Upon the return of Aguinaldo from Hong Kong and his resumption of the revolution on 19 May, Col. Rodrigo Navas, commander of the Spanish forces in the southern Tagalog region, ordered the concentration of all the garrisons in the capitals of Batangas, Laguna, and Tayabas. His plans, however, were frustrated by the disloyalty of the Filipino militia forces. After holding a council of war in Santo Tomas, Batangas, Navas marched south toward the provincial capital only to learn that the Spanish force of 600 troopers defending it had surrendered. He thus decided to defend Lipa, which came under siege by the rebels armed with 4,000 guns and two artillery pieces.

The siege of Lipa from 7 to 18 June was initially directed by General Paciano Rizal, brother of martyred José. After unsuccessfully urging the Spaniards to surrender, Rizal left for the Laguna front, handing over the command of the siege forces to Mayor Arcadio Laurel of Talisay. Eventually, Eleuterio Marasigan of Calaca, veteran of the 1896-1897 battles, arrived and took over. As more and more contingents arrived, the Batangueños besieging Lipa grew in numbers to several thousand. The pharmacist of Sto. Tomas, Eustacio Malaloes, came with a large force followed by Anastacio Marasigan from Calaca, Brigido Buenafe from Batangas, Valentin Burgos from Lipa, and former loyalist mayor of Tanauan, Nicholas Gonzales. Ultimately, the shortage of food and munitions, and concern for his sick and wounded soldiers forced Navas to negotiate with Marasigan and surrender honorably.

After the liberation of Lipa, the Batangueño forces marched on to Tayabas province in the northeast to join in the siege of the provincial capital. The Spanish chronicler Sastrón regards the defense of Tayabas as one of the most significant events of 1898, equally in Spanish heroism the better-known defense of Baler. From the Filipino perspective, the siege of Tayabas was equally a milestone event. It enabled the revolution's military forces southeast of Manila to develop their capabilities and evolve into an organized army. Many groups of armed men and their leaders, although numbering over 15,000, gathered together in Tayabas for the sole purpose of overwhelming its 443 Spanish defenders, who symbolized the old order (several Franciscan friars, including Fr. Braulio Pelaez from Tiaong, were among them). These local chiefs came from the ranks of the municipal officials, barangay headmen, landlords, professionals, bandit chiefs, and even pastors of the "illicit associations." Those who had not done so before would now have to prove themselves worthy of being revolutionary commanders (jefes revolucionarios). They would have to follow orders from the military hierarchy. From their ranks would emerge the officers of the Banahaw Battalion (Batallón Banahaw). Basic concepts of warfare would be taught to the soldiers.

During the fifty-six days of the siege, the Spanish were left to fend for themselves because the local inhabitants had completely abandoned what had once been a thriving provincial capital. Among the native soldiers who formed part of the Tayabas detachment, forty-three deserted to the revolutionary army (ejército revolucionario). Five Spaniards also went to the enemy., enticed by the native deserters and having been promised positions in the revolutionary army if they came with their firearms. The Spanish governor and politico-military chief, Joaquin Pacheco, fortified the convent, hermitage, government office and prison, and destroyed the rest of the población that could not be defended.

Sastrón dates the start of the hostilities on 20 June, when a force of 300 well-armed rebels (insurrectos), aided by the inhabitants of the barrio of Muntingbayan, stormed the Spanish positions. Governor Pacheco personally led a bayonet charge, which dispersed the attackers but hundreds more of them arrived to mount a fresh offensive. Two days later, a further-augmented rebel force stormed through all the streets and avenues of the town center, completely encircling it. They set up four pieces of artillery and thus formally began the siege of Tayabas.

At this point, the Filipino forces were commanded by Eleuterio Marasigan, hero of the Lipa siege, and Melecio Bolaños. A battle order Bolaños issued on 26 June gives us an insight into the tactics used by the besiegers.

Pagkaraan ng limang minutong putukan ay ang gagau-in ay ganito: aataki ang nasa bahay ni Pedro Orias, at samantalang ito'i naputok, ay magtitibay ng trinchera ang kolumna ni Kapitang Esteban sa Taysan Pagkatpos ay ito naman ang puputok at aataquiito ay ang kolumna ni G. Mariano Castillo ay aabance at hahanap ng mabuting lugar upang magkaroon ng efecto ang kanilang fuego.

(After five minutes of bombardment, the men in the house of Pedro Orias will advance with their guns firing, while the column of Mayor Esteban of Taysan will stay firm in their trenches. Afterwards, the latter will open fire and attack, and the column of Don Mariano Castillo will move forward to secure a strategic position from which their salvos will be most effective.)

