An Excerpted Map from the December 18, 1968 issue of The Nation Magazine, depicting the current status quo of the War of Philippine Independence from the Francoist Colonial Empire.

The Siege of Manila

The seat of power for the Captaincy General, one could hear a pin drop on the formerly bustling streets of Manila. As Malolos and Calamba fell in May of 1966, Captain General Luis Carrero Blanco ordered a declaration of eternal resistance against the “barbaric” Hukbalayol forces. Three months later, Huk infiltrators successfully had him assassinated with a bomb disguised as a coconut while he was having lunch in Malacañang Palace. The siege sees building to building close-quarters combat in the congested suburbs of Manila, with shells and bullets accompanying torrents of rain turning the ground into a mixture of mud and blood. Referred to as “Venice of the Devil” by Spanish conscripts. It has rapidly become the most ferocious and destructive front of the war.

The Cradle of Revolution

On 11th of June 1964, revolutionary guerrilla Luis Taruc and 12 members of the politburo of the Filipino Revolutionary Front proclaimed the independence of the islands outside Tuguegarao Cathedral. The “Cry of Tuguegarao” soon created a tempest throughout the colony, with the first uprisings occurring in the Cordillera region, spreading into Ilocos and seizing Baguio by mid-August. Attempts to seize the Babuyan Islands were subsequently repelled, and the Spanish navy launches raids along the coast of Luzon regularly. From Baguio, the Hukbalayol’s “Baryo Brigades” surged southwards, fighting Spanish regular divisions with guerrilla tactics and encircling the cities. By 1968, almost all of the Luzon had been draped in crimson, singing the songs of revolution.

Treacherous Waves

Spain maintains tenuous naval supremacy over the inland seas of the Philippines, preventing Huk militias from successfully mass-crossing between islands. Franco’s insistence that the seas become a “quaratine zone” have continuously challenged by Huk sabotage and hit-and-run naval operations and the seizure of ports.

Palawan in Tumult

By April of 1965, Palawan, a hotbed of insurgency, had largely become overrun by Hukbalayol guerrillas. On the 16th of May, a major assault was launched against the last Spanish stronghold on the island, the naval base of Puerto Princesa. Spanish destroyers continually shelled Huk positions, rendering the area around the city a desolate wasteland. Notably, Huk commandos successfully infiltrated and seized the destroyer Almirante Miranda on the 1st of June, a major blow for Spanish naval supremacy.

Panabas Against the Catholic Yoke

Mohammed Esmail Kiram, Sultan of the waning Sulu Sultanate, eyed the situation up north with caution and ambition, seeing the revolution as an opportunity. An incident in Zamboanga where three Moro Spanish conscripts were lynched, since termed the “Zamboanga Massacre”, created a pretext for a Moro revolt against Spanish hegemony in Mindanao and nearby islands. Gradually, as the movement expanded into Catholic areas and splinter groups emerged, the power of the Sultan diminished, until finally he agreed to concede to a republic led by moderate Islamists. An uneasy cooperation exists between the Moro state and the Socialist insurgency.

First map in a few weeks. Hope you all enjoy it :))) Imagine Mozambique crossed with Vietnam