peashooter85:The Fake Battle of Manila The Battle of Manila is a forgotten part of history and rarel
peashooter85:The Fake Battle of Manila The Battle of Manila is a forgotten part of history and rarely mentioned as part of the Spanish American War. On May 1st, 1898 the US Pacific Fleet under the command of Admiral Dewey trashed the Spanish Far East Fleet in Manila Bay. The US Fleet blockaded Manila, preparing for a long siege and waiting for US ground forces to arrive. In July, around 40,000 US soldiers and Marines arrived, around 11,000 of which were devoted to capturing Manila itself.The Spanish dug in with 13,000 troops of their own, but it was clear that they could not hold out. Along with the American soldiers were 30,000 Filipino fighters of the Philippine Revolutionary Army. Spanish general Fermin Jaudenes saw the writing on the wall. Surrender was an inevitability, but the last thing he wanted to do was surrender to his former Filipino subjects. Thus, he secretly began negotiations with Admiral Dewey to not only negotiate a surrender, but to stage a mock battle so that the Spanish could save face while the Americans could take all the glory. Without informing their Filipino allies of the faux assault, the Americans began the battle on August 13th. Although a peace accord had been signed the day before, neither side had yet received news that the war was over. The Americans began by shelling Spanish forts, the gunners taking care to only hit abandoned buildings. Then US troops advanced, firing above the heads of the Spanish while the Spanish did likewise. For the most part the mock battle went off without a hitch. The shooting stopped when the Spanish raised the white flag of surrender, and US troops quickly occupied Manila before the Philippine Army could enter the city. Only two thing went wrong. First, the gunners of one of the American ships had not been informed that the battle was staged, purposely shelling Spanish fortifications. Second, a group of Filipino fighters joined the battle thinking it was a genuine battle, causing a real firefight with Spanish troops leading to the death of 49 Spaniards, 1 American, and an unknown number of Filipino fighters.After the Spanish American War, the Americans would claim possession of the country. Enraged at the American’s unwillingness to grant them independence, the Filipinos rebelled. What resulted was a long and bloody war which lasted decades. Americans responded brutally, committing many atrocities, leading to the death of thousands. -- source link