The Philippine American war broke out in February 4, 1899. It occurred after Spain ceded into longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the treaty of Paris. Just few hours before the treaty was ratified by the U.S Senate, fighting broke between the American forces and the Filipino combatants led by Emilio Aguinaldo. The Philippine fighters were seeking to get independence rather than a change in the colonial rulers. The Philippine-American war lasted three years and resulted in the death of over 4,200 Americans and over 20, 000 Filipino combatants. It is reported that almost 200,000 civilian died due to violence, famine and diseases (Millett, Maslowski, & Feis, 2012).
America fought in manila with various motivations. The US had the desire for commercial opportunities in Asia. Additionally America thought that the Filipinos were incapable of self-rule. There was also fear that if America failed in colonizing the islands another power such as German or Japan would have done it. These desires were challenged by the fighting and violence that was started by the Filipino fighter led by Emilio Aguinaldo (Yeo, 2012). They were pushing for the establishment of an independent Philippine country. The early crashes between American soldiers and the Filipinas became a full blown war. Americans considered the war and the resultant conflict as an insurrect ion and they did not acknowledge the fact that Filipinos were fighting to protect their territory by warding off a foreign invader.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
There are major battles of the war that took place in the Spanish colony of Philippines islands. In Philippines, the Spanish were easily defeated in the new battle of the manila bay on May 1. The battle came to American control after the US army landed on the island. The Philippine insurrection occurred in two phases. From February to November 1899 Aguinaldo attempted to fight a conventional war against the better trained and equipped American soldiers; this led to massive deaths of the Filipino fighters. The second phase started in November 1899 that lasted until 1901; Aguinaldo was captured the same year.
During the Manila campaign there was war with Spain and Filipino in which Aguinaldo organized a native Philippines army that secured control of several islands. In this campaign there was crashing of the American troops near manila. The Americans numbering around 12000 combat troops led by Maj. Gen. Enwall S Otis defeated Aguinaldo’s Force of some 40,000 men and surprised an attempted uprising in manila (Millett, Maslowski, & Feis, 2012).
During the First San Isidro campaign the American troops led by General Lawton assembled at Loma Church, advanced on Isidro where insurgent’s troops were dispersed and returned to Manila on the 30 th May. Later the American troops faced strong insurgent entrenchments on the Zapote River.
The Cavite campaign took place in October 1899, it was meant to face the organized resistance in Cavite and adjacent Provinces. The American troops managed to destroy the resistance. The American troops were under the leadership of General Wheaton and Big. Gen. Theodore Schwann. Later that month the American fighters launched three pronged offensive in North Luzon directed at Aguinaldo’s remaining forces (Yeo, 2012).
The impact of America in Philippines is that the US forced Philippines to live in poor sanitation, starvation, and disease killed thousands. The war cost America more than $4 million and showed American military might (Millett, Maslowski, & Feis, 2012). America appears to have well organized army of more than 70 thousand fighters. America also appears as astringe economy that was able to gain power and control over their colonies and therefore the other powers needed to be wary of its capabilities (Millett, Maslowski, & Feis, 2012).
The Philippine insurrection was important in showing how America had superior military strength. This evident in the sense that most of the campaigns were successful and it managed to stop the Filipino fighters. It was a show of improved military style. America proved to be more offensive in the war. The generals and other military leaders were consistent in coming up with military concepts and engaging the enemy form the front line; they never took cover.
References
Millett, A. R., Maslowski, P., & Feis, W. B. (2012). For the common defense: A military history of the United States from1607 to 2012 (3rd ed.). New York: Free Press.
Yeo, A. (2012). Challenging US Military Presence in the Philippines. South Atlantic Quarterly , 111 (4), 857-864. doi:10.1215/00382876-1724237
