() On June 7, 1911, the Philippines, which had already become calm,
The uprising suddenly broke out. From the northern part of Luzon Island to the southern tip of Mindanao Island, dozens of armed attacks and large-scale urban riots swept across the entire Philippine Islands overnight. From military camps in the suburbs to military camps in the city, people were sneakily attacked.
Sentinels were assassinated, from pro-American businessmen being beheaded on the street to port facilities being destroyed, all kinds of confrontation methods emerged in an endless stream, leaving the U.S. garrison not only exhausted but also suffering heavy losses.
In just one month of June, the U.S. military in the Philippines lost more than 3,000 soldiers and more than 90 middle- and lower-level officers, and the losses of various military supplies were even greater. The Philippine Governor and the U.S. military stationed in the Philippines were confused by so many armed uprisings.
Colonel Danzig, the commander-in-chief of the Philippine military, had to concentrate the dispersed US troops into three major cities on Luzon Island to avoid being attacked by the elusive guerrillas and locals who hated the US military. However, this
As a result, although the casualties of the US military were greatly reduced, the area that the US military could control also shrunk sharply. By mid-July, the entire Luzon Island except Manila, Laoag and Batangas, three major ports and five medium-sized ports
The city was still under the control of the US military, and other areas were successively occupied by guerrillas. For a time, various Soviets appeared on the Philippine Islands. They announced their independence from US control under various banners and implemented various policies.
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on the Philippine Islands
li uprisings broke out everywhere, and the islands of Mindanao, Leyte, Negros and Cebu where Taiwanese troops were stationed could not appear too peaceful. Therefore, under the joint planning of the Taiwanese defenders and the "Filipino" organization, two Taiwanese army troops
The occupied station was visited by local tourists
The attack team was razed to the ground, and the Taiwanese defenders suffered "casualties" of more than 300 people. Many sabotage activities occurred on the three main roads that run through Mindanao and the many auxiliary roads that have been built in recent years. In the ports everywhere, targeted
Attacks on Taiwanese transport ships also occur from time to time.
Under this circumstance, Taiwan's Army Ministry, citing heavy casualties and supply difficulties, withdrew all its troops from Leyte and Cebu and stationed them in Negros and Mindanao to strengthen the defense of these two main islands.
defense.
Faced with the "corpses of dead soldiers" and a large number of "wounded" being transported back to Taiwan one by one, the US liaison officers had to report to the Governor of the Philippines, saying that the Taiwanese garrison was also being attacked everywhere and had to shrink its defenses.
Not only is it unable to support the US military on Luzon Island, but it has also become a question of whether the achievements made in the past few years on the four southern islands of the Philippines can be maintained.
The Philippines was in such chaos for a while that the United States was very dissatisfied with the current Philippine Governor Forbes and the garrison commander Colonel Danzig. In the same month, Gilbert was dispatched from the country to take over as the governor and concurrently as the commander of the US military in the Philippines.
When the new governor came to the Philippines, the number of American-occupied cities on Luzon Island had dropped from three to two. A few days ago, more than 6,000 guerrillas besieged Tabuk, an important city in northern Luzon Island, and in
On the third day, more than 2,000 Americans coming from Laoag were ambushed in the swamp near Pinupuk.
Due to their haste and unfamiliarity with the terrain, the U.S. reinforcements were deliberately introduced into the swamp area by local Filipino guides. After being tortured by various traps and landmines, they completely lost their will to resist and were driven out of the swamp.
Thousands of guerrillas and local indigenous people who rushed out were wiped out in the muddy water.
Due to the lack of supplies and the delay in waiting for reinforcements, the thousands of U.S. troops in Tabuk only held out for four days. Under the uncooperation of the residents in the city and the endless bombardment of unscrupulous artillery shells outside the city, they
Defeated, they withdrew from Tabuk City and retreated along the road to Baguio City, another US-occupied city more than 140 kilometers away. However, during the retreat
Along the way, there were traps and mines everywhere, and there were cold guns and poisonous arrows all day long. It took the retreating U.S. Army two and a half days to complete the more than 140-kilometer journey, and the more than 4,000 U.S. officers and soldiers who initially retreated arrived.
In Baguio City, there were only more than 1,100 people left, and most of them were exhausted and on the verge of mental collapse.
Governor Gilbert was helpless in the face of such a corrupt situation in the Philippines. In order to reduce the unnecessary casualties of the US military, he could only further shrink the defense. He abandoned all cities that were not near seaports and all the remaining 40,000 US troops in the Philippines.
