This is part 3 of my series of blog posts in honor of my late father, Francisco Guerra, a veteran of Brigade 2506, Sixth Battalion.

End of Invasion Day (Night of 17 April) and Start of Invasion Day Two (Late Night to Early Morning of 18 April) (D-Day +1)

By all accounts, the first full night of the invasion saw the most intense fighting of the Bay of Pigs invasion at the Battle of the Rotunda, close to Playa Larga (code name: Red Beach). The Second Battalion, led by Erneido Oliva, whose exploits during the Bay of Pigs would become the stuff of legend, had landed on Red Beach, and by late afternoon (1800 hours), Oliva and his men had received critical reinforcements from other parts of the Brigade: a platoon of mortars and an M-1 tank from the Fourth (heavy-weapons) Battalion as well as one company from the Sixth Battalion. (See Lynch 2000, p. 102; Wyden 1979, p. 272.)

Most of the remaining brigade forces, including the rest of the Sixth Battalion, were based in the vicinity Playa Girón (Blue Beach), about 40 kilometers south. Any ground-based enemy attack against them would most likely have to go through Playa Larga. Anticipating just such an attack, Deputy Commander Erneido Oliva and his men set up six mortars and two bazookas in strategic positions around a central traffic circle north of Playa Larga (Red Beach). (Note #4)

Note #4: In Cuba, traffic circles are called rotundas — hence the name of the forthcoming fight of 17-18 April: the Battle of the Rotunda.

Starting at 1930 hours, Brigade forces (now dug-in around the Rotunda) had to endure a sustained and never-ending barrage of artillery fire from approaching enemy forces. This deadly barrage of artillery fire lasted over two hours, inflicting significant casualties: eight or nine dead and 30 wounded. (Lynch 2000, p. 103; see also Triay 2001, p. 77.) In all, over 1,200 rounds of artillery were fired off, but Oliva’s men had maintained their strategic positions around the Rotunda and held their fire, as they had precious little ammunition available to them. (Lynch 2000, p. 103.)

Then, just after midnight (1230 hours), enemy forces finally approached the strategic traffic circle, unaware of the trap set for them, and the ensuing battle lasted over five hours! (See Lynch 2000, pp. 103-104.) When it was all said and done, Oliva and his men had fought and defeated a much stronger and better-equipped force consisting of 2,000 men and 22 Soviet T-34 and Stalin III tanks. (Ibid., p. 104.) But this victory over Fidel Castro and his Communist forces would prove to be short-lived. The Brigade was running out of ammunition, and the enemy still controlled the air.

The rest of the men of the Sixth Battalion (my father’s unit) were still being held in reserve at Playa Girón during these pivotal hours, but they too would soon join the fight. Stay tuned: I will retrace the footsteps of the Sixth Battalion (my father’s unit) and memorialize their futile last battle — the Quixotic “Last Stand of Girón” — in my next two posts …