The attack took place on January 17, 1957, by 29 members of the guerrilla that was reorganized after the landing of the Granma yacht in eastern Cuba. This was a demonstration that this rebel force was operational and with war fighting capacity.

From the military point of view, it was a small action that gave a hard blow to the government propaganda about the total elimination of the guerrilla group in Alegria de Pio and raised the fighting morale of the troop.

In his campaign diary, Ernesto Guevara, who would later rise to the rank of Commander of the Rebel Army, wrote that the action was a wake-up call to all and reaffirmed the possibilities of the final victory.

The combat lasted 40 minutes and allowed to put into practice several strategies of the guerrilla struggle that would later constitute a fundamental part of the military operations of the Rebel Army.

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