Battle of Zapote Bridge (1897)

The Battle of Zapote Bridge was fought on February 17, 1897, as part of the Philippine Revolution. Filipino revolutionary forces headed by General Emilio Aguinaldo defeated Spanish forces under Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja. In this battle, General Edilberto Evangelista, a Filipino civil engineer, trench builder and member of the Katipunan, was killed.

Background
With the revolutionaries' loss at, and the opening of the second phase of the war after the battle at, Pateros, the Spaniards began their campaign to recapture territories which had fallen into Filipino hands in the early phase of the revolution in 1896 after the decisive battles of Binakayan and Dalahican. More than 20,000 Spaniards are now marching from Manila towards Cavite province to reclaim the province's lost towns from the revolutionaries. The revolutionaries then planned a counterattack that could stop the Spanish offensive in Cavite. The site of the battle was planned -- the Zapote Bridge in Bacoor.

The battle
Hiding his army of 40,000 strong mostly armed only with spears, bolos and improvised guns and rifles in the bushes of Zapote River's southern bank, General Emilio Aguinaldo, the commander, ordered some of his soldiers to plant a dynamite in and between the bridge and put pointed bamboo sticks in the river below the bridge, in case the Spaniards cross it; this was a trap planned by the General Edilberto Evangelista. By the time the Spaniards were halfway in crossing the bridge several hours later, the trap was sprung, killing several Spanish soldiers crossing the bridge and wounded more. The Filipino revolutionaries then got out of the bushes and fought the Spanish troops hand-to-hand, successfully turning back consecutive waves of enemy troops charging across the river. During this fighting, General Evangelista was killed by a shot in the head. The demoralized Spanish soldiers then pulled back towards Muntinlupa.

Aftermath
General Aguinaldo and his troops again started to liberate Cavite towns little by little since the battles at Binakayan and Dalahican following the victory at Zapote Bridge. However, two days later, the Filipinos' offensive was stopped when news reached him that the Spanish again resumed the offensive after storming the rebels' positions at Silang and is now marching towards Imus, his faction's revolutionary seat of government. Aguinaldo then redirected his troops to Perez Dasmariñas, where there was much fighting beginning there.