Aguinaldo was only bringing about 30 men including himself to join Bonifacio. They were waiting for General Vicente Fernandez to signal them to join the assault on Manila but the signal was not broadcast. That is no longer Aguinaldo's fault. Furthermore, Bonifacio was leading more than 2,500 men in his group while General Ramon Bernardo was leading some 1,000 men from Makati and Santa Mesa.
What difference do you think 30 Cavitenos will make? It is very clear from ACTUAL reports of the battles of August 29-30, 1896 that Bonifacio and Bernardo failed miserably. Bonifacio's assault on the garrison of the polvorin at San Juan del Monte was driven off by about 30 Spanish artillerymen under Captain Rambaud, armed with the new German-made Mauser bolt-action rifle plus field artillery cannon along with about 100 native Filipino infantrymen armed with the older .43 caliber Remington Rolling-Block rifle.
The Filipinos failed to capture the polvorin or any significant numbers of arms, and despite their overwhelming numbers (2,500+) were stopped by less than 150 men. The same happened to General Bernardo, who was driven away in disarray by Spanish Segundo Cabo Bernard Echaluce y' Jauregui. Bernardo's more than 1,000 Katipuneros were miserably routed by about 100 Spanish troops including cavalry, Guardia Civil Veteranas and infantry from the Manila Garrison.
This is the US Adjutant General's report on the Philippine Revolution based on Manuel Sastron's official history of the "Tagalog Revolt"
and Federico Monteverde's "The Lachambre Division"
According to official Spanish sources, the Manila Garrison in Agosto 1896 has 300 Peninsular (Spanish) artillery - which would be armed with field cannon and the new Mauser rifles (Spanish peninsular troops were armed with Mausers, native conscripts and Guardia Civil were armed with the older single-shot Remington); as well as 400 other European troops, principally Marine Infantry (Spanish Marines - again armed with Mausers) and detachments of sailors from Admiral Patricio Montojo's Philippine Squadron. Along with 2,000 native troops of all kinds ( these would principally be the 70th Regimento Fijo de Infanteria [Indigenas] "Magallanes", the Manila garrison regiment, along with the Guardia Civil Veteranas, the cream of the crop of the Guardia Civil organization including infantry and a small cavalry detachment)
That is what Bonifacio would have to overwhelm.
According to official Spanish sources, the Manila Garrison in Agosto 1896 has 300 Peninsular (Spanish) artillery - which would be armed with field cannon and the new Mauser rifles (Spanish peninsular troops were armed with Mausers, native conscripts and Guardia Civil were armed with the older single-shot Remington); as well as 400 other European troops, principally Marine Infantry (Spanish Marines - again armed with Mausers) and detachments of sailors from Admiral Patricio Montojo's Philippine Squadron. Along with 2,000 native troops of all kinds ( these would principally be the 70th Regimento Fijo de Infanteria [Indigenas] "Magallanes", the Manila garrison regiment, along with the Guardia Civil Veteranas, the cream of the crop of the Guardia Civil organization including infantry and a small cavalry detachment)
That is what Bonifacio would have to overwhelm.
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