Chapter Eight: Perez Dasmariñas
Despite the victory at Zapote Bridge, Spanish forces continued their offensive in Cavite, capturing towns one after another. By the end of February, they finally capture Silang, sending the revolutionaries into disarray, and inching closer to their main objective - Imus.
In the beginning of March, Spanish troops began to advance into Perez Dasmariñas, the last obstacle before Imus. At the moment, General Edilberto Evangelista is the one in charge of defending the town. But he isn't planning on a last stand, but a delaying action that will bleed the advancing forces. He planned a series of defense lines from the town proper up to Pasong Santol, the gateway to Imus. For this operation, Evangelista divided the defending forces into three: the 1st Brigade personally commanded by himself, the 2nd Brigade led by a relatively new general named Flaviano Yengko, and the 3rd Brigade headed by Crispulo Aguinaldo (the elder brother of the late Emilio Aguinaldo). The 1st Brigade is tasked of manning the first defense line located on the southern outskirts of Perez Dasmariñas. It is fortified with trenches and palisades, and supported by improvised artillery. The 2nd Brigade is assigned to defend the approaches to the town center, and also as a backup to Evangelista's forces. The 3rd Brigade is assigned at Pasong Santol the last line of defense.
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The battle started around morning of the 1st of March, as the Spanish forces attacked the first defense line. The Katipuneros fought tenaciously, inflicting large casualties upon the colonial army. But the Spaniards, led by General Jose de Lachambre, decides to bring in their own cannons to bear, destroying the defenses and forcing Evangelista to retire to the next line.
Spanish battery on the outskirts of Perez Dasmariñas.
But the Spanish commander correctly predicted Evangelista's strategy and instructed his subordinate, General Antonio Zabala, to launch an attack on Salitran, a small village north of Perez Dasmariñas, to flank the defenders and, possibly, attack Evangelista's forces from the rear.
Minutes later, General Yengko received reports from his scouts about a small force of Spanish infantry heading to Salitran. He immediately gather some of his men and hastily go to the village to meet the attacking party. It was still unclear whether Yengko somehow figured out the possible danger of the flanking attack, or he's just itching to fight. It was close to noon when the two forces converge at Salitran.
Filipino infantrymen prepares to fire at the approaching Spanish troops on Salitran.
A fierce shootout ensued, even Yengko personally exchanged pistol shots with Zabala himself. Using hit and run tactics (he was personally instructed by Evangelista to never engage Spanish troops directly), Yengko's troops offset the Spaniard's main advantage: superior firepower. After inflicting significant casualties to the attackers, and in the face of possible reinforcements, Yengko acknowledged that his position is now untenable, and ordered a fighting withdrawal to their lines. They're only few meters away from Salitran when Yengko's left arm was hit by a stray bullet, and another one hitting his right leg, forcing his men to carry him along the way.
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Evangelista continued his fighting retreat inside Perez Dasmariñas. It was then that he received reports about the fighting in Salitran and Yengko's current condition. He ordered that the wounded general be transferred to Pasong Santol, then back to Imus to treat his wounds. After some hours of brutal gunfights and hand-to-hand combat, Lachambre finally captured Perez Dasmariñas, but his forces suffered serious casualties which stopped him from pursuing the rebels. Evangelista on the other hand successfully fell back to Pasong Santol. They only have a couple of weeks to prepare before a larger Spanish force arrives and attempt to forece their way into Cavite's capital.
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Meanwhile, on the 2nd of March, the men carrying the injured General Yengko arrives at Imus. They immediately brought him to a nearby hospital. The following accounts are taken from Yengko's memoirs (translated in English):
I was lying on the bed when I see Maria[1] entered the room. She's with his father. When the two of them saw my current state, Maria suddenly cried in front of me. My heart suddenly ached just seeing her like that. It was more painful than those gunshot wounds I received. One of my subordinates then explained why I am in that position right now. Maria and her father then conversed with each other for a few minutes. I can't clearly understand what they are talking about. It was then that Maria's father approached me and said "I never thought that you have the guts to fight out there, young man. I'm impressed. You've proven me wrong about you." he smiled at me afterwards, and left the room, but not before telling Maria that he's allowing her to personally treat my wounds. Speaking of Maria, she's still crestfallen about my condition. I consoled her and told her again how much I love her, to which she reciprocated. I was more delighted when she told me her father finally approved of our love for each other. For me, it was the happiest day of my life.
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[1] fictional name.