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On the top frames, Cdte. Almeida Bosque and his staff try - and fail - to cross the swollen Yao river in their command jeep. Frames 6-9 show Cdte. Almeida Bosque in front seat of another vehicle. Frames 1-5 show Cdte. Almeida Bosque's wireless station and chief radioman, Calixtt Vidal. Other frames show young amputee in Cdte. Almeida Bosque's column infirmary.

Sentry duty in the immediate vicinity of Fidel Castro's headquarters at La Plata and other headquarters services were performed by this peloton de mujeres shown in frames 7-25. Frames 26-36 show Dr. Bernabe Ordaz, one of the senior rebel army medicos, in the Hospital Mario Mumoz, a field infirmary adjoining Fidel's La Plata headquarters. Last frame shows a young U.S. volunteer in rebel army.

These are faces of Fidel Castro's headquarters staff at La Plata in the fall of 1958. Frames 2-7: Cdte. Luis "El Guajiro" Crespo. Frame 9: Fidel's clerical secretary-assistant, Antonio Llibre. Frame 10: Fidel's chief cook and majordomo, Emilio Moran. Frame 11: Capt. Paneque, a member of radio staff - he was the encoding officer. Frames 20-22: Violeta Casals, the principal radio announcer of La Plata. Frame 18-19: Teresita Albau, Mme. Casals' assistant. Frames 8, 23-24: Orlando Pupo, Fidel's Jefe de Escolta (chief bodyguard). Frames 26-30: Ricardo Martinez, the principal male radio announcer at headquarters. Frames 13-17: Roberto Verdecia, one of troop leaders attached to Fidel's headquarters.

Personalities at Fidel Castro's La Plata headquarters. Frames 24-27: Fidel Castro. Frames 6-16, 18-19: Teresita Carmon, a courier. Frames 3-5: Pablo "El Veguero," a headquarters aide. Man with beret: name unknown.

Faces and groups photographed at Fidel Castro's La Plata headquarters in the early fall of 1958. Top four frames on right (34-37): Dr. Faustino Perez, a commandante then newly retired from his assignment of coordinator of urban underground activities in Habana - in the aftermath of the disastrous failure of the April 9 general strike attempt organized under the direction of Dr. Perez - and attached to La Plata headquarters staff. Frames 5-16 show a typical bit of business at Fidel's own headquarters hut at La Plata: a small troop of guerrilla soldiers arrives to be dispatched personally by Fidel. For the most part they are fairly recent recruits, mixed with a few bearded veterans (such was the customary composition of new units) and they're on their way to join a line unit - Paco Cabrera's peloton. On frames 5-9 the view of these men is as Fidel sees them from his headquarters hut; on frames 10-12 Fidel is seen joining them and briefly addressing them; on frames 13-14 Fidel ducks back into his office, and the men, after waiting some moments, leave up the hill, along the precipitous path forming the approach to Fidel's house (frames 15-16). Rest of frames show Fidel briefing an officer in front of his headquarters hut.

Fidel Castro at La Plata headquarters in early fall of 1958.

Cdte. Fidel Castro, photographed at La Plata headquarters in the early fall of 1958. Note frames 8-13 show characteristic bit of daily business: Fidel brought a dispatch (by unidentified local messenger) and reads it with typical concentration. Frames 14-16: Fidel is shown here in another typical command pursuit - receiving the visit of two local politicians who have begun to discern need to establish contact with the leader of the guerrilla forces spreading through the province. Man on left (sombrero) is, in fact, a congressman from one of the nearby districts; fat man on right is one of his honchos. Congressman is identified in our notes only as (first name unknown) Nelson.

This depicts the sort of guerrilla unit that came into existence in 1958, during the second year of civil war, when the rebels gradually expanded their zone of operations: a perimeter unit near Santiago, marking the extent of the Castro forces advance toward the provincial capital. This unit is under Capt. Humberto Diaz Rodriguez, a guerrilla officer from Habana (frames 28-29; also 10-16, note that while Capt. Rodriguez is here shown holding phone, the phone is not really connected). Frames 8 and 9: rebel sentry, whose beard indicates some combat service, but whose shiny shoes, new hat and clean pants indicate the requisitioning of new supplies in the area. In these areas surrounding the major cities of Oriente Province where the rebels managed to set up and defend such outposts, they had extensive contacts with the - almost invariably sympathetic - civilian population. (Frames 2-7) As a result of this commerce with the better-provisioned population of these open plains - now definitely out of the mountain jungles of the Sierra Maestra range - the rebels acquire and roast a small pig: Frames 17-19, also 21-26; also 30-36. Note Frame 27, with Frames 28-29 noted above, shows Capt. Humberto Diaz Rodriguez taking stock of sizable rice stores requisitioned locally.

Fidel Castro inside rebel communications center, under command of very efficient officer, Cdte. Waldo Fernandez (frames 9-12, et seq.). This radio tower had several call signs - RR1, i.e. "Radio Rebelde Uno," also RR7; by the fall of 1958 (date of this photo), it had become the guerrilla forces' principal communications and propaganda lifeline. Frames 19-24 show the field hospital adjoining La Plata headquarters, then under command of Dr. Rene Vallejo and Dr. Bernade Ordaz, the Hospital Mario Muniz. Note that according to strict rebel sanitary policy, local hill people and rebel troopers wait for treatment in this queue without discrimination. Rebels always extended medical services to civilians under their control: this became important source of local support. Other frames show Fidel at La Plata.

Frames 4-6 are a period document: the rebel forces' radio propaganda, psychological warfare and intelligence staff at La Plata headquarters in the early fall of 1958. Woman seated right foreground is Violeta Casals, Radio Rebelde's famous woman announcer (she remained Castro government's principal radio voice for several years after rebel victory); others cannot be identified here with certainty. Other frames show yet another bit of daily business for Fidel Castro: testing a recalcitrant rifle in front of La Plata headquarters shack. Behind him are shown various members of his personal staff: Antonio Llibre, his clerical secretary-aide (frames 14-20) and Orlando Pupo, jefe de escolta (left rear on frames 18-19).