Saturnino Martín Cerezo (11 February 1866 – 2 December 1945) was a Spanish military officer. Martín Cerezo was best known for his commanding of Spanish defenders during the

Siege of Baler The siege of Baler ( fil, Pagkubkob sa Baler; es, Sitio de Baler) was a battle of the Philippine Revolution. Filipino revolutionaries laid siege to a fortified church defended by Spanish troops in the town of Baler, Aurora, for 337 days, from ...

Biography

Martín Cerezo joined the Spanish army at a young age. During the

Philippine War of Independence The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, he served as an office with the Spanish army garrisoning the islands, then a Spanish imperial possession. In 1898, with the war going badly for the Spanish, Martín Cerezo's unit was assigned to the town of Baler. In June 1898, Cerezo's unit was ambushed by Philippine guerillas—Cerezo's commanding officer, Juan Alonso Zayas, was seriously wounded, and the Spanish were soon besieged in a church in Baler. Martín Cerezo took command of the garrison when Zayas succumbed to his injuries in October. The siege continued until 2 June 1899, when the Spanish garrison was informed of the End of the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...

and the subsequent end of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Martín Cerezo and the surviving garrison were evacuated to Spain, and their defense of Baler was widely praised in Spain.

References

1866 births Spanish soldiers 1945 deaths {{Spain-bio-stub