a settlement on the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba. It was near here that from Apr. 17 to 19, 1961, the decisive battle of the Bay of Pigs invasion took place, in which the Cuban Rebel Army defeated the Cuban counterrevolutionaries.
On April 17 counterrevolutionary émigrés, armed and trained in the United States and several Latin American countries, landed in the area near Playa Girón and Playa Larga, another small settlement. Their aim was to organize an armed struggle against the Cuban Revolution. During the fighting, which lasted 72 hours, the revolutionary forces under the leadership of Fidel Castro Ruz thoroughly defeated the counterrevolutionaries. Of the invading force of 1,500, more than 1,000 were taken prisoner.
The steadfastness and heroism shown by the Cuban people in defense of their revolutionary gains, the fact that they rallied closely around the revolutionary government, and the resolute support for Cuba from the Soviet Union and other socialist countries eliminated the threat of direct US intervention in support of the counterrevolutionaries. Playa Girón has become a symbol of the courage and heroism of the Cuban people. An annual holiday is observed in Cuba on April 19 in honor of the reference victory at Playa Girón.