BATTLE OF AYOHÚMA: CAUSES, DEVELOPMENT AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Battle of Ayohúma confronted the forces of the Northern Army of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, commanded by General Belgrano, and the Spanish royalist forces, led by Joaquín de la Pezuela.

This confrontation took place in the context of the so-called Second Auxiliary Expedition to Upper Peru, during which the independence forces that controlled Buenos Aires tried to put an end to the realistic resistance in present-day Bolivia and the territory that today comprises southern Peru.

Second Campaign to Upper Peru (1812-1813) - Source: self-made from

The First Expedition to Upper Peru concluded with the defeat of the independence forces, so, from Buenos Aires, it was decided to send new troops and put Belgrano in command. Although, at first, he defeated the royalists in several battles, later he suffered an important defeat at Vilcapugio

With little time to recover, both armies faced each other again in the Battle of Ayohuma, on November 14, 1813. According to historians, Belgrano's leadership was not adequate, so he was, again, defeated. This result marked the end of the Second Expedition to Upper Peru.

Background

The May Revolution, which occurred in Buenos Aires on May 25, 1810, managed to establish an autonomous government in the area. The reaction of the viceroy of Peru was not to recognize it and then to attack Upper Peru to unite it with his viceroyalty. With this movement, he tried to prevent the independentistas from taking over that territory.

After the step taken by the porteños, insurrections of the same type took place in Cochabamba and Oruro. In both cases, the rebel leaders, once they defeated the royalists, offered their support to the Junta of Buenos Aires.

Northern Army

The origin of the Army of the North took place in June 1810, when the First Junta ordered the organization of troops to fight Santiago de Liniers, a former viceroy who had promoted the so-called Counterrevolution of Córdoba to put an end to the independence claims.

At the command of this military detachment Juan José Castelli was appointed, who led his men from Buenos Aires to Córdoba to confront Liniers. However, this and the rest of the royalist chiefs had previously escaped to Upper Peru.

Despite this attempted escape, Liniers was captured on August 6 and, the next day, the rest of the leaders ran the same strong. In theory, the prisoners should be sent to Buenos Aires, but Castelli decided to shoot them all.

First actions in Upper Peru

The patriot army continued on its way to Upper Peru. At that time, with the royalist military forces trying to quell various rebellions, the viceroy decided to appoint José Manuel de Goyeneche as head of his army.

From that moment on, the Army of the North and the forces of the viceroyalty clashed on several occasions. After a victory for the patriots, it seemed that the conflict was going to turn in their favor, especially when the Governments of the region recognized the Junta de Buenos Aires.

However, the rebels, by remaining two months inactive in Potosí, gave the royalists the opportunity to regroup. Thus, on June 20, 1811, both armies faced each other in Huaqui, right on the border between the Viceroyalty of Peru and the Río de la Plata. The result was a clear victory for the royalists.

Second expedition (1812-1813)

After the defeat of Huaqui, the leadership of the Army of the North passed into the hands of Manuel Belgrano. The orders that the new military chief received implied retreating towards Córdoba to defend it if the royalists tried to attack Tucumán.

Faced with the royal advance, Belgrano mobilized his army to reach Tucumán, on September 13, 1812. Despite receiving new orders to withdraw without facing the royalists, the military decided to disobey them.

In this way the battle of Tucumán took place, on September 24, ending with the victory of the men of Belgrano. The royalists had to deploy to Salta. The Northern Army, with high morale, marched towards that city and returned to defeat its enemies.

Battle of Vilcapugio

The Board of Buenos Aires changed its mind before the victories obtained by Belgrano and ordered him to continue with his advance. However, the general had fallen ill with malaria and, furthermore, his army was quite weakened.

When, with effort due to his illness, he managed to reach Potosí, he decided to wait for the promised reinforcements in the Pampa de Vilcapugio. There, on October 1, 1813, he was attacked and defeated by the royalists.

Causes

Although the independence uprising had triumphed in Buenos Aires, the threat that the Viceroyalty of Peru tried to reconquer the region, caused the Governing Board to organize an army to consolidate its situation.

Evict the royalists

The expeditions to Upper Peru were sent from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata as part of their fight against Spanish rule.

Despite the fact that, at that time, they had managed to win in Buenos Aires, the threat that the Viceroyalty of Peru would try to reconquer the territory was still present. For this reason, they organized an army to send it to the then Real Audiencia de Charcas and defeat the royalists who were there.

Counterrevolution in the Municipality of Córdoba

The fear of the patriots of Buenos Aires was confirmed in June 1810, when Santiago de Liniers, a former viceroy, organized an uprising in Córdoba to restore the power of the Viceroy.

Defeat of Huaqui

The first expedition to Upper Peru ended with a great defeat for the Army of the North. The Battle of Huaqui caused the independence troops to retreat to, first, Potosí and, later, Jujuy.

