US Military History
The Spanish-American war, which took place in 1898 and lasted for four months, was said to be America’s first move towards imperialism. During this war, there were military operations, campaigns and battles between the two sides. The war took place on land, air and sea, a show of the two nations’ military power. However, the war unmasked some of the American Navy and Army weaknesses.
In February 1898, 267 US Navy soldiers died when a battleship exploded at Havana Harbor. The Spanish camp was responsible for that attack. This led to the declaration of war between the two nations two months later. The main battles were on Spanish colonies such as Philippine, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Americans easily won the Manila Bay battle in Philippines in May. Even though American Navy and Army troops found it difficult to conquer Spain’s Caribbean colonies, they persisted until they won. They only took 12 days for the army and navy to make the Spanish surrender on July 17th. The Puerto Rican colony was attacked a week later and conquered within three days. The war ended on 1st August and in December 1898, the two nations signed a treaty in Paris, ending the 100 day war. After the war, America occupied Cuba and Philippines.
The weaknesses of the American military at the time were exposed. It was clear from the delayed attack of the Caribbean Spanish colonies that American troops were not well equipped. They also lacked food and weapon supply which made them vulnerable. Furthermore, the attack of the naval battleship earlier in February showed that the Navy did not have intelligence systems to deal with impending attacks. However, the USA Army and Navy overcame all odds to win the Spanish-American war in a short stint of 100 days.
References
Alger, R. A. (2010). The Spanish-American War. New York: Read Books Design.
Graves, K. A. (2000). The Spanish-American War (illustrated ed.). New York: Capstone.
