Battle of Ayohuma

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Ayohuma
partof=Argentine War of Independence


date=November 14, 1813
place=Bolivia
result= Spanish victory
combatant1=flagicon|Argentina|alt United Provinces of South America
combatant2=flagicon|Spain|1813 Spanish Empire
commander1=flagicon|Argentina|alt Manuel Belgrano
commander2=flagicon|Spain|1813 Joaquín de la Pezuela

The Battle of Ayohuma ("dead man's head" in Quechua) was fought on November 14, 1813, during the Upper Peru Campaign of the Argentine War of Independence. The Independentist forces of the Northern Army led by General Manuel Belgrano were defeated by the Royalists, led by Joaquín de la Pezuela.

Prologue

After the rout of Vilcapugio, Belgrano established his headquarters at Macha. There he reorganized his army, obtaining help from Francisco Ocampo (the then President of Charcas), and from the provinces of Upper Peru (Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de las Sierras, and Chayanta). At the end of October 1813, the Independentist army included around 3,400 men, of which barely 1,000 were veterans.

Despite their recent victory, Pezuela and his troops were short of horses and necessary supplies. They had sought refuge on the Condo-Condo heights, where, being surrounded by hostile populations, they could not readily take the offensive against the Northern Army. However, on October 29, they left their camp in Condo-Condo in order to attack the Independentists before they could obtain further reinforcements. On November 12, they arrived at Toquirí, a hill dominating the prairie of Ayohuma.

In the meantime, just two leagues away from Toquirí, on October 8, Belgrano had discussed his plans with his officials. The majority of them wanted to withdraw to Potosí, but the general convinced his officers to fight. That same night the army left Macha, reaching Ayohuma on the morning of the next day.

The battle

The armies that were about to face each other exhibited a significant disproportion. While the Independentist cavalry outnumbered the Royalists' two-to-one, Pezuela had twice as much infantry and 18 pieces of artillery, against the 8 Belgrano's troops had. At dawn of November 14 the Royalists began their descent from their high position and by mid-morning, while Belgrano's troops were attending Mass, they had completed their maneuver, outflanking the Independentists on the right. Then, Pezuela's artillery opened fire, blasting holes in the Independentist ranks. In a hail of enemy fire, Belgrano ordered the advance of his infantry and cavalry, but they could not resist the Spaniards. To make matters worse, the Independentists' lighter guns were no match for the Royalists. Belgrano was forced to retreat. By a trumpet call he managed to gather around 500 men, leaving around 200 dead, 200 injured, 500 prisoners and almost all his artillery on the battlefield. Belgrano's 500 survivors retreated to Potosí, but the city had to be quickly evacuated due to the approaching Royalists. Belgrano moved back to Tucumán, where on January 30, 1814, he resigned the command of the Northern Army to General San Martin. He would later write about the tactical superiority of the Spaniards as compared to his limited knowledge of warfare.

See also

Battle of Vilcapugio

External links and references

* [http://www.camdipsalta.gov.ar/INFSALTA/vilca.htm The battles of Vilcapugio and Ayohuma] , in Spanish.
*This article is based on the article in the Spanish Wikipedia, accessed on April 25, 2006.