The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an attack on the Bay of Pigs in Cuba by a group of Cuban exiles trained by the U.S. The invasion began at night between April 16 and 17 and lasted until April 19 (Sierra). The invasion was a disaster for the invading forces as well as for the U.S. despite the fact that the President Kennedy continued to deny involvement in it. Overall this invasion went wrong in many areas but was historically very important to the U.S.ÃÂs fight against the spread of Communism.
The planning for the invasion started a long time before the attack. When President Eisenhower was in office his administration along with the CIA knew they were going to devise some sort of invasion of Cuba (Sierra). They decided this once the Cuban revolution occurred and the new dictator, Fidel Castro, began to direct the country towards communism. A communist country this close to the US supported by the USSR was seen as a big threat to the safety of democracy in the surrounding area and even in the U.S.
Map of Cuba, showing the Bay of Pigs
A Cuban Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 fighter ("FAR 541") ...
English: Bahia de Cochinos 1961itself. The plan included a daytime landing at the city of Trinidad and expected many revolutionary uprisings to occur within Cuba (Sierra). This plan set out by the CIA was then described to the newly elected President John F. Kennedy who had run his campaign on an anti-Castro basis (Higgins 67). Although he had his doubts about the plan he agreed to it partly because shutting it down would appear to go against his views during his run for presidency. He was briefed on the aspects and status of the plan by Allen Dulles, the director of the CIA (Higgins 67). Under Kennedy the site of the Bay of Pigs was decided and though many were skeptical of the...