Operation Verano

Operation Verano
Part of the Cuban Revolution
Fulgencio Batista overlooking a map of the Sierra Maestra, where the 26th of July Movement was hiding.
Date 28 June 1958 – 8 August 1958 (1 month, 1 week and 4 days) Location Sierra Maestra hills, Cuba Result Rebel victory The rebels launch a counter-offensive
Belligerents
Republic of Cuba	26th of July Movement
Commanders and leaders
General Eulogio Cantillo General Alberto del Rio Chaviano	Fidel Castro Che Guevara René Ramos Latour †
Strength
12,000 men	300 men
Casualties and losses
207 killed 30 wounded 240 captured	27 killed

Operation Verano ([beˈɾano], "Operation Summer") was the name given to the summer offensive in 1958 by the Batista government during the Cuban Revolution, known to the rebels as La Ofensiva. The offensive was designed to crush Fidel Castro's revolutionary army, which had been growing in strength in the area of the Sierra Maestra mountains since their arrival in Cuba on board the Granma yacht in December 1956. The offensive was met with resistance, notably at the Battle of La Plata and the Battle of Las Mercedes, and failed in its objective^{[citation needed]}. The failure left the Cuban army dispirited and demoralized. Castro viewed it as a victory and soon launched his own offensive.