The history of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

during World War II begins in 1939. Because of Cuba's geographical position at the entrance of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

's role as the principal trading port in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, and the country's natural resources, Cuba was an important participant in the American Theater of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and it was one of the greatest beneficiaries of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

program. Cuba declared war on the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

in December 1941, making it one of the first

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-e ...

countries to enter the conflict. When the war ended in 1945, the Cuban military had developed a reputation of being the most efficient and co-operative

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

nation.

Brú and Batista

Federico Laredo Brú Federico Laredo Brú (April 23, 1875, Remedios, Las Villas, Cuba – July 7, 1946, Havana, Cuba) was an attorney and served as President of Cuba from 1936 to 1940. He was married to Leonor Gomez-Montes. Laredo Bru was a Colonel in Cuba’s Lib ...

was the Cuban president when the war began. His only significant crisis related to the war before he left office in 1940 was the affair. The MS ''St. Louis'' was a German

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

that was carrying over 900 Jewish refugees from Germany to Cuba. Upon her arrival in Havana, the Cuban government refused to allow the refugees to land because they did not have proper permits and visas. After ocean liner sailed north, the governments of both the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

also refused to accept the refugees and so the ''St. Louis'' sailed back across the Atlantic and dropped the passengers off in Europe. Some went to Britain, but most went to Belgium and France, which were soon overrun by German forces. Ultimately, because of the repeated refusal to take in the refugees, many of them were taken prisoner by the Germans and killed in concentration camps. After the 1940 Cuban elections, Brú was succeeded by the "strongman and chief" of the Cuban Army,

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

. At first, the United States was concerned about Batista's intentions on whether he would align his country with the Axis or the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. Batista, shortly after becoming president, legalized a pro-

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

organization linked to

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

and his regime in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, but fear of any Nazi sympathies of Batista was dispelled when he sent the British a large quantity of sugar as a gift. Later, fear of any possible sympathy for Franco was also dispelled when he suggested to the United States that it launch a joint US-Latin American invasion of Spain to overthrow Franco and his regime, but the plan did not materialize. Batista's support for the Allied cause was confirmed in February 1941, when he ordered all German and Italian consular officials to leave his country. Cuba entered the war on December 9, 1941, by declaring war on

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, which had launched a devastating attack on the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

base at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, two days earlier. Cuba declared war on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on December 11, 1941 and, following the Americans, broke relations with

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...

on November 10, 1942.

Contribution to Battle of the Caribbean

According to Rear Admiral

Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...

, Cuba's military was the "most cooperative and helpful of all the Caribbean states" during the war and its navy was "small but efficient" in its fight against German U-boats. Upon Cuba's declaration of war on the Axis powers, Batista signed an agreement with the United States that gave permission for the US to build airfields in Cuba for the protection of the Caribbean sealanes, and he also signed a mutual defense pact with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

to defend against enemy submarines in the Gulf of Mexico. Among the new American bases was the San Antonio Air Base near

San Antonio de los Baños San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. It was founded in 1802. History There are 39 schools in the town, ...

, and the San Julián Air Base, in Pinar del Rio, both of which were built in 1942 and turned over to the Cuban military after the end of the war. The United States also supplied Cuba with modern military aircraft, which were vital for coastal defense and anti-submarine operations, and refitted the Cuban Navy with modern weapons and other equipment. During World War II, the Cuban Navy escorted hundreds of Allied ships through hostile waters, sailed nearly 400,000 miles on convoy and patrol duty, flew over 83,000 hours on convoy and patrol duty, and rescued over 200

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

victims from the sea, all without losing a single warship or aircraft to enemy action. However, even though the Cuban military was praised for its conduct, rumors persisted throughout the war that the Germans were operating small bases hidden in coves along Cuba's coast, which were used to resupply the U-boats. Nevertheless, the rumors were unjustified, and the lack of such bases in the Caribbean forced the Germans to develop supply submarines, the

German Type XIV submarine The Type XIV U-boat was a modification of the Type IXD, designed to resupply other U-boats, being the only submarine tenders built which were not surface ships. It was nicknamed the "''Milchkuh/Milchkühe (pl.)''" (milk cows) or ''U-Tanker''. ...

, which was nicknamed "milk cows," for logistics.

