THE BATTLE OF MANILA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 55, 7 March 1899, Page 2

THE BATTLE OF MANILA.

§*, FULL DETAILS BY MAIL.

f A SIGNAL AMERICAN VICTORY.

i Further details regarding the opening battle at Manila between the Americans and Filipinos, received by way ©1 Sydney, show that there was a treftnendous slaughter of the rebels.

The Filipinos outnumbered the Am- j fcricans by at least five to one, and , chose the night to start the fighting j IThey calculated that under cover ot ! the darkness they could pour them- j selves in such numbers into the place , ihat the Americans would be simply j overwhelmed. Preliminary reconnoi- j String had informed the Americans ex- i i nctly how the rebel forces were locat- , ] ted, and when the firing began on the I outskirts of the town the Americans j fet once got in most deadly work where j the enemy was thickest. Millions of j ■ bullets whizzed through the night air, ' and the yells and cries from the Fihpino positions soon told of the effec- j tire work of the Yankee marksmen, ,( !The natives, on the other hand, proved > tmable to hit the proverbial haystack, ; chiefly, no doubt, owing to their prac- j ftice of shooting from the hip instead i iof from a lying down position. Most of j J their bullets went into the air. The ij Filipinos were the first to get to work |; ■with their artillery. The exchange !' of projectiles went on throughout the Slight till Sunday morning, when the ; lAmericans brought their artillery into play and assumed the aggressive. ; IThe forcing tactics of the Americans ' paralysed the natives, whose idea of ' Sh'ghting is for the combatants to keep i in one place, like duellists. But their ! adeas of the ethics of warfare received a rude shock, as rebel prisoners I afterwards admitted, by the manner an which the Americans rushed their positions. By Sunday night the Fili- ; pinos were completely routed, and jtfere driven in all directions from the Stown like rabbits. The Americans proved themselves accurate shots, and - anost of the dead Filipinos were shot . {through, the head. ! ! THE KILLED AND AVOUNDED. | There were at least 10,000 of the \ rebels killed and wounded, while neariy 2,000 were taken prisoners. The ( 'American losses by comparison were ( irery slight, namely, 120 killed and 400 . grounded, these figures even being , Btated by some of those who made inquiries on t-.e spot to be too large. JWhen the Changsha left Manila on the ; Tuesday after the battle the Ameri- j, cans had cleared the country of rebels for a space of 20 miles all round Manila, and the general idea was that the 'Americans intended waiting till they concentrated at 110 110 before attackIng them again. A SPLENDID VICTORY. Captain T. Moore, of the Changsha, feays that the battle was the most (thrilling spectacle he ever witnessed, j ,The complete victory which the Am- j tericans gained over the Filipinos has broken the neck of the rebellion, and it will be all over, he thinks, when the firebrand Aguinaldo is captured. It, iwas a fine sight to mark the shells j ifrom the warships falling into the j rebel position, bursting and raising j clouds of dust and smoke, and driving j Sthe rebels out; the ships.making good | shooting, and playing havoc with the •Filipinos. Two of- the Monadnock's anen were wounded; one being shot through the cheek and another J fthrough the leg by some rebels in J ambush behind an.old hulk on the J freach near Saint Pedro, who were j quickly shelled out when their position was discovered. During Saturday night spent bullets were falling thickly in different parts of the town of Manila, and on Sunday morning a siumber of ladies were sent on board the American transports lying in the jbay. All Sunday the fighting continued very heavy with only occasional lulls, the rebels being driven back all along the line. From the top of the Manila Club at Malaili a good view •was had during Sunday of the shells Srom the Monadnock falling amongst the rebel lines, and the Americans fcould be seen driving all before, them. NO QUARTER FOR THE AMERI- : • CANS. ' The Americans captured a Filipino {flag surmounted by a black flag, [meaning, of course, no quarter, and this the Filipinos evidently intended, as they had thousands of daggerehaped knives made with whict to dispatch all Americans that fell into their hands, and also intended for use in the same way when they had capitured the city of Manila, as they made cure of doing. They found, however, ■when fighting did commence that they stood no chance against the Americans, and it was rather amusing sight on Monday morning <fco see the white flag hung out of the iwindows of every house owned by the rebels, and in these very houses on the previous Saturday the rebels were expecting to be masters of the situation very soon. On Monday the warship Concord was throwing shells into Malolos, the seat of the Filipino Governent, nine miles away, and it was reported that the place was soon afterwards in the hands of the Americans, and this seemed very probable as the Concord ceased firing about 11 a.m. on iMonday. SOME STIRRING INCIDENTS. Writing from Manila on Monday, -iFebruary 6th, Mr J. G. Rowley says: The city of Manila was entered by American troops under General Wellesley Merritt on August 14 last. The Spanish soldiers were imprisoned in the magnificent large churches in the walled city, where there remain at the time of writing about 16,000, Spain feeing apparently too poor, or too careless about, removing her troops. America has, however, decided to do so for her, and with that object called for tenders only a few days ago. Although virtually prisoners, the Spaniards are allowed perfect freedom, being disarmed. They are permitted %o leave the churches and stroll, about ,the streets of the city at leisure, but they are not permitted to enter the rebi country either by the Americans or the Filipinos. The Filipinos formed a government of their own in the arebel country, where they got together a force of over 100,000 strong, of whom some had been soldiers under fthe Spanish regime. They were commanded by j^milio Aguinaldo, who had been elected President of the Filipino Republic by the dusky natives. The3 r surrounded the city of Manila, and jthrew up trenches. They were armed .with about 50,000 Mauser rifles, and a lew big field guns, which were supplied them by Admiral Dewey previous to the defeat of the Spaniards. Thfv then formed what was known as Hie rebel line, beyond which they refused to permit Spaniard or American to pass. By way of retaliation the American troops camped right oppos-

