An Alternate Bay of Pigs, 1961, and Operation Ortsac

MacCaulay

Banned
I just decided to spitball this...

In April 1961, 1400 Cuban exiles, trained and armed by the CIA, landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs. I remember reading in a book about the first men killed in the CIA's service that the Eisenhower administration originally greenlit an alternate landing zone on the northern part of the island backed up by direct US air strikes.

I just thought I'd mention that part because if anyone knew more about that, then I'd be willing to pitch it further, and ask what would happen if the Bay of Pigs had been launched with more American-supplied air power, beyond the Alabama Air Gaurd men that flew the B-26s.

Also...Operation Ortsac was a rough battleplan the US had for the invasion of Cuba. I just thought I'd throw up the battleplan:

Cuban Invasion Force (Corps)

  • US 101st Airborne Division (Secure Jose Martí and Los Banos Airfields)
  • US 82nd Airborne Division (Secure Mariel and Baracoa Airfields)
  • US 1st Marine Division (Secure Beaches at Tarará)
  • US 2nd Marine Division (Secure Beaches at Tarará)
and ask what would've happened had we invaded in, say...the 60s? The 70s? The 80s? or the 90s?
 
I just decided to spitball this...

In April 1961, 1400 Cuban exiles, trained and armed by the CIA, landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs. I remember reading in a book about the first men killed in the CIA's service that the Eisenhower administration originally greenlit an alternate landing zone on the northern part of the island backed up by direct US air strikes.

I just thought I'd mention that part because if anyone knew more about that, then I'd be willing to pitch it further, and ask what would happen if the Bay of Pigs had been launched with more American-supplied air power, beyond the Alabama Air Gaurd men that flew the B-26s.

Also...Operation Ortsac was a rough battleplan the US had for the invasion of Cuba. I just thought I'd throw up the battleplan:

Cuban Invasion Force (Corps)

  • US 101st Airborne Division (Secure Jose Martí and Los Banos Airfields)
  • US 82nd Airborne Division (Secure Mariel and Baracoa Airfields)
  • US 1st Marine Division (Secure Beaches at Tarará)
  • US 2nd Marine Division (Secure Beaches at Tarará)
and ask what would've happened had we invaded in, say...the 60s? The 70s? The 80s? or the 90s?
It's impossible after the Sovs and Cuba sign on together. The same as NATO charging into Hungary or Poland.
 
I read some wher4e about Kennedy getting a breifing about the possibility of invading Cuba.

One general showed a map of the Northern US with Cuba superimposed.
Kennedy looked at the Map of Cuba stretching from the East Coast to Chicago.
He then turned to the Generals, and made it clear that a Direct US invasion was off the table.
 
The US could have physically invaded Cuba with the greatest of ease at just about any time, but the blowback would be so bad that it would never be worth it.
 
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