Army of the North - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Army of the North , contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest and the Upper Peru

Upper Peru

Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...

(present-day Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

) from the royalist

Royalist (Spanish American Revolutions)

The royalists were the American and European supporters of the various governing bodies of the Spanish Monarchy, during the Spanish American wars of independence, which lasted from 1808 until the king's death in 1833...

troops of the Spanish Empire

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

. It was headed by Hipólito Vieytes

Hipólito Vieytes

Juan Hipólito Vieytes, was an Argentine merchant and soldier. He was born in San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires Province on 6 August 1762, son of Juan Vieytes and Petrona Mora Fernández de Agüero...

(1810), Juan José Castelli

Juan José Castelli

Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer. He was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence...

(1810-1811), Juan Martín de Pueyrredón

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan was an Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century. He was appointed Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata after the Argentine Declaration of Independence.-Early life:Pueyrredón was born in Buenos Aires, the fifth of...

(1811-1812), Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano

Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...

(1812-1814), José de San Martín

José de San Martín

José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...

(1814), José Rondeau

José Rondeau

José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.-Biography:...

(1814-1816), Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano

(1816-1819).

The offensive operations started in 1810 and ended in 1817, with the defeat of the forces commanded by Gregorio Aráoz de La Madrid

Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid

Comandante General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid was an Argentine military leader and, briefly, governor of several provinces like Córdoba, Mendoza and his native province of Tucumán.Lamadrid fought beside General Belgrano and General San Martín during the Argentine War of Independence, as a prominent...

at the battle of Sopachuy, the last attempt to advance into Upper Peru. Since then, only defensive operations on the Northern frontier were carried on, as the offensive had been transferred to the Army of the Andes

Army of the Andes

The Army of the Andes was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and mustered by general José de San Martín in his campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire...

, commanded by José de San Martín

José de San Martín

, who devised the strategy of reaching the main royalist stronghold, Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

, through Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

and the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. In 1820 the Army of the North was summoned to intervene in the internal strife between the central government in Buenos Aires

Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata

The Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata , was a title given to the executive officers of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, according to the form of government established in 1814 by the Asamblea del Año XIII...

and the Federal League

Liga Federal

The Federal League or League of Free Peoples was a confederal state based around Montevideo from 1815 to 1820...

provincial caudillo

Caudillo

Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...

leaders. Shortly after, the Arequito Revolt

Arequito Revolt

The Arequito Revolt , was a military revolt by officers of the Army of the North, through which they recused themselves from the fight in the civil war against the federals. Their intention was to return to the front of the war against the royalists in Upper Peru, an objective they could not...

led by the independentist veterans who refused to fight a civil war instead of an independence war, effectively ended the existence of the Army of the North.

During the War of the Confederation

War of the Confederation

The War of the Confederation , was a conflict between the Peru-Bolivian Confederation on one side and Chile, Peruvian dissidents and Argentina, on the other, fought mostly in the actual territory of Peru and which ended with a Confederate defeat and the dissolution of the...

, between Chile

Chile

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

and the Peru-Bolivian Confederation

Peru-Bolivian Confederation

The Peru–Bolivian Confederation was a short-lived confederate state that existed in South America between 1836 and 1839. Its first and only head of state, titled Supreme Protector, was the Bolivian president, Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz....

, a new military corps received the name of Army of the North (1837) under the command of Alejandro Heredia. The Army would disband itself without conducting any major operations after the uprising known as North Coalition and the 1838 assassination of Heredia. The war ended in 1839 with a decisive Chilean victory at the Yungay

Battle of Yungay

The Battle of Yungay effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian Confederation created by Bolivian Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz in 1836...

, so the Peruvian-Bolivian army retreated from Argentine territory.

First campaign to Upper Peru

The lack of trained military was one of the most pressing difficulties of the revolutionary government in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

. Besides the Patricios Regiment

1st Patricians' Infantry Regiment

The 1st Infantry Regiment "Patricios" is oldest and one of the most prestigious regiments of the Argentine Army. The title is often shortened to the Patricians' Regiment . Since the 1990s the regiment has been designated as air assault infantry...

and other corps formed during the British invasions

British invasions of the Río de la Plata

The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...

, the only troops with some experience were the Blandengues, lancers militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

recruited to patrol the borders of the territories still controlled by indigenous

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

people (mapuche

Mapuche

The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...

and ranquel

Ranquel

The Ranquel are an indigenous tribe from the northern part of La Pampa Province, Argentina, in South America. They are part of the Mapuche, with Puelche origins, Pehuenche and also Patagones from the Günün-a-Küna group.-Name:...

). Not until 1812, with the return of veterans from the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, that would join as officers, with knowledge of military doctrine. Before that most of the commanders were civilians or junior officers, put in charge more for their political leanings, status in society or charisma than for their military capacity.

Army's formation and Liniers' execution

What would later become the Army of the North started with the troops conscripted by Juan José Castelli

Juan José Castelli

Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer. He was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence...

by order of the Primera Junta

Primera Junta

The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...

on June 14, 1810, to fight viceroy Santiago de Liniers

Santiago de Liniers

Jacques de Liniers was a French officer in the Spanish military service, and a viceroy of the Spanish colonies of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. He is more widely known by the Spanish form of his name, Santiago de Liniers...

