The Battle of Perez Dasmariñas occurred during the Cavite Offensive of 1897, an all-out attack commanded by Maj. Gen. Jose de Lachambre to recapture Cavite in the Philippines since their loss at the twin battles of Binakayan and Dalahican and to crush the Katipunan insurrection, led by Emilio Aguinaldo in the province. Both the battle and the offensive was a success for the Spanish, and the retreat to Montalban occurred several weeks after the battle. The battle had been too much a hardship for both the Filipino revolutionaries and the Perez Dasmariñas town, because they each suffered destruction in the face of the massive Spanish assault.
Background
Humiliated after the loss of the twin battles of Binakayan and Dalahican the previous year, Gov. Gen. Ramón Blanco y Erenas took extreme caution of Aguinaldo's presence in Cavite as this meant that as long as he was not captured the revolution continues throughout Luzon. The further spread of the insurgency in the Philippines led to the turnover of the post of Governor-general to Blanco's second-in-command, Lieutenant GeneralCamilo de Polavieja.
Prelude
Just a few months before, new fresh conscripts arrived from Spain, and the new Spanish governor-general, Camilo de Polavieja, ordered Maj. Gen. Jose de Lachambre to conduct an offensive that will crush the revolution and reclaim Cavite for the Spanish Crown. The latter did as ordered, began the offensive on February 15 at Pamplona and Bayungyungan towns of Cavite and Batangas, respectively. Gov-Gen. Polavieja himself with 12 000 troops attacked the revolutionaries at Zapote bridge. Two giant pincers were on the verge of trapping the revolutionaries under Aguinaldo. The Spaniards recaptured Silang on 19 February 1897, despite tenacious Filipino resistance clinging there. The revolutionaries had to retreat to Perez Dasmariñas in disorganized manner. Skirmishers under the command of Maj. Jose Ignacio "Intsik" Paua continuously engaged and harassed Spanish frontline cazadores keeping the enemy off-balance. The Spaniards took heavy losses upon taking Silang, however. With their enemy calling off the pursuit for a while, the Katipuneros in Perez Dasmariñas had the chance to recuperate and reorganize. Imus, the seat of Aguinaldo's revolutionary government, was the Spaniards' primary aim, but they have to take the town of Perez Dasmariñas first if they are to take the former. In defending the towns of Perez Dasmariñas and Imus, the Katipuneros desperately mobilized all available men for the upcoming battle, arming every Caviteño in the town and its surrounding villages.
Battle
Having just won the battle of Zapote Bridge, General Emilio Aguinaldo turned his attention at the new Spanish threat determined to recapture most of Cavite. Eight days later on 27 February, after taking control of Silang town, the battle-hardened Spaniards resumed their assault and marched towards Perez Dasmariñas. The Katipuneros intercepted the advancing Spaniards in Pasong Santol, a zigzag trail between Imus and Perez Dasmariñas. Meanwhile, at the Tejero's Convention, Emilio was voted in absentia as the president of the reorganized revolutionary government. Colonel Vicente Riego de Dios was sent by the assembly to fetch Emilio Aguinaldo, who was then in Pasong Santol. The newly elected president refused to come, so his brother Crispulo Aguinaldo was then sent from Tejeros to talk him. Crispulo greeted his brother and explained his purpose, but Emilio was hesitant to leave his post because of the pending attack of the Spanish in Dasmariñas. From March 7 to 24, a stalemated battle between the revolutionary army of Crispulo, who had taken over Emilio's leadership in battle, and the Spanish forces, led by José de Lachambre, occurred in this zigzag trail. The Filipinos' resistance was tenacious as ever, refusing to give ground, but the far more disciplined Spaniards advanced steadily. Emilio, realizing the size of the enemy and the danger of the situation, sent Magdalo troops to reinforce the threatened salient. The Spaniards pressed the offensive, achieving tactical superiority. This led to the massacre of the Filipino soldiers, including Emilio Aguinaldo's brother Crispulo. The Spaniards only captured this salient after Crispulo was killed during the battle, and the rebels promptly broke off the engagement and reorganized inside the town. The remaining Katipuneros, now leaderless, prepared to meet the invaders head-on within the town of Perez Dasmariñas itself. As the Spaniards entered the town, bloody urban combat ensued. But they managed to crush the rebels' resistance in the town. The remainder of the revolutionary army was scattered upon their retreat which turned into a rout, but some of the remaining units managed to get back to Imus, where the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo was based.
Outcome
With the battle came to an end as a disaster for the Filipino revolutionaries, it signaled the advent of Spanish recapture of Cavite province. Commanders like Crispulo Aguinaldo, Emilio's brother, Flaviano Yengko, and others were killed from the skirmish that occurred at Pasong Santol including an estimated 10,000 soldiers. Twenty thousand Filipino civilians lost their lives when the Spaniards have broken through the lines at Pasong Santol. About 3,000 losses were inflicted against the Spanish.
