ORDER OF BATTLE // April 18, 1835
Battle of Artaza
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 27,000 estimated
Carlists
5,000
Medium-confidence figure
Liberals ( Isabelinos or Cristinos )
22,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Artaza took place in the Las Amescoas region during the First Carlist War, when Jerónimo Valdés, serving simultaneously as Minister of War, led a Liberal force of 22,000 against a Carlist force of roughly 5,000. The scale of the Liberal commitment — nearly four-to-one numerical superiority, directed personally by the minister responsible for the war effort — reflects the government's intent to deliver a decisive blow to Carlist resistance in the area. That Valdés came to Las Amescoas with the explicit aim of definitively destroying the Carlist forces underscores how seriously Liberal commanders regarded the Carlist presence there as a threat requiring resolution rather than containment.
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