Battle of Aliaga
{{Short description|1897 battle in Nueva Ecija, Philippines}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Aliaga
| partof = the Philippine Revolution
| campaign =
| image =
| caption =
| date = September 4–5, 1897
| place = Aliaga, Nueva Ecija
| casus =
| territory =
| result = Filipino victory
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Tejeros Government
| combatant2 = {{flagicon|Spain|1785}} Spanish Empire
| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Emilio Aguinaldo
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Manuel Tinio
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Mamerto Natividad
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Casimiro Tinio
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Pio del Pilar
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Jose Ignacio Paua
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Biak-na-Bato.svg}} Eduardo Llanera
| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Spain|1785}} Fernando Primo de Rivera
{{flagdeco|Spain|1785}} Ricardo Monet
{{flagdeco|Spain|1785}} General Nuñez
| strength1 = 5,000 men{{cite book |author= United States War Department |title=Annual reports of the War Department for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903: Report of the Chief of Engineers; Supplement to the report of the Chief of Engineers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYtQAAAAYAAJ |access-date=3 March 2021|isbn=9780332735498 |year=1903 }}{{rp|421}}
| strength2 = 8,000 men{{cite book |author=Renato Constantino, Letizia R. Constantino |title=A History of the Philippines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kdhWCgAAQBAJ |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=28 March 2021|year=1975|publisher=NYU Press |isbn=9780853453949}}{{rp|188}}
| casualties1 = 8 dead, 10 wounded
| casualties2 = 1 dead, 44 wounded{{cite book |author= United States War Department |title=Annual reports of the War Department for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903: Report of the Chief of Engineers; Supplement to the report of the Chief of Engineers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYtQAAAAYAAJ |access-date=3 March 2021|isbn=9780332735498 |year=1903 }}{{rp|421}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Philippine Revolution}}
The Battle of Aliaga was fought on September 4–5, 1897, between the Philippine revolutionaries of Nueva Ecija and the Spanish forces of Governor General Primo de Rivera.
Background
With his forces evacuating out of Cavite, Aguinaldo and his forces retreated to Puray, Montalban, winning a battle there and eventually found his way to central Luzon. He and his forces then relocated the revolutionary capital at Biak-na-Bato, San Miguel, Bulacan in June 24, 1897. From there, he exercised his authority as the revolutionary president of the Republica Filipina{{cite book | isbn = 978-9715380553 | title = The laws of the first Philippine Republic (the laws of Malolos) 1898–1899 | editor1-last = Guevara | editor1-first= Sulpicio | others = English translation by Sulpicio Guevara | year = 1972 | orig-year = 1898 | publisher = National Historical Commission | location = Manila | url = http://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/aab1246.0001.001 | oclc = 715140 }} and sent letters to all islands in the Philippine islands encouraging the natives to rise up against Spain.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=4 June 2011|title=Aguinaldo's Long March|url=https://www.manilatimes.net/2011/06/04/opinion/columnists/aguinaldos-long-march/674660/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=27 March 2021|website=The Manila Times}}
The battle
On September 4, with the principal objective of acquiring provisions lacking in Biac-na-Bato, President Emilio Aguinaldo directed orders to Gen. Natividad and Col. Manuel Tinio to unite their forces with those of Col. Casimiro Tinio, Gen. Pio del Pilar, Col. Jose Paua and Eduardo Llanera for a combined dawn attack on Aliaga. (Casimiro Tinio, popularly known as ‘Capitan Berong', was an elder brother of Manuel through his father's first marriage.) The following morning was described as "The most glorious battle of the rebellion". The rebel forces, numbering about between 4,000-5,000 men,{{cite book |author= United States War Department |title=Annual reports of the War Department for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903: Report of the Chief of Engineers; Supplement to the report of the Chief of Engineers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYtQAAAAYAAJ |access-date=3 March 2021|isbn=9780332735498 |year=1903 }}{{rp|421}} took the church and convent, the Casa Tribunal and other government buildings. The commander of the Spanish detachment died in the first moments of fighting, while those who survived were locked up in the thick-walled jail.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} The rebels then proceeded to entrench themselves and fortify several houses. The following day, Sunday the 5th, the church and convent as well as a group of houses were put to the torch due to exigencies of defense.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}
= Spanish counterattack =
Alarmed by these sudden attacks, Governor General Primo de Rivera fielded 8,000 men{{cite book |author=Renato Constantino, Letizia R. Constantino |title=A History of the Philippines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kdhWCgAAQBAJ |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=28 March 2021|year=1975|publisher=NYU Press |isbn=9780853453949}}{{rp|188}} under the command of Gen. Ricardo Monet and Gen. Nuñez. The latter commanded a column of reinforcements that arrived in the afternoon of the 6th, they were met with such a tremendous hail of bullets that the general, two captains and many soldiers were wounded, forcing the Spaniards to retreat a kilometer away from the town to await the arrival of Gen. Monet and his men. Even with the reinforcements, the Spaniards were overcautious in attacking the rebels there, and halted their attack for the rest of the day. The Filipinos held the town of Aliaga for the rest of the day up into the night of September 5.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{coord missing|Philippines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aliaga, Battle of}}
Category:Battles of the Philippine Revolution
Category:History of Nueva Ecija