The Board of Buenos Aires, in addition to dismissing Catelli, ordered a new expedition that could achieve its objectives.

Realistic victory in Vilcapugio

The royalists' victory in the Battle of Vilcapugio occurred just a month and a half before they met again in Ayohúma. Despite having defeated the Army of the North, the viceroyalty troops had lost many men, in addition to all their horses. This made Belgrano think that he could defeat them permanently.

Development

Manuel Belgrano, after having suffered a defeat in Vilcapugio, on October 1, 1813, decided to establish his base in Macha. His objective was to reorganize his troops, aided by the authorities of the Charcas Administration and other provinces of Upper Peru.

Still in Macha, Belgrano received a communication from another patriot general, Díaz Vélez, who advised him not to try to attack the royalists again.

Situation of the Royalist Army

As noted above, the situation for the royalist troops was not very good either. In addition to the casualties suffered in Vilcapugio, the majority of the population in the area was in favor of the patriots, so they were totally isolated.

Until October 29, the viceregal army remained in Condo-Condo. That day, they decided that the time had come to fight again and they mobilized until they reached, on November 12, an elevation near Ayohúma.

Belgrano's decision

Belgrano, while the royalist army was moving, organized the plan to follow. Although most of his officers preferred to go to Potosí to regroup, he was in favor of facing his enemies as soon as possible. In this way, he ordered his men to march towards Ayohúma.

The battle

The royalists had placed themselves on a high point near the pampas, while Belgrano placed his men on the plain. On November 14, 1813, the viceregal troops began to descend with difficulty. At those moments, the Patriots had the opportunity to attack with an advantage, but Belgrano did not give the order to do so.

The royalists were able to reach the plain and arm their artillery without encountering resistance. In addition, they were able to locate themselves in an area hidden from view of the patriots. Belgrano, mistakenly, thought that the attack would come from another position.

General Pezuela, in command of the royalists, devised a maneuver to deceive Belgrano, dividing his troops into two detachments. Thanks to that, he was able to surprise him, unloading the fire of his artillery against the patriots.

Result of the battle

It was not until that moment when Belgrano ordered his men to advance. However, they found it difficult to cross the trenches that they had dug themselves as a defense. Despite this, they managed to get within a short distance of the army of royalists.

When Belgrano's troops prepared to attack their enemies, Pezuela's maneuver paid off. One of his detachments, which had managed to hide the patriots, attacked from the flank, giving the patriot soldiers no choice but to try to flee or surrender.

The only possibility for Belgrano was his cavalry, but he could not do anything against the cannons and infantry of his enemies.

Although Belgrano helped some of those fleeing to reach safety, he had no choice but to order a retreat.

Consequences

It is estimated that the Army of the North asked for about 200 soldiers in the battle, in addition to having another 200 wounded and 500 prisoners. Among the royalists, the deceased were, also, 200, and the wounded, 300.

After the defeat, Belgrano and the rest of his army reached Potosí. He remained in the city for two days and, on November 18, he set course for Jujuy.

With this victory, the royalists recovered the provinces of Upper Peru. The threat from that area continued to be the main danger for the independentistas of the Río de la Plata.

End of the Second Campaign to Upper Peru

The defeat at Ayohúma marked the end of the Second Alto Peru Campaign. Belgrano was removed from command of the Army of the North and San Martín was appointed to replace him.

The Girls of Ayohuma

The battle left a story that became a legend among the patriots, that of the brave women of Ayohúma, popularly known as “the Girls of Ayohúma”.

These were a group of women who were dedicated to helping soldiers wounded during the battle. Some of them even took up arms to fight the royalists directly. The most prominent, according to tradition, was Captain María Remedios del Valle, who happened to be called the Mother of the Nation.

Next battles

The royalists only took advantage of the advantage granted after their victory for a few months. In 1814, the situation turned in favor of the patriots.

Pezuela's plan was to advance towards Tucumán to recover Córdoba and, later, reach Montevideo, a city besieged by the revolutionaries. The royalist general awaited the arrival of reinforcements from Chile to attack Buenos Aires and finish off the independentists.

The royalist defeat in Florida caused the failure of that plan. The viceregal army had no choice but to retreat to Jujuy.

References

1. Paéz de la Torre, Carlos. The great disaster of Ayohuma. Obtained from lagaceta.com.ar
2. The Chest of History. Ayohuma combat. Obtained from elarcondelahistoria.com
3. Notimeric. Do you know the 'Girls of Ayohúma' ?, Obtained from notimerica.com
4. Revolvy. Battle of Ayohuma. Retrieved from revolvy.com
5. Varma, Puneet. Battle of Ayohuma. Retrieved from alchetron.com
6. Howling Pixel. Battle of Ayohuma. Retrieved from howlingpixel.com
7. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Manuel Belgrano. Retrieved from britannica.com
8. Wikia. Peruvian War of Independence. Retrieved from military.wikia.org