BONUS EPISODE: The Siege of Baler
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The story of the Japanese holdout during and after WWII is something almost everyone is familiar with. But, there is a lesser known story that happened in a small, remote part of the Philippines that rivals even those.
A tiny garrison of Spanish soldiers, trapped in the middle of the Filipino Revolution, held up in a rural, fortified church. Outnumbered, outgunned, without supplies, and forced to clothe themselves in rotting animal skins, held off the Filipino Revolutionary Forces for almost a year. Unfortunately for, and unknown to the Spanish defenders, most of this happened after Spain had lost the Spanish-American War and had lost possession of the Philippines altogether.
SOURCES:
Alcover, Javier. The End of an Empire- 1898: The Last Garrison of the Philippines.
Quinio, Carlos. Roces, Alfredo Reyes. Filipino Heritage: The Period of Armed Struggle (1896-1900). Vol. 8
Hanks, Carlos. The Siege of Baler Church. Vol. 57 No.6. United States Naval Institute.
Hernandez, Miguel. 337 Days at Baler. Military Heritage. Vol. 3, No, 4
Comments (29)
Fun fact, we still have a youth military program at least for the Navy, the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps, and if you stay in the program long enough to reach a certain rank you can then enlist in the Navy at an advanced paygrade up to E-3
If there isn't Eastern Horseodoxy merch soon I'm going to have to make my own.
I like the disgusting food tangent. I know of two Polish foods that sound less than appetizing. There’s czernina and kaszanka( aka kishka). Czernina is duck’s blood soup. I’ve had kaszanka but have no desire to have czernina.
There's an interesting Philippino movie on Baler It's on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUP7oYvE9R4
Nick needs to guest at least once, we miss him
I heard you could bury a rock for 10 years and within seconds of it being dug up be ready for action.
Stripper clips are those things your 5.56 used to come in in those green bandoliers
in west Philadelphia born and raised ... fresh prince of Baler
I would absolutely love a Nate food travelogue of the Philippines, but yeah, he'd get side-eyed. Maybe if he brought the family once the kid is old enough to travel? My parents brought me back when I was 2 to visit and I unfortunately have no memory of it.
Lions Lead by Donkeys consistently produces high quality dysentery.
Ooh... Nate might have met a celebrity in Talkeetna in Alaska - the Mayor, Stubbs the Cat. One of the most honest politicians in US history, never took a bribe or money from PACs. A joke campaign ad to get Stubbs elected to the Senate in 2014 aired, and he did get some write in votes!
For anyone who hasn't been, Talkeetna has a lot of tourism business as it's the gateway to Denali National Park as well as it's on the highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Lots of little arts and crafts shops and restaurants in the town center. I think Mayor Stubbs the Cat is supposed to be a tourist attraction. I took a sightseeing flight around Denali from Talkeetna and it was one of the coolest things I ever did.
If they had just left the philipinos probably would have pitied them and given them some BBQ so they don't have to eat cockroaches anymore.
Australia has two foods everyone outside Australia hates: Vegemite and musk sticks.
Y'all really dropped the first ever Spanish language name alert for José Mota and didn't even crack a joke about it 😂
"You will commune with the spirit of the Mosquito" sounds like a line from Trench Crusade.
There is a movie about this, Los últimos de filipinas, it's got Luis Tosar which I always like to see, but I don't think it is very good.
This is an Aguirra: The Wrath of God situation. One crazy guy is insisting on an absolutely absurd vision of reality and forcing everyone to go along with him.
Wait I’m behind on episodes but Nate left hell of a way? When did this happen?
Lol, Henry and Marcus from last podcast get accused of being CIA agents often. The Internet is a crazy place. Remember when it was fun?
No
That priest who joined the revolutionaries is a real baler.
the Whicker Plane only flies because its full of bees
The Imperium of Man but it's just a bunch of church hobos who've lost years ago and refuse to accept it. So just the Imperium of Man but on a micro scale
While I love the concept of a tree cannon, why didn't they build a catapult instead? Would've saved them a lot of self harm and I doubt that church was fortified enough to withstand any kind of siege weaponry.
I stand corrected.
By fluke I had just listened to the American Phillipine war series so I'm ready for this let's gooo
Baler? I hardly know 'er
The siege of baler? Sounds like something that would happen to be if I didnt pay my John Deere Financial loan