Abstract
During the second half of 1896, taking advantage of the cruelty of the insurrection of the Revolutionary forces in the district of Cuba, the Philippine Revolutionary society called Katipunan, which had been founded in July 1892 to promote the insurgency against Spanish sovereignty, took up arms in a truly disturbing way on the island of Luzon. After several violent incidents, the situation became extremely worrying and the Spanish government finally listened to the request made by the Governor General of the district to send troops from the Peninsula. Thus, in record time, fifteen expeditionary light infantry battalions were created by the Spanish Army in addition to other small artillery and cavalry expeditionary units for their military deployment in the Philippine archipelago to put down this new and violent insurrection up.
TopMain Focus Of The Chapter
The main focus in the elaboration of this chapter is the historical approach that would serve as a contribution to the greater knowledge of the Philippine campaign through the knowledge of the units that participated in it and the way in which the Spanish Government faced the problem of the outbreak of the armed revolt in the Philippines and how the quick response they gave despite the lack of financial and human resources prevented the loss of the province already in 1897. How did the peninsular authorities manage to create these Expeditionary Light Infantry battalions despite also having to answer of a serious armed conflict in the island of Cuba? Were its components militarily well trained, well-armed, well-fed and equipped? Knowing the problems mentioned above, how was it possible for reinforcement forces to arrive just weeks after the outbreak of the revolt? Was the participation of private commercial entities and companies essential in the rapid deployment? Would the deployment have been possible without these collaborations? We face the answers of all these and other questions in the following pages. Likewise, we will take a brief tour of the main acts of arms and cases of heroism among the components of the Expeditionary Light Infantry battalions, some of them awarded the San Fernando Laureate Cross, the highest military decoration of the Spanish Army, and already significant part of the Spanish Military and which are still set as an example to the current troops in the Military academies all around the world.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Katipunero: Member or follower of the Katipunan, the secret society that started the independence riots against Spanish hegemony in the Philippine islands.
Guardia Civil: Spanish armed body whose main mission is the preservation of public order, the protection of people and property and the assistance that demands the execution of the laws. Created on the Peninsula in 1844, it was settled in the Philippines in 1868, being the 20 th Tercio (battalion) was deployed on the island of Luzon, the 21 st on the island of Mindanao in 1872 and the 21 st in Nueva Ecija province in 1895.
Lantaca: Small caliber culverin, handcrafted and used by Filipino revolutionaries against Spanish troops during the insurrection.
Carabineros: Spanish armed body whose main mission was the surveillance of coasts and borders, and the repression of tax fraud and smuggling.
Cazadores: In the Spanish Army, soldiers destined to serve as light troops either in companies attached to line regiments or separate, forming independent units.