It was shrunk around the seven seaport cities on Luzon Island and relied on the power of maritime supplies and naval guns to barely stop the large-scale attack by the Philippine guerrillas.
As a result, the US military and the guerrillas began a confrontation on Luzon Island. The Americans occupied most of the seaports, while the guerrillas occupied all of the inland. Since the US military could not control the activities of the guerrillas, generally speaking, the US military was passive.
state, and the guerrillas were in an offensive state. However, due to the lack of heavy weapons and artillery by the guerrillas, they were unable to carry out effective attacks on the seaport cities occupied by the US military, and the two sides reached a stalemate.
In this chaotic situation, the "Filipino" organization relied on sufficient weapons and equipment and the mass base and reputation it had built over the years on the four southern islands to rapidly expand. In just a few months, only the peripheral organizations
and guerrillas grew to more than 50,000 people, becoming the largest anti-American armed force in the Philippine Islands.
In June, when the situation in the Philippines changed dramatically, Taiwan also ushered in a great event. After more than two years of hard work, the cruise ship Rosalia successfully completed the construction and post-decoration, and departed from Keelung Port on June 21st.
It set sail and headed to the Port of Portsmouth, England. After making appropriate repairs and adjustments there, it started from Portsmouth and crossed the Atlantic from east to west, finally arriving in New York, the United States.
Since this voyage is related to the rise and fall of Taiwan's shipbuilding industry, for the sake of insurance, Helena Shipping Company hired an American captain with rich experience in Atlantic navigation and some senior crew members, together with some of the company's seamen, to jointly shoulder the responsibility of Rosa
Leia's mission.
After 20 days of sailing, the Rosalia, which was running in and adjusting while running, safely arrived at Portsmouth Port and will dock here for a week before embarking on its journey across the Atlantic.
The well-paid American captain Alexander Palmer was an experienced seaman. He had served as the captain of many large mail ships in the British White Star Company and Cunard Company, and he had a profound understanding of the Atlantic route and large mail ships.
Substitute enthusiasm. In previous years due to
Due to age issues, the 59-year-old captain was removed from the large cruise ship by the company and went to run some short-distance cruises in Europe. The stubborn old man resigned from his position in anger and took a high pension to join the
My daughter’s family lives in the United States.
This time Helena Shipping Company was able to hire this retired old captain, thanks to his son-in-law who worked as a clerk at Schneider Oil Company. Originally, the old Palmer had no intention of stepping onto the command podium again, not that he was interested in navigation and
He is no longer interested in large mail ships, but he is afraid that once he is employed in Cao, he will not be able to settle down for the rest of his life. But after taking
After receiving the mailing information sent by the Helena Company, the old captain was a little moved. Coupled with the persuasion from his son-in-law and daughter who had just been promoted by the company, he finally aroused his passion for the sea and his desire to win the Blue Ribbon Award.
Wish, there is no cruise ship captain in the world who does not want to receive this award, and there are several captains in the world who can get this opportunity.
Captain Palmer used various methods to contact several old colleagues and subordinates who were not successful in his career, formed a small team, accepted the employment of Helena Shipping Company, and became the captain of the Rosalia.
The first captain. Before seeing the Rosalia, Palmer still had a try mentality because he didn't quite believe what this mail ship built in Taiwan could achieve.
Blue Ribbon Award. In this era, the ships built by Britain are the best in the world. Even Americans, whose industry is more developed than Britain, dare not compete with the British in shipbuilding. Not to mention a small Taiwan, and it is also a small country in East Asia.
Island country. If Helena Company hadn't been an American company and his son-in-law and daughter had tried hard to persuade him, Palmer would never have chosen to come back and take this risk.
But after boarding the Rosalia and personally commanding this huge mail ship to reach Portsmouth safely, the old Palmer felt proud and gratified about his decision to come back. With many years of sailing experience
, Captain Palmer was pretty sure this was a ship that could run
It is a very fast mail ship, and what is rare is that it is not only smooth and fast, but also luxurious and dignified. The shape of this ship does not have a vertical bow and round stern like all large ships of this era;
It has a flaring bow and a slightly square shape.
The stern of the ship and the hull are also more slender. Coupled with the two not very high but very thick chimneys one at the front and one at the back, the overall shape looks much more delicate. What surprised the old captain the most was the 4 in the power cabin.
The huge thrust generated by a huge steam turbine in India
On the ocean, old Palmer once used these machines to run at a high speed of 28 knots, and it was not the highest speed. In order to make the new machines run in more smoothly, the old captain did not lose his principles because of curiosity and stopped this useful operation in time.
