Battle of Junin

The battle of Junín was one of the last confrontations between the royalist and patriotic armies in the process of the independence of Peru, on August 6, 1824.

Background

Simón Bolívar was Liberator and president of the Republic of Colombia, he continued the war for the emancipation of Peru, which he had undertaken since 1823. In 1824, the royalists still held their own in the central highlands and Upper Peru. Bolívar had more than 10,000 men in his army, mostly Colombians and Peruvians, less than 1,000 Chileans, and a hundred horsemen from the River Plate. Their number was equivalent to the number of royalists, but the royalist forces were dispersed between the Mantaro valley and Upper Peru.

This was due to the uprising in Upper Peru of the royalist general Pedro Antonio Olañeta that fractured the defense of the viceroyalty, and forced Viceroy José de la Serna to send an important part of his armies over Upper Peru under the command of Gerónimo Valdés, about 5000 regulars who were based in Puno, called "Ejército del Sur" to secure the Andean base of military resources, despite the disagreement of José de Canterac, a veteran of the war in Venezuela, who warned of the dangers of dividing and wearing down his forces and giving Bolívar time.

Bolívar, aware of this advantage, seized the opportunity, and in June 1824 headed his army towards the central highlands of Peru to isolate the solitary royalist forces of General Canterac, called the "Ejército del Norte". The force that managed to cross the Andean mountain range was 8,000 soldiers and to these must be added some 1,500 montoneros who formed a guerrilla screen.

Development

The battle took place in the Junín pampa or also called the Meseta de Bombón, located in the center of Peru in the current department of Junín on the shores of the lake called Junín or Chinchaycocha which is located at 4000 masl. The plain is located in the natural region of the puna or high Andean, between the districts of Junín, Ondores and Carhuamayo of the Junín region and the Ninacaca district of the Pasco region.

Order of Battle

The battle of Junín took place solely with cavalries using bladed weapons, with significant casualties. The result had very serious consequences in the campaign that represents the counter-march from Cerro de Pasco to Cuzco. The most serious consequence was the near disappearance of the royalist army of the north due to desertions and the enormous loss of war material during its withdrawal.

Battle order
United Liberation Army		North Army
	Commander-in-Chief Simón Bolívar General in Chief Simon Bolivar Cavalry (Mariano Necochea) Cavalry Division of Colombia. Col Lucas Carvajal 2 Colombian Granaderos squadrons 3 squadrons of Húsares of Colombia Cavalry Division of Peru. Gen Guillermo Miller 1 Granaderos Squadron to the Andes Horse 3 squadrons of Peru’s Húsares, chief José Andrés Rázuri Infantry 1st Colombia Division (Lara) Battalion Vencedores, Chief Ignacio Luque Battalion Batalla Pantano de Vargas, Chief José Trinidad Moran Battalion Rifles, Chief Arthur Sandes 2nd Colombia Division (Córdova) Battalion Bogotá, Chief Leon Galindo Flying Battalion, Chief Pedro Guash Battalion Pichincha, Chief Manuel León Battalion Caracas, Chief José Leal Peru Division (The Sea) Line Battalion Number 1, Chief Francisco de Paula Otero Line Battalion Number 2 (Trujillo), Chief Ramón González Line Battalion Number 3 (Callao), Chief Miguel Benavides Battalion of the Peruvian Legion, Chief José María Plaza		Commander-in-Chief José de Canterac. José de Canterac Cavalry (Bedoya Gomez) 3 Dragon squadrons of the Union 1 squadron of Fernando VII 4 Peruvian Dragon squadrons Infantry 1st Infantry Division (Maroto) Royal Infante Battalion (ex-Real of Lima) Burgos Battalion Cantabrian Battalion 1st Imperial Battalion Alexander (ex-Extremadura) 2nd Infantry Division (Monet) Battalion Castro (from Chiloé) Victoria Battalion (ex-Talavera) General ' s Guides Battalion (from Upper Peru) Centre Battalion (ex-Azángaro) Battalion 2o Cuzco

The Battle

Obelisco de Chacamarca, located in the Province of Junín, Peru.

Prelude

On August 2, Simón Bolívar reviewed his army, made up of 7,900 infantry soldiers, 1,000 cavalry and six pieces of artillery, on the Rancas plain, addressing these eloquent words:

Soldiers! You will complete the greatest work Heaven has entrusted to men: to save an entire world of slavery.

Soldiers! The enemies that will destroy boast of fourteen years of triumph. They will be worthy to measure their weapons with those of you who have shined in a thousand battles.

Soldiers! Peru and the Americas all await you peace, the daughter of victory, and even liberal Europe envisions you with charm because the freedom of the New World is the hope of the Universe. They're making fun of her? No. No, you're invincible.

