National Rebellion Day in Cuba

It is one of the national holidays of the country, celebrated on the anniversary of the storming of the Moncada barracks made by revolutionaries. July 26, 1953 was the day of the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. 

In 1952, when Fulgencio Batista in Cuba established a dictatorial regime, the insurgency in the country was headed by Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, a young lawyer from the province of Oriente, a graduate of the University of Havana.

Early in the morning on July 26, 1953 a group of young people led by Fidel Castro tried to seize the Moncada fortress in the city of Santiago de Cuba in Province of Oriente – the second largest fortress of the country where the regiment of 400 men was located. Simultaneously with the Moncada assault, the supporters of Fidel Castro were to excite a similar rebellion in the city of Bayamo: to block the road leading to Santiago and the bridges on the river Cauto to prevent the approach of the army reserves.

A conflict of insurgents with a military patrol prevented the implementation of the conceived plan of Moncada assault. The rebels went into action and combated for two hours, their losses amounted to a few people. However, the dozens of young people who participated in the assault were killed in the cruelest way after its suppression. Fidel Castro himself was arrested on August 1.

The revolutionaries defeat of July 26, 1953 marked the beginning of the so-called "July 26 Movement", which was struggling against the Batista regime. The Cuban Revolution ended on January 1, 1959 with the overthrow of the regime.