Battle of Binakayan–Dalahican facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Binakayan–Dalahican |
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| Part of the Philippine Revolution | |||||||||
 Monument of the Battle of Binakayan |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Emilio Aguinaldo Santiago Alvarez Pio del Pilar Candido Tirona † Crispulo Aguinaldo Baldomero Aguinaldo Gregoria Montoya † Artemio Ricarte Pascual Alvarez Edilberto Evangelista Vito Belarmino Flaviano Yengko Pantaleon Garcia Mariano Riego de Dios |
 Ramón Blanco Diego de los Ríos Fermín Díaz Matoni José Marina (WIA) Mariano Borraja † Victoriano Oloriz (WIA) Marcelino Muñoz (WIA) Norberto Baturone y Gener † José Castro † Fernando Chacon † |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| At Binakayan: 300+ confirmed deaths ≈3,000 more casualties At Dalahican: ≈400-700 casualties |
At Binakayan~500+ confirmed deaths (including 9 officers) ≈8,000 more casualties At Dalahican: 1,000+ casualties Hundreds more captured in Cavite City |
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The Battle of Binakayan–Dalahican was a big battle during the Philippine Revolution. It happened in two places at the same time, from November 9 to 11, 1896. This battle was a huge win for the Filipinos. The fighting took place in Binakayan (now part of Kawit) and Dalahican and Dagatan in Noveleta, plus some smaller fights in Imus and Bacoor towns in Cavite, Philippines. After two days, the Spanish army was defeated and had to retreat. This victory was the first really important win for the Filipinos in their fight for freedom.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
When the Philippine Revolution started in August 1896, Cavite was one of the first provinces to declare independence from Spain. Early in the war, the Filipino revolutionaries, led by Andres Bonifacio, tried to take Manila. However, they didn't have enough good weapons. Also, other revolutionary groups, especially those from Cavite, found it hard to join the attack. Instead, the Cavite groups attacked Spanish bases in their own province.
Bonifacio had lost several battles, which made him lose some respect and made his soldiers feel less hopeful. But in Cavite, the revolutionaries were winning battles against the Spanish, even though they were outnumbered. For example, General Emilio Aguinaldo of the Magdalo group had already defeated Spanish General Ernesto de Aguirre in the Battle of Imus in September 1896. Aguinaldo had also led a successful uprising in Cavite el Viejo on August 31, 1896, where he defeated a Spanish commander. Because of these wins, many Magdalo members saw Aguinaldo as their leader.
In Cavite, the Katipunan had two main groups:
- The Magdiwang Council, led by Mariano Álvarez, covered towns like Alfonso and Noveleta.
- The Magdalo Council, led by Baldomero Aguinaldo, covered towns like Bacoor and Cavite el Viejo (now Kawit). The name Magdalo came from Emilio Aguinaldo's secret name in the Katipunan, which was inspired by Santa Magdalena, the patron saint of Cavite Viejo.
The Magdalo group had its main base in Imus, while Magdiwang was based in Noveleta.
On October 31, 1896, Emilio Aguinaldo, who was now a general, announced that the revolution wanted complete independence for the Philippines. He said that the Magdalo group would be the official revolutionary government. Baldomero Aguinaldo was named president, and Emilio Aguinaldo was the commander-in-chief. Even though Bonifacio was still the overall leader of the Katipunan, the Magdalo group's victories made many people in Cavite see them as the true leaders of the revolution. Many Caviteños joined the Magdalo group, hoping to get rid of Spanish rule. They called Emilio Aguinaldo "Heneral Miong."
Getting Ready for Battle
General Álvarez and Colonel Inocencio Salud started building strong bamboo defenses in Dalahican in September 1896. These defenses were called “Battery Numbers 1, 2, and 3.” Dalahican was a very important place because it guarded the entrance to the Cavite peninsula.
After General Aguinaldo's victory in Imus in September 1896, the Spanish Governor-General Ramón Blanco y Erenas became worried. He ordered the 4th Battalion of Cazadores from Spain to help stop the rebellion in Cavite. On November 3, 1896, this battalion arrived with 1,328 men and 55 generals. Blanco also ordered about 8,000 more soldiers from Cuba and Spain to join. These soldiers were sent to Bacoor to meet Blanco's army and to stop any help from other Filipino groups in northern and central Luzon.