" I ite to them, and refused to admit the | rebels into the city without first disarming them. The Filipinos also formed a stronghold at Malolos, about 38 miles from Manila.

THE CALL TO AEMS.

I 'On Saturday, at S.iiO p.m., the Am- j ericiin troops were scattered through- j out the city on leave, enjoying- them- j i selves. Between four and five hun- | <!ml were at Warren -and Bristol's j circus, which had arrived from Singa- ! pore during- the week, when a call] Ito arms* sounded., but it turned out to \. \be a false alarm. At 9.4.". an army j {officer entered the circus and loudly i I exclaimed, "Boys, to arms, for they j \ have commenced at last." The circus . I was empty in a few minutes, and buli lets were heard soiuiding on the roof j lof the tent. The Americas, anxious to \ i get to the scene of action with all i | possible speed, pulled the native driv- j | ers from the vehicles that ply for hire \ jin the streets—fortunately a good i i number were waiting outside the cir- j j ens, and drove to their barracks for! I orders and amis at break-neck speed. ! It appears that at about nine o'clock ; the rebels pressed in the American I 1 outposts, and the alarm being immed- ; ] iately fired along the American line, j ! they prepared to meet their coloured I i foes. The Americans were then con- I | fronted with about 30,000 of the en- { ! emy. Owing to the suddenness of the ! attack the Americans retreated about I 500 yards, but unexpectedly turned to , ! meet the advancing enemy. The re- i treat and return was a splendid move, j as it brought the Filipinos from the ! forest into an open gully, while the \ Americans occupied the position on I the brow of the hill. Meanwhile the • daring Auta battery got their big j guns into play, and a deadty fire of shot and shell was poured into the Filipinos, Avho were mowed down like grass before a scythe. AN ESTIMATE OF THE LOSSES. 'Although it may never be known how many of the rebels were killed, I am sure it will fall nothing short of 10,000. The Americans at the time of writing had lost 23 killed and 179 wounded. I only visited one hospital, and noticed 7 dead' (including Colonel Smith, who dropped dead from heart disease) and 05 wounded. The American authorities will not permit the exact number of rebels killed to be published for some reason. The Americans who fought so bravely are only volunteers. There were none of the regulars here till the morning of the battle, when 2 regiments arrived, j It is believed that the Americans will proceed to 110 110, and force a landing I there. At this island the rebels have I defied the Americans to land. The | warship Boston has gone down to assist the other two vessels already there, and I think it will take them but a few hours to fulfil their mission.' AMERICA'S BURDEN. 'The splendid victory of the Americans over the Filipinos will in all proi bability be of little service to them so J far as conquering the islands is conj cerned.' This was the opinion expressed bjr one of the Changsha passengers, who has spent several years there. This gentleman' pointed out j the magnitude of the task America i has set herself in taking the control of the islands out of the hands of the j Spaniards could be gathered from the • J fact that there were between i i j 7,000,000 and 9,000,000 natives, while ; • the interior of the islands was almost'; i impassable to an invading force at ! ; certain times of the year, from about I • j the end of May, when the heavy rains i j set in. At best the Americans would . j be only able to hold ManLa, and .other . J ports, which they would have to for- . | tify. The American soldiers were . handsomely paid, compared with the r followers of Mars in the pay of Euroi pean Governments, and the mainteni, ance of an army at the islands sufiil ficient to protect the various ports . and townships from attack would be . a costly affair.