Simón Bolívar

On August 6, Canterac's army, made up of 1,300 horsemen, and between less than 6,000-7,000 infantry and nine artillery pieces, marched hastily around Lake Junín trying to avoid combat with Bolívar. That afternoon the United Army had crossed the Rio Grande at the height of Rumichaca, upon reaching a rise they could see the retreating royalist army approaching the Junín plain.

Wasting no time, Bolívar ordered 900 horsemen of his cavalry to try to stop the royalists while the infantry, which was still 5 kilometers away, caught up with them. Seeing this, Canterac ordered his infantry to continue the withdrawal and putting himself at the head of his men, he deployed his cavalry in battle ordering the & # 34; Hussars of Fernando VII & # 34; and the "Dragons of Peru" They will form a single line having the "Dragons of the Union" in column on both flanks to favor the involvement of the patriot cavalry.

The terrain was difficult, the cavalry detached by Bolívar marched in columns through a narrow space between a hill and a swamp. The general command of all of it was exercised by General Mariano Necochea, that of the Colombian cavalry was Colonel Lucas Carvajal and that of the Peruvian cavalry was General Guillermo Miller. Heading the formation was the Colombian Grenadier regiment commanded by Otto Philipp Braun, followed by by the squadron of Grenadiers of the Andes under the command of Alejo Bruix, the regiment of Husares of Peru of Colonel Antonio Placencia, and the regiment of Húsares of Colombia of Colonel Laurencio Silva. The independence cavalry left the stretch they were coming from and began to deploy in the pampas, but when only the "Colombian Grenadiers" they had formed into battle and the third squad of "Húsares del Perú" While waiting in the Chacamarca ravine for her turn to enter the line, she was charged by the royalist cavalry.

Start of the battle

The "Colombian Grenadiers" They received the shock of the Spanish cavalry on a firm foot, aligning their long lances as pikes, disconcerting their opponents with this strategy and stopping the royalist attack for an instant. General Miller who led 250 "Húsares del Perú" with the mission of overflowing Canterac's right, he was unable to execute this maneuver due to the haste of the royalist attack and had to charge head-on, being surrounded by the & # 34; Grenadiers of the Andes & # 34; and the "Colombian Hussars" commanded by General Necochea who, wounded and dismounted, was taken prisoner. Only a part of the "Colombian Grenadiers" under the command of Major Braun, they managed to break through the opposing ranks, remaining in an advantageous position while the rest of the patriotic cavalry retreated pursued by the royalists. Upon witnessing the critical moment, General Bolívar, who together with his staff had been observing the combat on a hill on the shore of the lake with serious danger to his person, withdrew to the rear, worrying about gathering the dispersed cavalry and accelerating the attack. infantry march. It is then that he is reached in that place by General Jacinto Lara. who led the first of the patriotic divisions, the following dialogue took place between the two according to what Colonel Manuel Antonio López, at that time assistant to the general staff, refers to in his memories of the campaign:

(...)When the general gathered our evil riders, the general came (Lara) and asked him:
- What's up, General?
"There must be, the Liberator answered, who have defeated our cavalry.
- And so good is that of the enemy?
- Too good, when he has defeated ours, I repeat Bolivar.
- Do you want me to take a load with this cavalry?
-No, (I conclude the Liberator) because that would be to stay out of cavalry to finish the campaign....)

The Battle of Junín, Historic Memories of Colonel Manuel Antonio López

Obelisco de Chacamarca, located in the Province of Junín, Peru.

With all the royalist squadrons engaged in the pursuit of an enemy they believed defeated, they lost their initial cohesion without realizing that the first squadron of Hussars of Peru under the command of Colonel Manuel Isidoro Suárez still had not entered the battle. The flank The left and rear guard of the royalists were exposed and at that moment Major José Andrés Rázuri communicated to Suárez a false order from General José de La Mar, given to him by Bolívar, to charge the royalist cavalry that was galloping in pursuit of the patriots.. Ordered and led the charge by Suárez, the royalists were caught completely off guard and massacred. The bulk of the patriotic cavalry under the command of Miller, who had taken general command for the capture of Necochea, turned croups to return to the attack, distinguishing himself in this part of the battle Colonel Silva who quickly reorganized the Colombian Hussars preventing them from the royalists managed to surround them.

The independents had already been rolled up; despite their knee and decision they had not been able to resist the terrible impulse of the cavalry of the realistic ones; already these began to intonate the hymn of victory when two enemy squads that were at the rear of Lieutenant Colonel Suarez, were thrown over the victors who were also in the greatest mess and confusion mixed with the defeated. Together with that mass of bronze that was in perfect formation, they fell again upon the realistic designs, horribly crippled them, forced them to retreat quickly, and took them off the battlefield.