Attacks on Cuban ships

Cuba lost six

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

s during the war, and the Cuban Navy was credited with sinking one German submarine. The first four sunken merchant ships were the ''Manzanillo'', a steamer of 1,025 tons, the 1,685-ton ''Santiago de Cuba'', the 1,983-ton ''Mambi'', and the 5,441-ton ''Libertad''. ''Manzanillo'' was sunk with the ''Santiago de Cuba'' on August 12, 1942, by . The two ships were sailing in Special Convoy 12 when they were attacked off the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

. Altogether, 33 sailors were killed in what became the deadliest attack on the Cuban merchant marine during the war, and 30 others survived. The next engagement occurred on May 13, 1943, when sank ''Mambi''. ''Mambi'' was with Convoy NC-18, sailing six miles off Manati, when she was hit by a single torpedo, sinking her quickly, killing 23 men, including five American United States Navy Armed Guards, who manned the ship's weapons; 11 others survived, including the ship's master and one of the armed guards. The 2,249-ton American ship SS ''Nickeliner'' was also sunk during the same attack after it had been struck by two torpedoes. The first torpedo explosion lifted the ship's bow out of the water and threw up a column of water and flames about 100 ft into the air. The second damaged the tanks of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...

water that the ship was carrying. Miraculously, the crew, which included seven armed guards, escaped into lifeboats without a single loss of life. They were rescued by a Cuban

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War I ...

as ''Nickeliner'' sank and landed at

Nuevitas Nuevitas is a municipality and port town in the Camagüey Province of Cuba. The large bay was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1492. History Founded in 1775, the city was moved to its present site in 1828. Before the 1977 national municipal refo ...

. ''Libertad'' was the largest Cuban merchant ship sunk in the war. On the morning of December 4, 1943, the 5,441-ton ''Libertad'' was sailing about 75 miles southwest of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...

, with Convoy KN-280 (sailing

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

), when the attacked her. Launching four torpedoes, ''U-129'' struck ''Libertad'' twice on the port side, causing the ship to first list severely and then sink rapidly. The crew had no time to send out distress signals and was still lowering life rafts when the sea water reached the deck of the ship: 25 men were killed, and 11 others were rescued by the United States Navy after they had been several hours adrift at sea. The last two Cuban merchant ships were sunk in February 1944, apparently without the loss of life. Altogether, Cuba lost 10,296 tons of shipping during the war, as well as about 80 lives, including those of the American armed guards. Today, there is a monument in Havana's Avenida del Puerto for the people who died in the attacks.

The sinking of ''U-176''

The only U-boat sunk by the Cuban Navy was ''U-176'', the submarine that had sunk ''Mambi'' and ''Nickeliner''. On May 15, 1943, a squadron of Cuban submarine chasers, formed by the CS-11, CS-12 and CS-13, sailed from

Isabela de Sagua Isabela de Sagua, also shortened as Isabela and nicknamed ''La Venecia de Cuba'' ("The Cuban Venice"),Honduran ship ''Wanks'', and the Cuban ship ''Camagüey'', both of which were loaded with sugar. The crews of the merchant ships, as well as those of the warships were on full alert. Just before their departure, a warning had been received that a surfacing submarine had been detected off the northern coast of

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

. The ships sailed in forward lines apart. ''Camagüey'' was on the flank nearest to the coast. The escort navigated at a distance of . The CS-12 was in front, followed by the CS-11 with the squadron chief on board and, finally, the CS-13 was at the rear. At 17:15, when the convoy was off of Cayo Megano, an American Kingfisher floatplane appeared in the sky coming from the northeast. The plane went into a nosedive and, flying at low altitude, circled twice, swaying and turning on and off its engine. According to an established code, those maneuvers were used to announce the presence of a German U-boat on and to mark its exact position. The Kingfisher then dropped a smoke float. After dropping the float, the Cuban squadron chief ordered the commander of CS-13, Ensign Mario Ramirez Delgado, to explore the area pointed out by the plane. Once the order had been received, the CS-13 sailed speedily toward the area, where the patrol boat's

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

received a clear and precise contact at 900 yards. The seaman operating the sonar, Norberto Collado Abreu, was glued to the equipment, without missing a sound. The attack then started: three

depth charges A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...

