Battle of Junín

Overview

The Battle of Junín was a large cavalry engagement of the Peruvian War of Independence, fought in the highlands of the Junín Region on 6 August 1824. The preceding February the royalists had regained control of Lima, and having regrouped in Trujillo, Simón Bolívar in June led his rebel forces south to confront the Spanish under Field Marshal José de Canterac. The two armies met on the Plain of Junín in the Bombon Plateau, northwest of the Jauja Valley.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Junín was a significant engagement in the Peruvian War of Independence, fought at a moment when royalist forces had reasserted control of Lima and held the strategic initiative. Bolívar's decision to regroup at Trujillo and then drive south in June 1824 represented a direct effort to reverse that momentum. Meeting Canterac's Spanish forces on the Plain of Junín in the Bombon Plateau, the patriot army inflicted heavier casualties—approximately 250 royalist losses against 150 of their own—despite being outnumbered by roughly 300 troops. The engagement checked Canterac's forces in the Peruvian highlands and helped sustain the patriot campaign that would culminate later in the independence of Peru.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)