Battle of Duarte Bridge

The Battle of Duarte Bridge took place on 27 April 1965, during the Dominican Civil War. The battle resulted in a victory for the Constitutionalists.^[1]

Battle of Duarte Bridge
Part of the Dominican Civil War
Date 27 April 1965 Location Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Result Constitutionalist victory
Belligerents
Dominican Republic (Loyalist faction)	Dominican Republic (Constitutionalist faction)
Commanders and leaders
Elías Wessin y Wessin	Francisco Caamaño
Strength
4,000 regulars 16 tanks	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown number of killed 14 tanks lost	Unknown

Battle

On 27 April 1965, a sizeable Loyalist force of tanks, armored cars, artillery, and infantry began to rumble across Duarte Bridge under covering fire from 12.7 mm machine guns on the eastern bank. When the armored column passed José Martí Street one block from Duarte Avenue, armed civilians attacked the Loyalist infantry and unleashed a hail of fire from machine guns and mortars; most of the troops either fled or were killed.^[2] Without infantry support, the unescorted tanks, already in the narrow streets of the neighborhood, were easy targets for the Molotov cocktails soon being tossed from the surrounding buildings. The Loyalists were routed and several tanks were abandoned and put into use by the rebels.^[2]