CUBA: THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1895-1898) Fatalities of the Spanish Army deployed in Cuba [i] * By Pedro Roig
At the outbreak of Cuba’s War of Independence, (February 24, 1895), there were 20,197 Spanish soldiers in Cuba. This number proved to be insufficient. In March 1895, the first of 12 reinforcement expeditions made the journey from several Spanish ports to Cuba. In February 1898, the last contingent of 7,186 men landed on the island, bringing the total to 203,449 (including the original garrison) and making it the largest European Army ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean to America. The war in Cuba was a burden on the impoverished Spanish economy, but despite the political and financial crisis, Spain made a remarkable effort to field a huge army in Cuba. Though large, the Army had low discipline standards, was badly trained, and the soldiers were mostly instructed in the narrow confines of the barracks’ patios. In addition, the troops fighting in the island suffered extreme health peril of tropical diseases. Cuba’s climate is dominated by the dry and the rainy seasons. The dry season was the preferred time for offensive “search and destroy” operations against the Cuban forces, highly skillful in Guerrilla war. But during the rainy season, the few existing roadways turned into soft and wet muddy roads, reducing the troops combat effectiveness, furthermore yellow fever, malaria and other deadly contagious diseases became the frightful companions of Spanish soldiers in Cuba at a time when penicillin and other antibiotics had not been discovered. Maximo Gomez, Commander in Chief of Cuban Army of Independence would say that his best generals were the months of June, July and August. He was right. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment