Hey there, Canada speaking here. Just wanted to say that I have now taken over the blog! Well, until Korea gets back. So while I'm here, why don't you drop a little question for us?
On February 4, 1899 the Philippine-American War began.
After months of tension, Filipino and United States forces engaged each other in open warfare in what would become known as the battle of Manila.
At around 8 o'clock in the evening of February 4, 1899, Private William Grayson, of the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and two other soldiers from his regiment, were patrolling their section of the line. They had orders to halt any armed person entering the vicinity of the barrio of Santol. They would eventually Filipino soldiers in the distance.
Accounts varry on where these Filipino soldiers were. American sources say that the Filipino soldiers were approaching the American patrol, while Filipino sources say that the Filipino soldiers were in their own lines at Blockhouse No. 7.
Either way, it is agreed by both sides that the American patrol fired the first shot and that no one was hit by this initial volley. After the first shots, both American and Filipino forces echanged volleys against one another. A general alarm along the whole American line was sounded, while Filipino forces were informed that they were now in a state of hostilities with the United States.
Over the next two days, American and Filipino forces would fight a bloody battle along the outskirts of Manila, which would become the biggest battle of the whole war.
Filipino forces would eventually be forced to retreat and, after a series of defeats in open warfare, the Philippine Army would switch to guerrilla warfare tactics in November of that year.
The Philippine-American war would officially end on July 2, 1902, although various Filipino holdouts would continue fighting in the years following the official end.
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Depicted in the image is one of the first engagements in the battle of Manila, which was the struggle for San Juan bridge. Moments after the first shots were fired, Filipino forces from the Infantry Battalion of the Morong Expedition made an assault on San Juan bridge, which was defended by the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Accounts vary on what time the Filipino attacked occured, or if Filipino forces temporarily captured the bridge, but it is generally agreed upon that the attack on San Juan bridge was the first major action in the battle and that by the morning of February 5, Filipino forces have been repelled.
Representing the Filipino soldiers is Philippine Pony (@asktheunponies) and Techbro West (@techbro-arts). Both are wearing the rayadillo uniform, which was one of the main uniforms being distributed to the Philippine Army at the time. The two are also armed with the Spanish Regimenton Rolling Block rifle, which, next to the Spanish Mauser Model 1893 rifle, was the common long-arm of Filipino forces.
A portion of the San Juan river can be seen on the far left side.
The 14th Scout Ranger Company Makes a Blunder (History with Ponies)
On November 29, 1989, at around 10:00 p.m., the 14th Scout Ranger Company, among the Philippine military's elite soldiers, disabled the antennae of Philippine Air Force repeater station at the "Palace in the Sky", Tagaytay. This act was supposed to be the signal for members of RAM-SFP (Reform the Armed Forces Movement - Soldiers of the Filipino People) to begin the coup.
However, there was a problem. The 14th Scout Ranger Company had blundered and disabled the repeater station at the wrong time. They were supposed to destroy the antennae on November 30, in order to signal the start of the coup on December 1. Instead they did it one day early.
To make things worse they forgot to cut the cables of the other communications equipment, thus enabling the Air Force personnel to contact the capital.
Because of this, when the 14th Scout Ranger Company drove north to Fort Bonifacio, at the National Capital Region, they were surprised to see that no coup has began. Upon realizing their mistake, they attempted to head back to Tagaytay, but were arrested by CAPCOM (Capital Command) troops. They were then interrogated, as the whole Armed Forces were placed on red alert against a potential coup.
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Okay, so this will be the first in a series that I'm trying out. At the request of @crypkit I present to you all, History with Ponies! Right now I'm focusing on the Philippine's December 1989 Coup.
Portrayed in this piece are some members of the 14th Scout Ranger Company as they disable the atennae of the PAF repeater station. The ponies representing them are Boom ( @thedumbguywithaheart43 ) and a discorded version of Philippines Pony (@asktheunponies ). As you can see, they are wearing olive drab fatigues and black beanie caps, which was a common outfit for the Scout Rangers who participated in the coup. You will also notice Philippines Pony wearing a white scrunchie. This is to represent the countersign worn by RAM members, with white designating day 1 of the coup.
P.S. I have actually been to the Palace in the Sky once on a date (It's a tourist attraction nowadays) and wow is it really windy and cold up there. Now that I remember that, I should have draw their manes blowing against the wind.
Seven Days in December - The Philippine December Coup of 1989
Did this little piece for my Dad, who would often tell me stories about the December Coup. At the time he lived near Malacañang Palace (That is the Presidential Palce) and recounts seeing it being bombed by rebel piloted AT-28s. He also remembers that throughout those seven days (December 1st to 7th) the streets and malls were occupied by soldiers from both sides.
As a side note, I actually got to meet General Biazon, one of the generals who remained loyal to the government, back when I was younger. My Dad pointed him out to me while we were out at the mall and at the time the General was retired and was a serving Senator in the Philippine Congress.
Anyways, for those interested to learn more about it, I found this contemporary news report: