Battle of Maipu
(Embrace of Maipú, O'Higgins on the left, San Martín on the right)
| date | April 5, 1818 |
|---|---|
| place |
Maipú (15 km southwest of Santiago de Chile ) |
| output | Victory of the South American freedom fighters |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
South American freedom fighters |
Spanish royalists |
| Commander | |
|
General Mariano Osorio |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 5,583 | 4,570 |
| losses | |
|
800 dead, |
1,500 dead, |
Rancagua - Chacabuco - Chalchuapa - Cancha Rayada - Maipú
The Battle of Maipú on April 5, 1818 was the decisive battle in the Chilean War of Independence . An army of Argentine-Chilean patriots under José de San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins inflicted a crushing defeat on the Spanish royalists under Mariano Osorio .
prehistory
In 1817 José de San Martín crossed the Andes with Bernardo O'Higgins and his army and defeated the Spaniards in the Battle of Chacabuco and the Battle of Chalchuapa . Then they conquered Santiago . The Spanish viceroy sent a new army under General Mariano Osorio , which defeated the Chileans at the Battle of Cancha Rayada . The independence process was thus delayed. The independence fighters then formed a new army and began a new offensive.
The battle
At the beginning of April 1818, the Spanish army under General Osorio crossed the Río Maipo from the south to advance to Santiago. While O'Higgins had the city fortified, General San Martín and his Argentine-Chilean troops opposed the Spanish.
About ten kilometers southwest of Santiago, in the hilly area of today's Maipú commune , he had it installed on April 5th. At 11:30 a.m., the patriots' artillery opened fire on the royalists. After three hours of fierce fighting, the left wing of the Spaniards was wiped out and San Martín made the breakthrough. The Spaniards had to withdraw in a rather disorderly manner. O'Higgins meanwhile came from Santiago with his militia. Through his intervention he consolidated the success of San Martín and they finally put the Spanish army to flight. The battle ended around 5 p.m.
San Martín and O'Higgins embraced, delighted at the victory. In Chilean historiography , this embrace of Maipú (Spanish: "Abrazo de Maipú") represents the achievement of national independence.
Result of the battle
Both sides suffered heavy losses. Of the 5,583 soldiers who San Martín led into battle, 800 died and 1,000 were wounded. The defeat was devastating for the 4,570 Spanish soldiers. 1,500 of them died and 2,289 were captured. The Spanish army largely withdrew from Chile. Only in the port city of Valdivia and on the island of Chiloé could they hold out for some time.
The victory of the patriots over the royalists marked the end of Spanish colonial rule in Chile. On June 3, 1818, O'Higgins confidently issued a decree that the word “Spaniard” had to be replaced by “Chilean” in all secular and ecclesiastical administrative acts and that the indigenous population should also be called Chileans without distinction.
photos
Message from San Martín to O'Higgins of the looming victory at the Battle of Maipu
Batalla de Maipú (Battle of Maipú), history painting 1837, Johann Moritz Rugendas
Abrazo de Maipú (Embrace of Maipú), history painting 1908, Pedro Subercaseaux