Spanish historian Mariano Torrente

Attacked by surprise and trapped between two patriot fronts, the royalists were demoralized and turned back, without General Canterac, who was at the head of his horsemen at that moment, being able to notice the reason for this contrast that was taking place "unexpectedly, without being able to imagine what was the reason" as he later informed Viceroy La Serna. Thrown onto the plain and dispersed in isolated groups, the royalists were defeated after a bitter combat waged only with bladed weapons (sabers and lances), without any shot being fired during the action. This is why it was called "the Silent Battle". The infantry companies that Bolívar had sent for arrived at the field when the fighting had ended.

End of Battle

General Canterac's horsemen were persecuted to the very ranks of his infantry, where, ignoring the opinions of some of his officers such as Colonel Dionisio Marcilla, who had commanded the right wing and suffered less, they suggested regrouping and returning to the attack. Canterac ordered to continue the withdrawal with such speed that the most noticeable discouragement was introduced into the veteran and intact Spanish battalions. The then brigadier Andrés García Camba would say years later that in Junín the brilliant and conceited cavalry of the royalist army lost all the favorable prestige and advantageous reputation that they had managed to acquire in previous glorious campaigns.

The United Army won an important victory. The result of this battle was 254 dead and wounded and 80 prisoners for the royalist side and 148 dead and wounded soldiers (145 according to the official report) for the independence side and that according to General Andrés de Santa Cruz, Chief of the General Staff of the United Army, were divided as follows:

• Farmhouses in Colombia: 13 killed and 26 injured.
• Idem of the Andes: 8 killed and 17 wounded.
• Husares from Colombia: 2 dead and 9 wounded.
• Peru's First Regiment: 21 dead and 46 wounded.
• I'm dead an Edecan officer from General Miller.
• Total 45 dead and 99 wounded.
• Approximately 400 realistic horses captured by the independentists.

In recognition of the brilliant action of the Peruvian cavalry, which had 46.5% of the total casualties, General Bolívar changed the name from Húsares del Perú to Húsares de Junín.

The entire engagement lasted approximately forty-five minutes at an elevation of 4,100 meters above sea level. The triumph in the Pampa de Junín would revive morale among the United Army.

Consequences

The royalist army had been surprised in its counter-march from Cerro de Pasco to Cuzco and the destruction of the royalist cavalry in the Junín pampas forced a disorderly retreat of the Army of the North, with the consequent massive losses in men and material, until being able to barely reach the banks of the Apurímac River, and consequently the withdrawal as a result of the Junín campaign produced the practical destruction of its military units upon arrival in Cuzco.

Quote from the official report of the battle, acknowledging officers

Honorary shield granted to officers who participated in the Peruvian Campaign in 1823-24.

By General Andrés de Santa Cruz, Chief of Staff at the General Headquarters in Reyes, August 7, 1824

[ omitted paragraphs]

S. The captain of the ship, the captain of the ship, the captain of the ship, the captain of the ship, the captain of the ship, the captain of the house, the captain of the house, the captain of the house, the captain of the house, the captain of the house, the captain of the house, the captain of the house,

[ omitted paragraphs]

Simón Bolívar's proclamation to the Peruvians

First part of Bolívar's proclamation to the Peruvians

Peruanos! The campaign to complete freedom has begun under the most favourable auspices. The army of General Canterac has received in Junin a fatal blow, having lost, as a result of this event, a third of its forces and all its morals.

The Spaniards flee unpaid by abandoning the most fertile provinces, while General Olañeta occupies Upper Peru with a truly patriotic army and protector of freedom.

Peruvians! We will soon visit the cradle of the Peruvian Empire and the temple of the Sun. The Cuzco will have on the first day of his freedom more pleasure and more glory than under the golden kingdom of his Incas. "

Huancayo Army headquarters, August 13, 1824.

Additional information

• General Mariano Necochea, who had fallen prisoner, was rescued by the patriots, yet the gravity of his wounds prevented him from participating in the battle of Ayacucho.
• Among the dead in the patriotic army were Commander Carlos Sowersby of the second squadron of Husares, German officer of the Great Armée of Napoleon, veteran of the battle of Borodinó in Russia, who died a few days later because of his wounds.
• Until 2013 the Glorious Húsares Regiment of Junín, of the Peruvian Army, performed the role of escort of the President of the Republic. He is currently one of the historical regiments of the Peruvian Army.
• After the battle, General José de La Mar, the head of the Peruvian division, sent to Major José Andrés Rázuri and, after admonishing him harshly for his indiscipline, said: "You should be shot, but you should be given the victory."
• Refers General Guillermo Miller in his memoirs that by the altitude of the Junin plain, the cold was so intense during the night of the battle almost all the wounded of both sides perished.

The battle of Junín in literature

• Ecuadorian poet José Joaquín de Olmedo of Guayaquil wrote a famous poem about the battle.
• Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote a poem about Colonel Suárez.
• Peruvian writer Ricardo Palma wrote a tradition concerning the battle of Junin in his work Peruvian traditions Called Canterac's Clarin.
• The Colombian national anthem, written by Rafael Núñez, mentions this battle in the sixth verse.

Primary sources