African Entrepreneurship Record

Manila Port.

The Philippine Navy has been nearly completely destroyed, forcing the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines to rely on delaying the American military’s advance on land.

The coastal defense artillery at Manila Port tried to resist stubbornly but was easily wiped out by the American military. The main artillery forces of the Philippines were positioned at the mouth of Manila Bay, leaving the rear relatively vulnerable. With the complete destruction of naval vessels, Manila Port could only passively take the hits.

Compared to the Philippine Navy, the Spanish Army’s performance can be described as ”utterly disastrous,” leaving the East African military advisory group, which had trained them briefly beforehand, covering their faces in shame.

”The Spanish Philippine troops have completely lost their dignity. I certainly didn’t teach them like this before. Now the battle is a complete mess, and with the weapons in their hands, I’m afraid they can’t even compare to fire sticks...”

”Alright, Peter, we can’t blame ourselves for this. It’s entirely because the Spanish garrison in the Philippine colony completely lacks the will to fight. In such circumstances, even divine troops descending from heaven couldn’t win.”

The members of the East African military advisory group were very dissatisfied with the performance of the Spanish soldiers, but the American troops on the opposite side did not share this sentiment.

Once ashore, the American troops engaged in skirmishes with the Spanish colonial garrison, with both sides essentially at a beginner level of pecking at each other. The Spanish performance was poor, and the Americans weren’t much better, particularly as the Spanish rifles held an advantage.

This situation greatly frustrated the commander of the American Asia Fleet, Du Wei, who had no choice but to order the landing troops back to the dock area to consolidate their position.

It was he who led the fleet to deliver a devastating blow to the coastal defense system of Manila Bay, subsequently completing the blockade of Manila Bay successfully.

Under these circumstances, the Spanish colonial garrison was completely trapped by Americans in Manila Bay. The Spanish soldiers would eventually have no choice but to surrender as time went on unless mainland Spain could provide support to the Philippines.

But this was clearly impossible, as Spain’s attention was fully engaged by the Americans in the Atlantic region. The main forces of the Spanish and American Navy and Army had already begun standoff in the Cuban region.

Santiago Port in Cuba, compared to Manila Bay, could be described as a ”firm fortress” deployed by the Spanish Army. The density of sea mines alone far exceeded Manila Bay. If the mines from Santiago Port were deployed in Manila Bay, the local Spanish garrison might have achieved greater results.

On June 8, 1898, the Cuban Campaign officially commenced, as the United States Navy engaged in a relentless attack on Santiago Port for an entire day and night, at the cost of hundreds of lives, before successfully landing in Guantanamo Bay.

The Cuban Campaign was, from the start, less favorable than the Manila battle in the Philippines. Although the Spaniards failed in the Manila battle, they inflicted significant damage on the American Asian Fleet, sinking two American ships, with nearly half the American fleet wounded.

After the Americans successfully landed in Cuba, the war between the United States and Spain shifted from the coastline to the inland, where both sides engaged in fierce confrontations in the jungle, and history repeated itself as the Spanish garrison in Cuba performed no better than in the Philippines.

On one hand, the local populace in Cuba held a welcoming attitude towards the United States at this time, so there were many collaborators; on the other hand, Cuba’s depths were not as formidable as the Philippines’. Ultimately, Cuba’s proximity to the United States mainland allowed the U.S. to deploy more forces, providing continuous reinforcements to American troops in Cuba.

Throughout June, the American troops consistently achieved victories, leveraging their advantages to compress the survival space of the Spanish garrison, which forced the Spanish Navy to take the initiative to challenge the United States Navy.

July 4, 1898.

Spain’s navy in Santiago clashed fiercely with the United States in Santiago Bay, attempting to break through the American naval blockade.

The Spanish Navy’s flagship, María Teresa, led three cruisers and two torpedo destroyers charging out of the port, shelling American ships outside the port while retreating. The coastal batteries also simultaneously fired upon the American ships.

In less than three hours of engagement, the United States Navy had sent all Spanish warships to the depths of the sea. Following the Santiago naval battle, the complete annihilation of Spanish naval power in the Philippines and the Caribbean Sea was formally declared.

At this point, the main stage of the war had entirely shifted to the land. Despite the annihilation of the Spanish naval forces, the Spanish colonial garrison continued their dogged resistance, with battles persisting from July into early August. The Philippine garrison held out until mid-August before resorting to surrender due to scarcity of ammunition and supplies.

...

Manila Port.

”Who are you, and why do you want to leave the port?”

At this time, at Manila Port, East African military personnel were stopped and questioned by American soldiers. Since the Philippine conflict was effectively over, it was impossible for the members of the East African military advisory group to remain.

”We are Germans. Here is our identification.”

In reality, without identification, the Americans couldn’t do anything against the East African military advisory group. Of course, they had to maintain a low profile as was necessary.

After the Spanish forces in the Philippines were basically finished, the East African military advisory group had already destroyed all markings and items with East African traces.

The Americans mainly stopped them because they sensed a ”same kind” aura emanating from them.

”You shouldn’t be businessmen!” said the American soldier, eyeing the calluses on the hands of the East African military advisory group, even stretching out his own hand for comparison, clearly indicating that they were also of military background.

”You have a keen eye; indeed we are not merchants, but East African diplomatic personnel in the Philippines.”

”Then what is your purpose in coming to the Philippines?”

”No comment; you can’t just inquire about this!”

Faced with the arrogance of the East African military advisory group members, the American soldiers were helpless, since they claimed to be diplomatic personnel in the Philippines, and they obviously were officials who couldn’t be casually provoked.

However, due to their attitude being unpleasant, the American soldiers increased the checks on the personal belongings of the East African military advisory group members but clearly found nothing.

”In that case, we’re leaving this place of trouble. Goodbye, young man!” teased the East African military advisory group.

By this time, Manila Bay had restored shipping operations, so East African merchant ships had been waiting at Manila Port.

After providing more than three months of service to the Spanish, the East African military advisory group safely returned to the East African mainland. For future work in the Philippines, the overseas intelligence agency, the East African National Defense Security Bureau, remained in charge.

Despite it being certain that the Philippines had fallen into American hands, intelligence work in the locality wouldn’t be discontinued, given the region’s exceptionally important geographical position.

Three weeks after the East African military advisory group’s departure, the Spanish colonial forces in the Philippines formally surrendered to the United States, marking the end of the war between Spain and the United States.

Compared to Cuba, the Philippine colonial forces could certainly be more resolute than in the past life. After all, Cuba had the backing of mainland Spain, whereas the Philippines, apart from a small quantity of pre-war aid, received scarcely any further support, and their achievements were brighter than the Cuban garrison, especially against the Asian Fleet.

Although the Philippine Navy was also entirely wiped out, its strength was historically the weakest within the Spanish Navy, with only three ironclad ships, two of which were nearly scrapped before the war. Even a single one lagged far behind American ships, and the rest were wooden vessels.

As opposed to the pre-war condition of the Philippine Navy, the Cuban Navy was more robust, boasting higher ship quality and quantity, receiving support from the mainland Navy during wartime. However, its losses were larger, with significant damage to Americans primarily from land battles, while naval achievements remained lackluster.