HOME /
BOOKS / Germany
The Philippines and the Spanish American War /
Four Accounts by officers of the Imperial
German Navy
by Karl-Heinz Wionzek, Editor / Translated with an Introduction by Thomas Clark
Hard Cover 6"X9", X pages.
ISBN: 9711111371
The Battle of Manila Bay and the deployment of the US Fleet from the German perspective.
Review by: Donato P. Guzman
Germany, the Philippines, and the Spanish-American WarFour Accounts by Officers of the Imperial German Navy
By Karl-Heinz Wiontek – Editor
"Since the start of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, the Spanish forces in Manila had been threatened by Filipino insurgents from the surrounding countryside. A few European navies, as is usual in such circumstances, had ships in Manila Bay ready to evacuate their nationals in case of insurgent attack on the city. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Commodore Dewey’s East-Asian Squadron steamed into Manila Bay and destroyed the Spanish fleet under Rear Admiral Montojo on 1 May 1898. Since Dewey lacked the means to seize Manila, he stayed in the bay to await the American Expeditionary Force and declared a blockade of the harbour. The manner in which the blockade was declared, and to German eyes, the unorthodox way in which Dewey wanted it enforced caused irritation in the relationship between the German Rear Admiral Diederichs and Commodore, later Rear Admiral Dewey. The latter found it also distressing that at one time the German Navy outnumbered the US Navy in the area, was reported to be actively supporting the Spanish forces and even hindered an attack being launched by Filipino insurgents on a Spanish fort. Moreover, the irresponsible reporting of the press gave credence to false rumors and wild speculation as to the intention of the Germans. Fortunately, at that time the complaints and counter-complaints were done in a scrupulously polite interchange of words and notes, and when Rear Admiral Diederichs sailed away after the surrender of Manila’s Spanish forces to the Americans, he thought all matters relative to the German presence in the area had been satisfactorily settled. However, when Rear Admiral Dewey published his biography in 1913, the old stories about the German Navy’s unseemly behaviour in Manila in 1898 were resurrected. Apparently Rear Admiral Dewey relied heavily on his memory and less on records. Dr. Woinzek, in publishing this book, attempts to show , on the basis of four accounts of German naval officers who were directly involved in the Manila “incidents”, that the American admiral’s biography had serious flaws when he recounted the events of fifteen years back. The four German naval officers drew on reproducible documents: ships’ logs, reports to higher headquarters, letters and entries made in diaries at the time. These sources can certainly be given greater credence than recollection of events by memory alone. It would do well for students of military history, particularly those interested in the Spanish-American War, to read this book, and to further delve into the mentioned bibliography."
-----Col. Donato L Guzman (PN) Marines (Ret) holds a Doctorate in Physics, and served as a Philippine Defense Attache in Germany.
He is also a member of the Knights of Rizal.
Germany The Philippines and the Spanish American War, can be ordered from:
AVA, PoBox 21104, Oxnard, CA, 93034, USA.
.
US$13.95; plus $4.5o
shipping (USPS Priority Mail w/tracking)(or request bookrate)
Payment by
Money Order only please.
E-mail: pmcmssr@yahoo.com
French Officer Manila Envelopes