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| ENG Battle of Manila NL | ||||
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Commodore George Dewey arranged the notorious "sham battle of Manila" with the
Spaniards that allowed the latter to surrender with honor after a brief fight, leaving the Philippines in the hands of the Americans, instead of the Filipinos. Emilio Aguinaldo had assembled a force of roughly 10,000 Filipino soldiers that waited outside the city. The 13,000 Spanish defenders under Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes feared merciless treatment in the event the city fell to Aguinaldo alone. Ever since the American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, the U.S. navy under George Dewey had blockaded Manila and waited for land forces to arrive from the US. During June and July Aguinaldo had laid a complete and tight land siege around the city. During July-August Aguinaldo had invited the Spanish governor-general four times to surrender. The latter did not reply because Madrid had instructed him that if surrender became inescapable, he could do so only to the Americans, not to the Filipinos.  Troops of the US First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment moving along the seashore against Spanish positions in Manila Meanwhile, the US government had organized the VIII Corps, dubbed the Philippine Expeditionary Force under the command of Major General Wesley Merritt. Dewey had managed to keep Aguinaldo from attacking the city until Merritt arrived. At the end of July 1898, when all the U.S. land forces ---numbering about 11,000 men---had landed in the Philippines, Merritt organized the force into one division (interestingly enough named the 2nd Division; there was no 1st Division) commanded by Brigadier General Thomas M. Anderson. Brigadier General Arthur MacArthur commanded its 1st Brigade and General Felix V. Greene commanded its 2nd Brigade. Merritt and Dewey purposefully left Aguinaldo out of any of the plans and preparations regarding the capture of the city. |
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