Battle of Port-au-Prince (1920)

Battle of Port-au-Prince (1920)
Part of the United States occupation of Haiti, Second Caco War, Banana Wars
DateJanuary 15, 1920[1][2]
LocationPort-au-Prince, Haiti
Result American-Haitian government victory
Belligerents
 United States
Haiti Haitian government		 Haiti Cacos
Commanders and leaders
United States Gerald Thomas Haiti Benoît Batraville[3]
Strength
Unknown "More than 300"[4]
Casualties and losses
At least 1 killed
6 wounded[5]		 116+ killed[6]
"Many more" wounded and captured[7]

The Battle of Port-au-Prince, or "la débâcle", took place on January 15, 1920[8][9] when Haitian rebels, known as cacos, attacked the capital of Haiti during the Second Caco War and the American occupation of Haiti.

At 4:00 a.m.,[10] "more than 300" caco rebels,[11] many wearing the stolen uniform of the Haitian gendarmes,[12] commanded by Benoît Batraville,[13] attacked the city. The rebels moved into Port-au-Prince in columns, “with flags and conch horns blowing,”[14] only to be gunned down by Browning Automatic Rifle and machine gun fire.[15] It turns out that the city's garrison of American Marines and Haitian gendarmes were ready for the assault, since a citizen who heard the rebels coming informed the former.[16] The cacos were forced to break ranks and seek shelter in buildings, where they proceeded to snipe from windows and from around corners.[17] One caco group attacked the city's slums and set a block on fire, which lit up "the entire surrounding countryside."[18]

One of the defenders' patrols, led by Lieutenant Gerald Thomas, met a caco force on the waterfront that was headed for the National Bank.[19] Near the Iron Market, "a large number" of rebels was spotted coming down the street.[20] The city's defenders detrucked and proceeded to open fire. Within five minutes, Thomas had lost one killed and six wounded, although the cacos were reportedly mowed down.[21]

"Fully a fifth" of the caco attackers were killed, according to one estimate.[22] Another source puts the number of rebel dead at 66, plus "many more" wounded and captured.[23] One of the dead was Solomon Janvier, a Port-au-Prince resident and one of the leaders of the attack.[24] The surviving cacos would remember the battle as "la débâcle."[25] With the arrival of daylight, "patrols moved east and north of the city," killing "more than fifty" additional rebels.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  2. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 435.
  3. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  4. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  5. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  6. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 222.
  7. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 436.
  8. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  9. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 435.
  10. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 435.
  11. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  12. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 435.
  13. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  14. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  15. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  16. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 435.
  17. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 435.
  18. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  19. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  20. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  21. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  22. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  23. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 436.
  24. ↑ Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. New York City: Routledge. p. 436.
  25. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 221.
  26. ↑ Musicant, Ivan (August 1990). The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 222.

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