The Tagalog document shows the extent to which the movements of the diverse groups of combatants were coordinated. Although there is mention of "columnas," which suggest military organization, the fact is that the leaders of such columns -- Ginoong (Tagalog equivalent of Don) Mariano Castillo, Kapitan (or Mayor) Esteban -- are more significant. The enemy, which they "will recognize in the Convent where a Spanish flag is flying (maquiquilala kung sa Konvento ay may banderang Española),' provides a central focus for the mobilization of the various groups of armed men, a "them" against "we" soldiers can establish an identity as Filipinos rather than merely followers of Castillo, Esteban, and so forth.

The final order states:

"Although you will be firing repeatedly, you should always remember that our mission is to lay siege, meaning to beleaguer the enemy and not to advance unless this is warranted."

Ganyan man kadalas ang putukan ay dapat ninyong tandaan na ang ating accion ay sitiar samacatuwid ay cubkubin lamang at huag aabance ng hindi siguro.

Bolaños here reminds the soldiers that in the midst of all the shooting, bombing, and cannonandes, they should not lose sight of the aim of the operation, which is to closely surround and besiege the Spaniards rather than to wantonly advance against them. Bolaños' orders are all about the inculcation of self-discipline and the coordination of the movement. In this way, a revolutionary army could be formed out of the motley crowd of leaders and followers that was converging in Tayabas.

The Spanish chroniclers agree that the first serious assault by the revolutionaries did not take place until 17 July. Perhaps this is because General Malvar, who had been in Hong Kong with Aguinaldo, did not arrive to take overall command until 2 July. A few days later, he reported to Aguinaldo that the Filipino forces were so close to the Spanish-defended buildings that the enemy did not dare go downstairs or stick their heads out of their hiding places. He was awaiting a Krupp cannon used in the siege of Lipa that Ginoong Aniceto Oruga was transporting to Tayabas.

By 17 July, Malvar's preparations were ready and the Krupp cannon had arrived. The revolutionists had constructed trenches, made from parts of dismantled houses, in front of the fortified prison house, which they now proceeded to bombard. When the walls were breached, a seesaw battle ensued, but the defenders survived the attack. On 10 August, another significant battle took place. Again, the prison house was bombarded with cannon fire, after which the attackers rushed forward with bamboo ladders to scale the walls. But the determined assault failed, with fifty-two of the Filipinos dead and only two losses on the Spanish side.

As the days passed, the revolutionary army continued to grow as contingents from other towns in the region arrived to join the fray. In the meantime, the Spanish defenders began to weaken through hunger and sickness. Their supplies of medicine and ammunition began to dwindle. After the 10 August attack, Governor Pacheco received three messages inviting him to surrender before further, more lethal attacks were mounted. Malvar forced the Spaniards' capitulation through starving them of food and water. An agreement for an "unqualified but honorable surrender" was finally reached, and on 16 August the Spaniards were allowed to march out of their positions carrying their firearms.

The day before the surrender, Malvar circulated an order to the troops:

Ang mga castila ay tatratohing maigui, huag bibiroin, ni tatangcain ng tankang gahasa at lubos na ipaquiquilala ang mga pagmamahal sa canila upang maipaquilala nating lahat na catagalugan na magagandang loob tayong lahat sa mga caauay na ito’y carangalan at bihis ng ating mga catapangan at bisang ligaya ng pagcalalaqui.

Ang magculang sa cautusang ito ay magcacamit ng dusa na ilalapat ng capangyarihan ipinagcaloob sa aquin ng nasabing Mag na Gral nitong operaciones.

(The Spaniards should be treated well; they should not be mocked nor be subjected to violent acts. Instead, we shall show our affection for them so that we Tagalogs can demonstrate our kind-heartedness towards the enemy--this being the distinguishing mark of our bravery and the positive side of manhood.
Those failing to follow this order will be punished in accordance with the authority vested in me by the most General of these operations.)

In Malvar's speech praising his soldiers for the valor they showed in the capture of Tayabas, he added that "the heroism of its defenders won the admiration of the revolutionary army." Malvar's behavior toward the surrendering Spaniards reflects his adherence to Aguinaldo's decree of 30 July concerning the army, in Article 18 of which is stated:

"The commanding officer shall above all things see to it that the honor of the Filipino army is raised to a high standard. Great courtesy and cordiality toward peaceable and reputable citizens, great generosity toward the vanquished, and great discipline and respect for the law, constitute the duties of honor of any army, in which history, courage and heroic self-denial stand out in unfading characters."

After the surrender, the Spaniards discovered that the besieging forces had numbered some 15,000 men, armed with 7,500 Maseur and Remington rifles. They had fired 500,000 cartridges of various calibers, consumed seventeen cases of gunpowder, and had used seventeen dynamite bombs, some of which had caused self-inflicting casualties because of their crude manufacture. They had been made by an artillery sergeant in the Spanish army who had deserted to the revolutionaries. What these facts reveal is that the concentration of men, guns, munitions, and chiefs in the town center of Tayabas in the course of the siege. The next logical step for the top leaders was to churn these ingredients into a proper defense force able to confront the U.S. Army, which would sooner or later swoop into southern Luzon.

(See the Banahaw Battalion).