Battle of Las Mercedes - Aftermath

Aftermath

Since Castro's troops withdrew from the battle and suffered huge losses (about one quarter of his small army were killed), this should have been a defeat for Castro. Yet the reality was the opposite. By failing to destroy Castro's troops, and by talking with him instead of killing his men, the Cuban army was revealed to be weak and uncertain of its mission. Batista lost confidence in his senior generals, the junior officers lost confidence in their commanders, demoralization was rife in the Cuban army.

By contrast, Castro viewed this as proof that the Cuban army had lost the will to fight and that now was the time to carry the battle to the rest of Cuba. No longer would he hide in the mountains, now his forces would carry the war to the major cites of the country. Castro's army and his commanders were lifted up by a belief that they had escaped from certain disaster because they were destined to win. Within four months, Castro had won, Batista had fled, and the revolution was victorious.

Read more about this topic:  Battle Of Las Mercedes

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