On December 2, 1956, 82 rebels of the July 26th Movement, a Cuban revolutionary organization headed by Fidel Castro, whose goal was to topple the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, landed on the coast of southern Cuba near Playa Las Coloradas in Niquero Municipality on a small yacht called the "Granma".

They were soon ambushed by the military at the small village Alegría de Pío, which severely crippled the rebels, with most of the 82 men having been killed.

[4] In addition to this, in both the Cuban and international media, it was widely reported that the rebellion had been crushed and Fidel Castro had been killed.

[5] By January 14, the rebels had trekked deep into the Sierra Maestra and had chosen to stop at the Magdalena River, in order to train what was left of their band and to maintain hygenie which they had abandoned in the days prior.

On the 16th, they crossed the La Plata river and took two peasants hostage, of which one had been an informant, who told the rebels that there were roughly 15 soldiers stationed at the barracks.

In addition, they told them that one of the most infamous foremen and military informants in the region, Chicho Osorio, would soon be passing along the road.

However, the guards had resisted more than expected, and each time the rebels demanded they surrender, the sergeant in command of the barracks responded with M1 rifle fire.

Later, one of the soldiers from the burned barracks decided to join the rebels, and would eventually reach the rank of lieutenant by the end of the revolution.

[2] Before the battle had taken place, a corporal and a foreman at Palma Mocha informed the residents of the village that the town would be bombed due to rebel activities and told to flee.