The 

Philippine–American War began on February 4, 1899, with the culmination of the Battle of

Manila.[2] Later, on February 10, Filipino forces regrouped in Caloocan and fought again with the
American forces at the first Battle of Caloocan. The Americans won both engagements, but
then Elwell S. Otis had Arthur MacArthur, Jr. wait before attacking Malolos.[3]:92 Noticing that the
Americans had halted their offensive to reorganize, the Filipino forces, now under the command
of General Antonio Luna, began finalizing their plans to counterattack. Apolinario Mabini, the political
philosopher, highlighted the need to prepare thoroughly to ensure the success of the operation,
stating that the battle's outcome would determine the fate of the Philippine Republic.[4]

Filipino preparations[edit]
Luna's headquarters was established in Polo (now Valenzuela), and operations for the counterattack
were prepared there. The troops directly under his command were organized into three brigades.
The West Brigade was under General Pantaleon Garcia, the Center Brigade was under
General Mariano Llanera, and the East Brigade was under Colonel Maximino Hizon.[4] The plan
envisioned by Luna and his army staff was to affect a union of forces from the north and south
of Manila with the sandatahanes or bolomen inside the city. The other forces that were to attack
simultaneously with Luna's troops were the men of General Licerio Gerónimo from the east, and the
men of Generals Pío del Pilar and Miguel Malvar from the south.[4] Luna even requested the battle-
hardened Tinio Brigade in Northern Luzon, under the command of Manuel Tinio. It had more than
1,900 soldiers. However, Aguinaldo gave only ambiguous answers.[4] The total Filipino force
amounted between 5,000 men. The defending American force had 15,000 to 20,000 men in Manila
and its suburbs.[4]

Battle[edit]
At 9 pm on February 22, fire broke out at the brothel in Santa Cruz, Manila, followed by another
in Tondo, Manila.[3]:59 The fires signaled the beginning of the Filipino counterattack.[1] Around 9 pm,
Aguinaldo received a telegram concerning the fire. The local firefighters refused to act, so the
Americans used European volunteers, supported by the Provost Guard and the 13th Minnesota, 2nd
Oregon, and the 23rd Infantry in Tondo, when 500 Filipinos troops occupied the northern part of the
city.[3]:59[4] Panicked refugees fled from the flames in Tondo and as the market in Binondo caught fire
after midnight.[3]:60[4]As a result, it took three hours for the fires to be brought under control.[4] At around
10 pm, armed Filipinos under Colonel Francisco Roman entered Tondo and confronted the surprised
American troops.
Confusion, however, did not rest on the American side alone. The Filipinos also succumbed to
indecision. Colonel Lucio Lucas, who was under Luna's direct command, had responded
immediately after hearing the signal for attack. His objective was to march into the Meisic police
station, which the Americans had turned into a barracks.[4] However, en route Lucas' troops were met
by a large American contingent at Azcarraga Street. Thinking of retreat, Lucas had reconsidered the
belief that it was better to die fighting than die burning. The houses at their rear were already on fire,
so he ordered his men to attack the Americans with only daggers in their hands. In the ensuing fight
three Filipinos and eight Americans were killed.[4]
The USS Monadnock crossing the Pacific Ocean during the Spanish–American War.

During the course of the battle, Luna did his best to keep personal participation in the field.[4] At dawn
of February 23, the Filipinos opened their attack by firing their cannons against the Americans. Luna
managed to secure a Krupp Rifled breech loader to provide artillery support for his men.[1] However,
while the advancing Filipinos attempted to break the American line in Caloocan, the Americans were
able to coordinate their positions with the USS  Monadnock. The ship's twin turrets fired 10-inch
shells that set fire to a number of Filipino houses that broke up the Filipino attack, forcing them to fall
back to take cover.[4]
This setback was made worse by the poor coordination between the regular Filipino army and the
sandatahanes. A lack of ammunition had also affected some units, including the troops under
Colonel Roman.[4] Nevertheless, Garcia's troops had reached the planned points of occupation in
Manila, and at that point he believed that Manila would soon fly the Filipino flag.[4] At that point,
however, Filipino fortunes wavered. Two companies, totaling about 400 men, of the Pampanga
troops under Major Canlas made a rapid advance and placed La Loma under siege. When the
Pampanga troops ran out of ammunition, four companies (around 800) of Kawit troops were ordered
to link up with the Pamapanga troops and launch a joint attack on the Americans entrenched in La
Loma.[4] The Kawit commander, Captain Janolino, did not obey the order stating that he would only
obey orders from President Aguinaldo. As a result, the battle in that sector was lost, and later this
incident was singled out by both Luna and General Ambrosio Flores, Luna's assistant as Director of
War, as being the main factor in denying the Filipinos victory that day.[4]
By the end of February 23, the Filipinos had managed to secure Sampaloc, Binondo and Tondo (by
Generals Pío del Pilar, Geronimo and Colonel Hizon).[4] The Kawit Battalion under Captain Pedro
Janolino had secured Meisic and American troops in Caloocan, numbering around 6,000, were
under siege by Filipino troops under Llanera and Garcia.[4]
The next day, the Filipinos fought even more fiercely than they had the day before. The continued
fighting aroused concern amongst the American commanders who called for reinforcements, cabling
General Henry Ware Lawton to expedite his move to Manila from Colombo.[4] However, in general,
the Filipinos were retreated to their original positions. Weak links between Filipino units enabled the
Americans to intercept a number of telegrams and disrupt their communications. This resulted in
poor coordination and, coupled with poor discipline among some units such as the Kawit Battalion
and the sandatahanes, this ultimately let to the failure of the counterattack.[4] The Tondo pocket was
cleared, the defenders fell back and resistance collapsed.[battle of Caloocan