Battle of Manila (1898) - Background

Background

After the American victory in Manila Bay over two months earlier, the U.S. Navy, under Admiral George Dewey, had blockaded the city of Manila and waited for land forces to arrive. The United States reacted by organizing the VIII Corps, dubbed the Philippine Expeditionary Force under the command of Major General Wesley Merritt. On May 16, the vanguard of the force left San Francisco under the command of Brigadier General Thomas M. Anderson. Merritt, on the same day, asked for information concerning the strength of the Spanish in the Philippines. The American consul in Hong Kong gave the information needed: 21,000 men including 4,000 Filipinos and all except 1,000 were situated in Manila. Dewey, however, sent more accurate information: around 40,000 troops including around 16,000 Filipinos, about 15,000 were situated in Manila, and 9 artillery guns in Manila. By mid-June, some 30,000 Filipino troops under General Antonio Luna had dug fourteen miles of trenches around Manila. Filipino troops, seizing control of Manila's only pumping station, cut off the water supply to the city.

The first contingent of American troops arrived in Cavite on June 30, the second under General Francis V. Greene on 17 July, and the third under General Arthur MacArthur on 30 July. By this time, some 12,000 U.S. troops had landed in the Philippines.

Aguinaldo had presented surrender terms to Spanish Governor General Basilio Augustín, who had refused them. Augustín had thought that if he really needed to surrender the city, he would do so to the Americans. On 16 June, warships departed Spain to lift the siege, but they altered course for Cuba where a Spanish fleet was imperiled by the U.S. Navy. Life in Intramuros, where the normal population of about ten thousand had swelled to about seventy thousand, had become unbearable. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the city fell, and fearing vengeance and looting if the city fell to the Filipinos, Governor Augustín had suggested to Dewey that the city be surrendered to the Americans after a sham battle. Dewey had initially rejected the suggestion because he lacked the troops to block Filipino forces, but when Merritt's troops became available he sent a message to Fermin Jáudenes, Augustín's replacement, agreeing to the mock battle. Spain had learned of Augustín's intentions to surrender Manila to the Americans, which had been the reason why he had been replaced by Jaudenes.

Merritt was eager to seize the city, but Dewey stalled while maneuvering to work out a bloodless solution with Jaudenes. On 4 August, Dewey and Merritt gave Jaudenes 48 hours to surrender; later extending the deadline by five days when it expired. Covert negotiations continued, with the details of the mock battle being arranged on 10 August. The plan agreed to was that Dewey would begin a bombardment at 09:00 on 13 August, shelling only Fort San Antonio Abad, a decrepit structure on the southern outskirts of Manila, and the impregnable walls of Intramuros. Simultaneously, Spanish forces would withdraw, Filipino forces would be checked, and U.S. forces would advance. Once a sufficient show of battle had been made, Dewey would hoist the signal "D.W.H.B." (meaning "Do you surrender?), whereupon the Spanish would hoist a white flag and Manila would be formally surrendered to U.S. forces.