Surprise from Cancha Rayada
| date | March 16, 1818 |
|---|---|
| place | Cancha Rayada Plain, near Talca , Chile |
| output | Victory of the Spanish royalists |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 7000 | 5000 |
| losses | |
|
150 dead |
200 |
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Rancagua - Chacabuco - Chalchuapa - Cancha Rayada - Maipú
The battle, which went down in history in Spanish-speaking countries as the Surprise of Cancha Rayada , took place on March 16, 1818 in Chile . The conflicting parties were the loyal Spanish troops and the South American rebels. The result of this battle was a crushing defeat for the rebels, who were able to take revenge in the Battle of Maipú .
background
In March 1818 about 5000 Spanish soldiers gathered under the command of Governor Mariano Osorio near Talca , while the army of the rebels, the Andean Army , Ejército de los Andes in Spanish , with a strength of about 7000 men, gathered in the plain of Cancha Rayada and distanced himself seven kilometers from the troops loyal to the king. The rebel general José de San Martín , who feared an attack on his flank, ordered some reforms in his army.
Osorio, aware of his strategic disadvantage - he was not only outnumbered but also in terms of cavalry - did not want to provoke a battle and was content with the reinforcement of Talca. After José Ordóñez , the other loyal troop leader, persuaded Osorio to attack the rebels, a fight broke out on the plain of Cancha Rayada.
Course of the battle
Around 7:30 p.m. the Spaniards reached the positions of the rebels, who under no circumstances expected an attack by the Spaniards at this time. The rebels then had a catastrophic effect that Osorio had bypassed the city and after nightfall fell in the back of the rebel vanguard, which acted as a night watch, while their army, positioned behind the vanguard, had not yet come to its own. This attack hit Bernardo O'Higgins' battalion immediately next to de San Martín's position. Shortly after the surprise attack, the vanguard dispersed, placing O'Higgins in an untenable position. His horse was killed and his arm wounded.
Unusually, de San Martín did not order the withdrawal of his troops, but ordered them to remain at their posts, which not every soldier did in the confusing situation. Many rebels fled, leaving their weapons and equipment behind. Only after the rest of the troops had got into general disorder as a result of the escape did he order the withdrawal. Juan Gregorio de Las Heras received the order to make the retreat as lossless as possible, which also tried to recapture some of the lost weapons.
aftermath
On March 21, the decimated rebel army withdrew to San Fernando when news of the defeat reached Santiago . The rumor arose of the death of the two generals, whereupon a great migration of some parts of the population in Santiago to Mendoza , in what is now Argentina, began. De San Martín stated in a public letter that after the successful reorganization he could now count 4,000 men under his command.
The defeat - it was de San Martín's only defeat in this campaign - claimed 150 dead and 200 captured rebels, and several hundred rebels had deserted. The Argentine cavalry, a considerable number of horses, pack animals and weapons were lost to the troops loyal to the king. The losses of the royalists amounted to about 200 men.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ernst Samhaber: South America. Edition 3, H. Goverts, Hamburg 1939, p. 449.