Alternate Philippine History 1898 (Hiatus)

6 - Retreat, Ambush, and Surrender

Prelude Battle of Pandacan and a week before the bloody Battle of Binondo

General Pio Del Pilar's forces in Santa Ana, immediately south of Santa Mesa, coordinated with General Mariano Noriel currently in command of Pineda (modern day Pasay), southwest of Santa Ana, on his plans to launch an assault on the district of Paco.

Del Pilar is hoping to take retake control of the district thereby cutting-off the Americans currently in a stalemate with his main force in Santa Mesa. This will also allow them to retake The Malacañan Palace.

General Noriel rejected this by telling him that the Americans have fortified their defenses on their front and they will lose men, and weapons if they attacked the Americans head-on. He instead suggested they retake Pandacan instead, the district closest to the river.

Pandacan is also easier to defend, if they managed to take it, as it is much more developed than Paco. It is also possible for their forces to slip in during the night as there are many possible hiding spots the Americans don't know yet.

He mentioned that he can reroute some of his forces to bolster Del Pilar's . This, he hoped, would make some of the American's on his front move towards the new area of battle.

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A small contingent of General Del Pilar's total forces in Santa Ana is ordered to go to Pandacan at night in order to monitor the Americans. They wanted know of their movement, and the weapons they have at the district.

Meanwhile about a quarter of General Noriels forces are re-assigned to fight alongside one of General Del Pilar's forces tasked in retaking Pandacan bringing with them a handful of Gatling guns they have seized in earlier raids against the Americans.

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Unbeknownst to the Filipino's however, their movements are being leaked to the Americans from Filipino's who have already switched sides the moment the Americans landed on Intramuros.

This gave the Americans the needed intel to break through the deadlock to the south.

A portion of the troops stationed in Pandacan are ordered to move towards Paco and to the front facing Pineda(Pasay) in order to lure the Filipinos into a false sense of confidence that they can take the district.

They are also going to advance southwards while the number of the Filipinos defending the front are low. This will set them up to trap the Filipinos in Pandacan and force them to choose surrender or face drowning in the Pasig river. This will get them closer to their goal of dividing the Filipino forces in two.

The forces in Santa Mesa meanwhile are ordered to prepare for a Filipino offensive and to drive them back.

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Battle of Pandacan - This is happening at the same time as the Battle of Binondo.

General Pio Del Pilar's forces, and the additional ones from General Mariano marched towards the district using the riverbank. Their plan is to cut through the district, retake Malacañan Palace.

The battle started near the Estero de Pandacan and Estero de Tripa de Gallina where a small number of Americans defended against the attacking Filipino forces.

The Americans slowly retreated inside the district as the rest of their forces slowly moved back towards Malacañan Palace. To the Filipinos, the seemingly outnumbered Americans are slowly being forced to retreat and are losing ground.

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Meanwhile at the front lines of General Mariano Noriel, the Americans launched an all-out offensive easily overwhelming the Filipinos through a combination of superior numbers and firepower.

General Noriel ordered a retreat as it is obvious to everyone that it is impossible for them to defend against such an overwhelming force. Based on their retreat plans, they are to consolidate in the town of San Pedro de Macati (around modern day Makati), more than a kilometer retreat southwards.

The town is riddled trenches and traps where the defenders of the town can stall enemy forces while letting their retreating comrades bolster the defenses on the hill nearby, known in modern times as Fuerte de Bonifacio (Fort Bonifacio).

Fortunately for the Filipinos, the Americans still haven't made it, or even landed down south so the majority of Noriel's forces ran unharmed towards Makati. A portion of his forces is left to cover their retreat, all of them were either captured or killed.

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Back in Pandacan, the battle raged on as they slowly gained control of the Malacañan Palace grounds. The Americans defending the building struggled as they are slowly overwhelmed by General Pio Del Pilar's forces.

Fortunately for them, their comrades are also slowly overwhelming the now trapped Filipino forces. Their advance southwards gave a portion of their army the leeway to be rerouted and wipe out the Filipino's inside Pandacan.

Around this time, most of the American units learned of the bloody battle in Binondo and are enraged, including those invading Pandacan. Fearing that the same will happen in the district, they didn't give a chance to any Filipino soldier to surrender.

A few incidents of American soldiers shooting innocent males and surrendering Filipinos in cold-blood were reported and even caught by American journalists in the area. Their superiors quickly reprimanded and dismissed the offending soldiers.

General Pio Del Pilar's men are being wiped out left and right as they got caught in the trap laid out by the Americans.

After a few hours, the battle is over. General Pio Del Pilar surrendered to the Americans inside the palace. He, and the remainder of his men were marched back to Intramuros where they will be held as prisoners of war.

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The American victory was a severe blow to the Philippine forces trying to hold on to Manila as much as they could.

After this defeat, the Filipino's started getting ready to start the Guerilla phase of this war as it is becoming clear that the Americans can and will take control of the Pasig river from Manila Bay all the way to Laguna de Bay.