Major battles of Spanish American war
The Spanish American war did not last very long. Never the less, there were still a number of battles. Most major battles took place in Spanish colonies of the Philippine islands, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. I have found that three in particular were very important for our success in this war. These battles are the Battle of Manila Bay, The Invasion of Guantanamo Bay, and The Battle of San Juan Hill.
The Battle of Manila Bay took place in the Philippines. It happened on May 1, 1898 and only lasted a matter of hours. The United States Asiatic Squadron took on the Spanish Pacific fleet. United States Commodore George Dewey, who was in charge of the seven-warship United States Asiatic Squadron, was given orders to “capture or destroy” the Spanish fleet in the Philippines. At around 5:40 a.m. on May 1, we opened fire. Just a few hours later we ceased fire for a lunch break and resumed fighting shortly after. Around 12:30 p.m. that same day Spanish forces surrendered. During the battle almost 400 Spanish sailors were killed, and 10 warships were either wrecked or captured. Only 6 American soldiers were injured during the battle. This battle is important because it cleared the way for the United States to occupy Manila, which eventually lead to United States control of the Philippines.
The Invasion of Guantanamo Bay was fought from June 6 to June 10, 1898. American and Cuban naval forces invaded an area of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba that once they won the battle, they took from the Spanish naval forces. This battle is important because it established a United States naval base there and established the United States teaming with Cuban soldiers to defend against Spanish naval forces.
The Battle of San Juan Hill (also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights) happened on July 1st, and was to try and take over the San Juan heights.In this battle we attacked the village of El Caney and San Juan Hill. This battle is one of the most famous and most bloody of the war. It was also the battle where the “Rough Riders” (Theodore Roosevelt's collection of soldiers) had their first victory. In this battle the United States had a big advantage in numbers. The ratio of Americans to Spaniards was 10 to 1. Although the Spaniards put up a good fight, we eventually overtook them and captured the heights.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-san-juan-hill
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-manila-bay
Comments
Good summaries of the battles! Be sure to expand your personal thoughts a bit and use Easybib for your sources.