Battle of Vilcapugiou

Overview

The Battle of Vilcapugio was a major battle fought on October 1, 1813, during the second Campaign of Upper Peru in the Argentine War of Independence, where the United Provinces forces led by General Manuel Belgrano were defeated by a royalist army, led by Joaquin de la Pezuela.

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

Significance

The Battle of Vilcapugio was a significant reversal for the United Provinces during the second Campaign of Upper Peru. General Manuel Belgrano's force of approximately 3,400 was defeated by Joaquín de la Pezuela's royalist army of roughly 3,500, ending whatever momentum the patriot campaign had built in the region. The defeat weakened the United Provinces' position in Upper Peru and set back efforts to secure the interior against royalist forces loyal to the Viceroyalty of Peru. Coming within the broader Argentine War of Independence, the loss at Vilcapugio demonstrated the difficulty of projecting patriot military power into the Andean interior against a comparably sized and organized royalist force.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)