, set to explode at 100, 150, and 250 feet, were dropped from the stern, in accordance with the calculated speed of the submarine. Four explosions were clearly detected. The fourth explosion was so strong that the stern of the Cuban ship was submerged, and water came in through the hatchway of the engine room. At the time, the hydrophones reported a sound that was similar to a liquid bubbling when it comes from a submerged container that is suddenly opened and so indicated that the U-boat had been hit. To finish the U-boat off, the patrol boat launched two more depth charges, which were set to explode at 250 feet. A few minutes later, a dark stain was observed on the surface of the water. A spurt of a black and viscous substance, smelling like gasoline came, up from the deep. Although there was little doubt that the U-boat had been sunk, Delgado was ordered to take a sample of the contaminated seawater to confirm the victory. Even then, it was not until after the war, when the Allies seized Germany's naval records, that proof of ''U-176''s sinking was found. According to the seized documents, ''U-176'' was under the command of Captain Lieutenant Reiner Dierksen, had sunk eleven enemy ships in her career, and was herself sunk with all hands lost. The exploration of the battle area with the hydro-acoustic equipment continued for a short time after the engagement, but no sound was detected. The CS-13 then joined the convoy again and continued its crossing. Upon arriving in Havana and after he had personally informed the Head of the Navy, Delgado spoke on the phone with President Batista, who ordered him to keep absolute silence about what had happened. For some unknown reason, according to Delgado, the sinking of ''U-176'' remained a secret to the Cuban public for the rest of the war. In 1946, Delgado was finally awarded the Meritorious Naval Service Order with Red Badge. Furthermore, Rear Admiral Samuel E. Morison, official historian of the US Navy, recognized his success in his work ''History of United States Naval Operations in World War II'', in which he also praised the ability and efficiency of the Cuban Navy. Samuel E. Morison wrote the following about the engagement:

Lüning Affair

German

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

activity in Cuba was minor, despite the country's importance to the Allied war effort, and was eliminated by Allied counterintelligence before it could really begin. Shortly after the war started, the Germans began operating a clandestine communications network in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

to collect secret information and to smuggle it safely out of the region to

German-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. For Cuba, the

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' ( German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the '' Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. ...

sent a man, Heinz Lüning, to Havana with orders to establish a secret radio station and then to transmit the information collected to agents in South America, from where it would then be sent directly to Germany. According to author Thomas Schoonover, the plan could have worked, but Lüning was an incompetent spy who failed to master the very basics of espionage. For example, he was never able to get his radio working correctly, he did not understand how to use the secret ink that he was supplied with, and he missed drop boxes. However, after his premature arrest in August 1942, Allied officials, including President Batista, General Manuel Benítez,

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

, and

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

, attempted to fabricate a link between Lüning and the German submarines operating in the Caribbean by claiming that he was in contact with them via radio, to provide the public with an explanation for their failures in the early U-boat campaign. Allied officials elevated Lüning's importance to that of a "master spy," but there is no evidence that he ever came across even a single piece of important intelligence during his time in Cuba. Lüning was found guilty of espionage and executed in Cuba in November 1942, the only German spy put to death in Latin America during the war.

Hemingway's patrols

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

was living at his home,

Finca Vigía Finca Vigía (, ''Lookout Farm'') is a house in San Francisco de Paula Ward in Havana, Cuba which was once the residence of Ernest Hemingway. Like Hemingway's Key West home, it is now a museum. The building was constructed in 1886. History of ...

, in Cuba when the war began. His first contribution to the Allied war effort without leaving the island was to organize his own counter intelligence force to root out any Axis spies operating in Havana. Calling it his "Crook Factory," Hemingway's unit consisted of 18 men, many of whom he had worked with five years before during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. The effort was unsuccessful, however, and Hemingway soon turned his attention to fighting the German U-boats operating in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...

. Just three weeks after receiving permission from Ambassador

Spruille Braden Spruille Braden ( ; March 13, 1894 – January 10, 1978) was an American diplomat, businessman, lobbyist, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as the ambassador to various Latin American countries, and as Assistant Secretary ...

to form the "Crook Factory," Hemingway asked Braden for permission to arm his fishing boat, the , for patrols against U-boats off of the Cuban coast. Surprisingly, Braden gave permission to Hemingway, who proceeded to arm the ''Pilar'' and its crew with machine guns, bazookas, and hand grenades. Hemingway's plan was similar to that of the

Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...

idea: he would sail around in what appeared to be a harmless pleasure craft, inviting the Germans to surface and board, and when they did so, the boarding party would be disposed of with the machine guns, and the U-boat would then be engaged with the bazookas and grenades. Hemingway's patrols against German U-boats turned out to be just as unsuccessful as the counterintelligence operation had been. As the months passed, and as no U-boat appeared, the patrols of the ''Pilar'' turned into fishing trips, and the grenades were thrown into the sea as "drunken sport." After adding his sons Patrick and Gregory to the crew, Hemingway acknowledged that his U-boat hunting venture had "turned into a charade," but he never admitted it straightforwardly. Years later, the Cuban naval officer Mario Ramirez Delgado, who sank ''U-176'', said that Hemingway was "a playboy that hunted submarines off the Cuban coast as a whim."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World War II, Cuba during Military history of Cuba

1939 in Cuba 1940s in Cuba

North America in World War II Republic of Cuba (1902–1959)