Viva les Fidelistas!

[Kozlov]

Picked up a nice book today, a Cuban militia basic training manual. Teaches the guerilla soldier everything he needs to know to defeat the forthcoming attack by the Imperialist Americans.

All your usual basic training stuff, drill, rank insignia of the Cuban armed forces, anti-tank drill, enemy aircraft types, how to cope with weapons of mass destruction, field fortifications etc etc

Published in 1981, 337 pages.

I'm rather pleased with this!

[Kozlov]

Ooops wrong forum AGAIN.... technology eh... will never catch on!

[Mike G.]

KOZLOV,

cause your a good sport and well meaning chap, mistake overlooked.
And I'm glad to hear you are pleased with your book.

Cheers mate.

[Kozlov]

Can you move it for me.... pretty please!

[torstenbel]

Hi Kozlov, just out of interest, how much did you have to pay for that book?? Looks interesting enough...just wondering how much Cuban Revolutionary items cost these days?? Cheers, Torsten (Venceremos!).

PS: Would be great, if there was a smilie here with a closed fist stretched out...wouldn't it...

[Mike G.]

Can you move it for me.... pretty please!

Of course. Ralph is better at this than I am, so I'll PM him and have the thread moved to the Communist Bloc Forum.

Best to you, and thanks for temporarily sharing your enthusiasm with us.

[Kozlov]

Heroic Brothers in the struggle for world peace though those Cubans ;-)

[torstenbel]

you might have overlooked my question in the excitment of Michael writing to you.... Cheers, Torsten.

Hi Kozlov, just out of interest, how much did you have to pay for that book?? Looks interesting enough...just wondering how much Cuban Revolutionary items cost these days?? Cheers, Torsten (Venceremos!).

PS: Would be great, if there was a smilie here with a closed fist stretched out...wouldn't it...

[Kozlov]

Sorry Torsten, indeed my excitement caused me to overlook your question!

It cost me 20 quid, its marked up inside as $10 - presumably from Havana where the bloke who sold it to me got it from - he brought back two, one for him, one to sell.

I'm very happy with this book, its great! I want more Cuban stuff! Not medals, but kit!!

[torstenbel]

Sorry Torsten, indeed my excitement caused me to overlook your question!

It cost me 20 quid, its marked up inside as $10 - presumably from Havana where the bloke who sold it to me got it from - he brought back two, one for him, one to sell.

I'm very happy with this book, its great! I want more Cuban stuff! Not medals, but kit!!

wow, quite expensive then... I presume the militia in question here is some kind of homeguard and not the regular army?? maybe something like the Kampfgruppen? Cheers, Torsten.

[Kozlov]

Obviously I didnt think that too steep

Cuban stuff is pretty rare over here and this is quite a coup really as it shows a fair bit of detail which I've not got AND its from the horses mouth as it were.

I expect 20,000 people will now post and tell me they could have got me a copy for a dollar or something... but i don't care! I have it and its lovely

As far as I know the Miliciano de Tropas Territoriales is indeed just like the Kampfgruppen, a workers militia - note the machete in the emblem, symbolising the main product of the Cuban worker - sugar!

It was formed in 1961 as a response to a possible US invasion and in 2004 numbered over a million strong - men and women!

[NKOMO]

It is an extremely rare item here in the US. Remember, we still have the embargo going on with Cuba. I'm sure some US citizens go to Cuba and "smuggle" things back, but they can get in some serious trouble for doing that from the US and the Cubans. Most Cuban stuff here in the US comes from Canada or was captured in Grenada. Many Canadians go down to Cuba and bring back a few items and then promptly sell them on EBAY. I have gotten a lot of my Cuban stuff off of vets who were in Grenada and from indviduals in Africa who were also in combat against the Cubans. Any Cuban books or kit is rare right now. However, when Castro dies, I wonder if we are going to see a glut of kit being imported from down south.
Sometimes, I sit and think about where some of my uniforms have been and it just boggles my mind. These uniforms started off in a factory in Cuba. They were then exported to Angola. Used by the FAPLA or Cuban soldiers fighting against the South Africans. They are then captured by the South Africans. After this, they were sometimes worn by South African Reece or by UNITA. Eventually, they are taken home by the SADF vet and then sold to a collector(that would be me) . The final leg of the journey is made in an airplane or a freight box on a ship, eventually ending up at my house in Kentucky. I only wish each item could talk and tell the story of where it has been or what it has seen. Perhaps, I have too much time on my hands?
Arch

[Kozlov]

Thanks for the support there Arch!

Indeed, unlike all the other stuff we see on here, Cuban stuff is not from a dead regime but from a very much alive one and the only real remnant of the mighty global Communist power (I don't count North Korea and certainly not China in that!). As such its like collecting Soviet gear during the 80's... every piece is valuable.

At some point in the future it probably will go just like the rest... can't give it away!

Anyway, I've had time to read the book now (when I posted this I'd literally just come in the door with it!) and I've learnt lots.

The most interesting thing is that every other military handbook I've read (and I've read a few!) is always vague about the enemy... this isn't! Every tank has a big white star on it!

[NKOMO]

The Cubans don't like us Yanks too much. I can't imagine why!!!!!

I have heard they, literally, have underground bunkers full of old, out dated military arms, guns, mortars, etc for use when the US "imperialists" invade them. I guess our intervention in Grenada and our covert ops in Central America scared the living heck out of them!
I must say that is an awful nice book. I don't think you over paid for it at all. Nice piece. If possible, could you scan a few pics and show us the rank system for the militia?
Arch

[Kozlov]

Old kit? Never! In the weapons section they describe K98's, PPSh's, Breda M37's, DP28's... the newest thing is an AKM.

Remember this is 1981 this book was printed!

Still, a gun is a gun and a 7.62 Tokarev round from a spagina will kill you as sure as a round from the latest German derived H&K assault rifle! I'm sure you've seen the pic of a US Marine in Bagdhad using a PPSh for a bit of CQB (or MOUT as you call it)

I'll try and scan you the rank insignia pages in a second... I'm sure you'll spot the likeness to something else you've seen before pretty quickly...