Before the land attacks, Spanish warships fired cannons at the Filipino defenses along the shores of Cavite, including Bacoor, Noveleta, Binakayan, and Cavite Viejo. The Spanish wanted to destroy the defenses in Dalahican and Binakayan because the lake near Dalahican was important for getting into Cavite. The Magdalo soldiers defended Binakayan and also the area near the border with Morong province (now Rizal province).
Cavite City, the capital of the province, is connected to the rest of Cavite by a narrow strip of land in Dalahican. Blanco was afraid that the rebels, who now controlled almost all of Cavite except the city and Bacoor, would take Cavite City. The Filipino defenses were getting closer to the city every day. To stop this, Blanco planned two attacks: one on Cavite el Viejo and one on Noveleta. He hoped to push the rebels back and end the rebellion in Cavite.
By November 1, Spanish military activity increased. Warships patrolled the seas, and artillery from Cavite City shelled the shores of Kawit and Noveleta. This worried General Santiago Alvarez in Dalahican. He rode to Aguinaldo's house in Kawit to discuss military plans. When news arrived that a large Spanish army was gathering outside Manila, it became clear that a Spanish attack on Cavite was coming. Emilio Aguinaldo suggested that his cousin Baldomero have General Edilberto Evangelista build trenches and hidden traps (called fougasses) from Noveleta to Kawit, all the way to the border with Bacoor.
Who Fought and Where
The Filipino Katipunan army had about 100,000 men. This included 35,000 regular soldiers and local fighters armed with short swords, rifles, and muskets taken from Spanish offices. There were also about 65,000 farmers and volunteers from all over Katipunan-controlled Cavite. The regular soldiers were in the trenches, and the volunteers were behind them. The trench system was about a mile and a half long and stretched from Noveleta to the Morong-Cavite border. This system blocked any Spanish help from Manila trying to reach Cavite City. One Spanish priest in Manila at the time estimated that about 105,000 Filipino fighters were ready for battle.
On November 8, Governor-General Blanco put Colonel José Marina in charge of the attack on Binakayan in Cavite Viejo. Marina's group had almost 20,000 men, including over 9,000 Spaniards. This force included marine infantry, two companies from the 73rd Native Regiment, an artillery company, military engineers, two warships, and four gunboats. The 73rd Native Regiment included Filipino helpers, but more than 10,000 other Filipino mercenaries and loyalists also joined the attack on Binakayan. Spanish forts in Cavite City were ready to fire, and warships like Castilla and Reina Cristina destroyed defenses in Noveleta and Cavite el Viejo.
The Battle Begins
The first attack on November 8 happened during Cavite City's week-long celebration for its patron saint, Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga. Even with the revolution going on, people came to the city for the fiesta. The sound of cannonballs hitting the shores was just seen by locals as the enemy's way of joining the party. As night fell, the Spanish firing got stronger, but the rebels didn't fight back, out of respect for the Virgin of Solitude.
Meanwhile, Emilio Aguinaldo, who was leading the defense of Binakayan, was near the border of Laguna and Batangas. He thought the enemy would attack there. But when he heard on November 8 that Spanish forces were gathering in Binakayan, he and his men rushed back to defend the area. They arrived in Cavite el Viejo that evening. From there, he quickly went to Binakayan to oversee its defense. Alvarez was already in Noveleta, ready to defend Dalahican.
Fighting in Binakayan
At 6 a.m. on November 9, 1896, after many cannon shots, Spanish soldiers started their attack on the rebel defenses in Binakayan and Dalahican. Colonel José Marina led the attack on Binakayan, while General Diego de los Ríos attacked Dalahican.
As the Spanish forces attacked, Aguinaldo was surprised to see that they couldn't get through the excellent trench system designed by General Edilberto Evangelista. The Filipino revolutionaries launched many counterattacks with their bolas and machetes to stop the Spanish advance towards Binakayan and Cavite el Viejo. These attacks caused many losses for the Filipinos, but they slowed the enemy down, allowing more Filipino soldiers to join the fight.
