Dominguez, Las Tunas, Cuba

“General, our forces can’t break the enemy defenses. Even your personal guards are stalled General by an enemy counter-attack.”

“Order the diversionary forces in the rear and flank of the Spanish lines to attack with haste, tell them that the enemy on their side would be much weaker and easier to break.”

“Yes, General.”

General Gomez is now worrying that the men can’t successfully defeat the Spanish forces on the hill. They have already wasted a lot of time and resources just to weaken the enemy and still, the Spanish have the strength to fight back against their main attack. Even his elite personal guards are having a hard time fighting the enemy forces and are being slowly pushed back to the first line of defense.

The offensive has become a slow and bloody sluggish match between the Cuban revolutionaries and Spanish regular forces. The casualties on both sides are growing alarmingly as time passes on the battlefield. Even if they would eventually defeat the Spanish, the casualties would render this army useless and the men may suffer mental and psychological setbacks because of such a gruesome fight.

“Tell the soldiers in the rear to charge straight towards the center of the defense. Let them carry a Cuban flag and plant it on the top of the hill.”

“Yes, General.”

General Gomez sent another man to give orders to those who are on the rear side of the Spanish forces. It would take time for the orders to reach the position as it needs to be delivered personally by the messenger who needs to ride a horse across the battlefield to send such commands. The messenger is accompanied by some guards that would protect the messenger from enemy ambush and sniper attacks.

General Gomez knows that if they could not defeat the 4,000 Spanish troops here in Dominguez, Las Tunas, they would be able to survive until the reinforcements arrive. That would have detrimental consequences to the revolutionary government for this is the only Spanish army that can launch offensives this year in the South. And if not stopped, the Revolutionary government would have a harder time for they could not strengthen their hold in the South. Time would tell if they could survive or not.

** ** **

“Cubans, remember this day of our reckoning against the Spanish tyranny. Give your life to the cause for the future of our children… Charge!!!!!”

The Cubans in the rear of the Spanish army immediately reorganize and launch an attack after receiving the orders of General Gomez. Even if they are already tired of fighting the Spanish for the past few days to disrupt their lines, they are all brimming with vigor and morale. They know that this would be the day that would decide whether they would win or lose this battle and they must give their all to be the winner in the end.

All of them charge toward the thin line of Spanish forces in the rear. Most of the Spanish soldiers have been moved to the main front where the Cuban forces have launched their largest attack, leaving the rear with only a small token force to face the Cuban revolutionaries.

The Spanish commander knows that it would be foolish to strip the already thin defenses in the rear but the entire army would have already collapsed if he would not reinforce the front.

Now, this order would come to bite them. The remaining Cuban forces launch an attack on the already undermanned and dispersed defense in the rear. The Cubans have now reached the line with little or even no resistance as they were no Spanish soldiers manning the lines. Most of the Spanish troops in the rear are those who are slightly wounded from the skirmishes over the past few days. The Cubans then immediately neutralized the defenders and their defenses that they were already approaching now the Spanish center and its flanks.

The Cubans were very optimistic that they could annihilate or capture the entire Spanish army on the hill. Their sacrifices and effort would be rewarded after defeating such an obstacle and no one is going to stop them now.

** ** **

“Commander, our rear has fallen. The enemy is already approaching here.”

After hearing the grim news from the rear, the Spanish commander collapsed to the ground. Everything comes crashing, his honor, men, achievement, and life. He didn’t expect that he and his army would be encircled and sieged for days and now everything would fall as the enemy forces are making their way to where he is right now.

He knows that the army is already exhausted but everyone would not agree to surrender to the Cuban barbarians. They hear stories that the Cubans would execute any Spanish soldiers they captured and behead them in a gruesome way. Then they would send the heads to the Spanish cities and bases while the beheaded body would be thrown to feed for livestock or wild animals. They all see the Cuban revolutionaries as demons and being captured as doomed in hell, they would rather die fighting than be captured.

“Assembly any extra men that you can to form a spearhead and another group for a rearguard. We would break through the right flank and surprise them so we can create a corridor for a retreat back north, we can’t afford to be stuck here and wait from being annihilated.”

“Yes, Commander.”

The Spanish commander immediately formulates a plan to solve their current plight. Retreating even if it is humiliating is better than being annihilated here. Even if only half of the men could survive that would be already a big victory for him. He could just justify that the enemy number is bigger than what is in the report that cause the current disaster.

“Also, start to slowly command the troops in a fighting retreat approach while the rearguard would hold these three strategic locations for our retreat. Haste now my men.”

“Yes, Commander!”

All of the messengers of the Spanish commander are frantically moving to the officers in every frontline of the Spanish forces to give the new order. Time is of the essence, and every second wasted would add new variables to the situation that might affect the success of the operation. They just hope that God is on their side and not on the opposing side.

Both sides are now praying to their God to help them to overcome such a horrifying nightmare. Every man on the battlefield is just hoping that they can survive and live for another day, to see their family, friends, and loved ones. Some are even hallucinating that everything that is happening is just a dream and not reality.

Does God abandon his flock? Is this war worth it to sacrifice our life for? That is on everyone’s mind right now. The soldiers on both sides are already so exhausted that they are barely aware of what they were doing, it seems that most of them might have been possessed by some ghost because they are moving continuously purely on instinct.