Second Battle of Cancha Rayada

Overview

The Battle of Cancha Rayada, was fought in Chile between South American patriots and Spanish royalists, during the Osorio's campaign in the South American wars of independence. The result was a defeat for the patriot forces, weeks later the patriots take their rematch at the Battle of Maipú.

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

Significance

The Second Battle of Cancha Rayada resulted in a significant defeat for the patriot forces under Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín, with Chilean casualties reaching 2,000 against a Spanish royalist force some 2,000 troops smaller. The defeat came during Osorio's royalist campaign to reverse patriot gains in Chile and represented a serious blow to the independence effort. However, the setback proved temporary: within weeks the patriot army recovered and confronted the royalists again at the Battle of Maipú, where they secured the rematch that the Cancha Rayada defeat had made urgent.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)