On November 10, a brave woman named Gregoria "Gloria" P. Montoya joined Aguinaldo in defending the fort. Aguinaldo asked her to leave, but she refused. She said she wanted to get revenge for her husband, a Katipunero, who had died the day before in the Dalahican attacks. Aguinaldo gave Gloria some units to delay Spanish reinforcements coming from Bacoor, Cavite. These reinforcements were 8,000 soldiers from Spain and Cuba. Gloria's most important act was when she, by herself, took apart the wooden bridge across the Imus River in Mabolo, Bacoor. This bridge connected Bacoor to Cavite Viejo. Because of her brave act, the Spanish reinforcements were delayed, but she lost her life doing it.
On November 11, the Spanish forces moved forward to destroy the Filipino defenses. They faced strong resistance from a long line of trenches. The main weapons used by the Filipinos were 22 Remington rifles, a German Mauser rifle, and some local muskets and cannons that fired homemade projectiles made of scrap metal. These were very effective. With each step forward, more Spanish soldiers and officers were killed. Aguinaldo then ordered his soldiers to counterattack with as many men as possible. Still upset about the death of his friend Tirona two days earlier, Aguinaldo personally led the Filipino army. Many katipuneros rushed into the fight in waves, overwhelming several enemy units. When the remaining Spanish soldiers saw their officers killed, they lost hope. The rest retreated to their ships, while some went back to Manila, ending the attack in Binakayan. The Filipinos chased the enemy, killing those who lagged behind. It was a complete defeat for the Spanish. Artillery fire from Spanish gunboats and a gunpowder depot in Cavite City tried to stop the Filipino chase, allowing the Spanish to fully withdraw. A small group of surviving Spanish soldiers, led by Marina, went to the defenses in Dalahican. The Spanish lost about 500 soldiers, thousands more were wounded or captured, and the Filipinos captured about 200 guns and lots of supplies in Binakayan.
Fighting in Dalahican
The Battle of Dalahican lasted for 36 hours, just like the battle in Binakayan. About 3,000 Spanish troops, following Blanco's orders, marched towards Dalahican. At first, they managed to break through some Filipino defenses. However, they couldn't completely destroy the Filipino positions. The Spanish were constantly under fire from muskets, close-range attacks, and arrows from the Filipinos. The Spanish attack on Dalahican completely failed, and they suffered over 1,000 casualties. Since they couldn't retreat to Manila because of the Filipino victory at Binakayan, they withdrew to Cavite City by nightfall on November 11, which marked the end of the battle.
What Happened Next
The big wins at Binakayan and Dalahican saved most of Cavite province from being taken back by the Spanish. These victories also helped the Filipino revolutionaries free nearby provinces from Spanish control. The Spanish government became very worried about Aguinaldo in Cavite. They knew that as long as Aguinaldo and his revolutionaries were there, the revolution would continue to favor the Filipinos. In fact, they started to fear him more than Bonifacio.
Even better for the Filipinos, many more people in Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, Bulacan, and Morong joined the Katipunan independence movement. They were inspired by the victories in Binakayan and Dalahican. The outcome of the battle even convinced Bonifacio and his group to go to Cavite on December 1, 1896, to celebrate the victory with Aguinaldo and Álvarez. After the battle, many people from nearby provinces moved to the newly freed Cavite. They brought their town bands and patron saints. This time of temporary peace was called "Ang Panahón ng Tagalog" (the Tagalog Era) by the people of Cavite. After the battle, the Spanish government even sent a message to Aguinaldo, not Bonifacio, to discuss a ceasefire, which made Bonifacio angry. The Spanish forces needed more than a month to recover from their big defeat.
This battle made Aguinaldo, who was one of the main commanders, a lasting hero in Filipino history. It was the first major Filipino victory in the war and in the history of the Philippines against a colonial power. Aguinaldo's decisive leadership in Binakayan, which was recognized by Álvarez and others, helped him gain more power in the Katipunan over Bonifacio. This led to Aguinaldo being elected president of the revolutionary government "Republica Filipina" at the Tejeros Convention the next year. However, this victory did not stop the execution of the Filipino doctor and nationalist, José Rizal. He was accused of rebellion by the Spanish government under the new governor-general Camilo de Polavieja. Rizal was arrested while traveling to Cuba and was executed on December 30, 1896, just over a month after the battle.
See also
In Spanish: Batalla de Binakayan para niños
