Battle of El Caney - Definition

The Battle of El Caney was fought on July 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War.

At El Caney, five hundred Spanish soldiers under General Joaquín Vara de Rey were instructed to hold the northwest flank of Santiago against an American advance. Despite having no machine guns and being denied promised reinforcements, Vara de Rey and his soldiers held eight thousand Americans from their position for nearly twelve hours, preventing them from sweeping through and overwhelming San Juan Hill.

Of those unable to escape, less than one dozen Spanish survived the encounter, all of them badly wounded. Many have called this engagement proof that, properly led, the Spanish Army might well have defeated the United States during the Cuban Campaign.

References

• Nofi, Albert A., The Spanish-American War, 1898, 1997.
• Carrasco García, Antonio, En Guerra con Los Estados Unidos: Cuba, 1898, Madrid: 1998.

External link

• Spanish-American War Centennial Website (http://www.spanamwar.com)