the "Y." Well, shoot at the planes every time they get close to there.... I estimate that Gordo should be in San Blas by no later than 10:00 in the morning.... What happened? Did you shoot down the plane?.... Well, congratulations, damn, congratulations.... And keep shooting. Go for it. Excellent! Let Fernández know, fast....

6:20--Covadonga mill: Did you shoot it down? Great! That's an early blow to them. We've shot down another one of theirs at 6:20; we're off to a good start.... No, devastate the enemy.... shoot with as many cannon as you can--remember, at the "Y," because they have to retreat through there.... hit them with one shot, or 20 cannon blasts....

9:07--To del Valle: I think all of our dead should be fingerprinted.... I think the most important thing of all is helping their families. We have to work on the pension law and the "Revolutionary Hero" medal. We've got to check with Dorticós on that.

9:12--To Ameijeiras: ...You have to bomb hard, you have to destroy...damn it, they're going to land and evacuate all the ringleaders.... Tell Fernández he has to fire off a lot of cannon there. Tell him not to be shooting isolated shots, he needs to unleash a barrage of fire.

9:35--To Augusto, Yaguarama: ...Give them 100 or 200 mortar rounds, but don't take the town. What you should do instead is set up a siege from where you are to the swamp and surround all of that, so that nobody gets away.... Surround them at a 1-kilometer radius.... I'm not telling you to take it, because the tanks will do that....

9:50--To Miret: ...Keep shooting until 11:00. A lot of cannon blasts. Our troops are 2 kilometers from Cayo Ramona.... I recommend that in the meantime you step up the cannon fire.... Once you're at the crossroads, throw all of the antiaircraft batteries and tanks at them, and everybody goes to attack Playa Girón....

11:40--To Junco, at Covadonga: ...Tell Pedro to position all the howitzers in San Blas and start firing there, toward Bermeja and Helechal.. carpeting the entire road.... You have to get to Helechal and the Cayo Ramona crossroads as quickly as possible....

11:50--To Tomassevich: ...Set up a siege there where you are. If you want, you can get closer, but set up a siege so that when they flee you catch all of them, because they're going to flee there. You have to form a pocket, not on the highway, but a pocket opening up to the highway, going from the highway toward Girón and Covadonga. In short, set up a pocket on that corner, because anyone fleeing will fall into your hands.

11:55--Covadonga mill: ...I've given the planes instructions to machine-gun the highway from Playa Girón to the advance guard point at Aragonés....

12:06--To Augusto, Australia: ...Tell Haroldo to get two boys who know how to shoot antitank grenades.... We have to send them with the limp man...with 10 antitank grenades each.... They should go to Yaguarama, where Tomassevich will be waiting for them and he'll tell them where they have to take the two boys....

12:15--To Tomassevich: ...Don't let the cannon wander around over there; have them return to their battery...and don't let any tanks get close.... You have to hit a tank from the side, let it pass and shoot it in the flank. Surround it and don't let anybody escape.

12:50--To Curbelo, FAR: ...The only concern is the tanks.... get over to the junction, over there, to demoralize them.

13:00--Covadonga mill: ...Our infantry shouldn't advance in trucks, except for light infantry going behind the tanks.... We don't want them to be machine-gunning the truck column. They should advance on foot, along the edge of the brush, to prevent attacks on the truck columns.

13:48--To Curbelo, FAR: ...Bomb heavily next to Girón, in the area of the airport.... Give them a strong attack with everything you've got. Tell them not to stop the artillery bombing.

14:43--To del Valle: ...We're going to position the cannon to carry out an artillery barrage 1 kilometer offshore.... We have to use a lot of howitzer fire on the beach.... Tell Fernández not to let them sleep tonight. The bombing must happen at night.
 
 
Related articles:
Miami event discusses Bay of Pigs victory
'Cuba is an example,' say youth leaders on U.S. tour
'Cuban youth have been main actors in struggle'
How the April 17-19, 1961, battle unfolded
Unions in Cuba fight social inequalities
 
 
 
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