, who headed a counter-revolutionary movement at Córdoba Province

Córdoba Province (Argentina)

Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...

. The Junta's order followed its creation documents from May 25 of the same year, which required them to send an expeditionary force to the provinces. It was also in response to the Junta decree that created the Argentine Army

Argentine Army

The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...

on May 29, five days after its formation.

The Junta started a collection in Buenos Aires to equip the expeditionary force and created a small army of 1,150 men, which left from Monte de Castro on July 6, 1810 under the command of colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

Francisco Ortiz de Ocampo, and lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

Antonio González Balcarce. After receiving their orders they took the road to Córdoba to confront Liniers. Similar to the armiens in the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, they were accompanied by the Junta's representative (political command), Hipólito Vieytes

Hipólito Vieytes

as commissioner and for the army's comptroller

Comptroller

A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...

Feliciano Chiclana

Feliciano Antonio Chiclana, was an Argentine lawyer, soldier, and judge, He studied at the Colegio de San Carlos. In 1783 he attained a law degree from the Universidad de Chile....

, who reached the army later on 28 July at Fraile Muerto and continued to Salta

Salta

Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...

with a small guard, where he was named governor of Salta

Salta Province

Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...

and Tucumán

Tucumán Province

Tucumán is the most densely populated, and the smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the capital is San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighboring provinces are, clockwise from the north: Salta, Santiago del Estero and...

. The military command was subject to the political representative and he to the Junta through the Secretary of War Mariano Moreno

Mariano Moreno

Mariano Moreno was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution....

. Vieytes carried instructions to arrange in each province for elections so the people could designate their representative to the new Junta.

The force was composed of about 1,000 men in two companies with the 1st and 2nd Patricios Regiments, 3rd Arribeños, 4th Montañeses, and 5th Andaluces, plus the Pardos and Morenos regiments and 50 soldiers of the Buenos Aires regiment, all infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

. The artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

was formed by a group of 60 men with 4 pieces and 40 veteran artillery men. They were accompanied by two surgeons and two chaplains. The cavalry was divided into 50 dragoons, 50 hussars and 100 blandengues.

On 14 July the force arrived in Luján, continuing through Salto

Salto, Buenos Aires

Salto is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Salto Partido. It is about 200 km from Buenos Aires and 55 km from Pergamino. Salto is an agricultural community, crossed by a river, that it has some of the best fields of the province. Its main crops are soybean,...

, and Pergamino. On August 8 they arrived in Córdoba.

On July 31 the royalist commanders in Córdoba had fled to Upper Peru after the dissolution of their regiments, to join the royalist army there. Liniers was captured on August 6 in the Córdoba highlands along with others officers from his command, who were sent to Buenos Aires against the execution orders, but on 26 August they were met in Cabeza de Tigre by the new political command of the Army of the North sent by Moreno. Castelli then ordered and immediate execution by firing squad

Execution by firing squad

Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...

for Liniers and the Córdoba governor, Juan Gutiérrez de la Concha, lieutenant-governor Victorio Rodríguez, Santiago Alejo de Allende and Joaquín Moreno, but pardoned bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

Rodrigo de Orellana, who was sent as a prisoner to Luján. Domingo French

Domingo French

Domingo French was an Argentine revolutionary who took part in the May Revolution and the Argentine War of Independence.- Biography :...

, gave the coup de grâce

Coup de grâce

The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...

to the French officer. By order of the Junta, González Balcarce replaced Ortiz de Ocampo as troop commander, with Juan José Viamonte

Juan José Viamonte

Juan José Viamonte González was an Argentine general in the early 19th century.-Biography:Viamonte was born in Buenos Aires and entered the army in his youth following in his father's footsteps...

as his second in command replacing Vieytes. Juan José Castelli

Juan José Castelli

Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer. He was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence...

occupied the post of political representative and Bernardo de Monteagudo the comptroller. French and Rodríguez Peña

Nicolás Rodríguez Peña

Nicolás Rodriguez Peña was an Argentine politician. Born in Buenos Aires in April 1775, he worked in commerce which allowed him to amass a considerable fortune. Among his several successful businesses, he had a soap factory partnership with Hipólito Vieytes, which was a center of conspirators...

became part of the new political committee. With Córdoba occupied on 8 August, they replaced their cabildo

Cabildo (council)

For a discussion of the contemporary Spanish and Latin American cabildo, see Ayuntamiento.A cabildo or ayuntamiento was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of...

and Juan Martín de Pueyrredón

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón

was named governor, assuming the post that same month. Later they continued their march towards Upper Peru, where the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

general José de Córdoba y Rojas was commander of the royalist troops. The spontaneous joining of several cabildos augmented Balcarce's troops. In Salta

Salta Province

he received more troops, commanded by Martín Miguel de Güemes

Martín Miguel de Güemes

Martín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.-Biography:...

. In Santiago del Estero Province

Santiago del Estero Province

Santiago del Estero is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. Neighbouring provinces are from the north clockwise Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán.-History:...

a battalion of Patricios was formed commanded by Juan Francisco Borges.

With central and northwest Argentina free of royalist governors, as also the cabildos of San Luis

San Luis, Argentina

-External links:* * *...

(13 June), Salta (19 June), Mendoza

Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...

(25 June), San Miguel de Tucumán (26 June), Santiago del Estero

Santiago del Estero

Santiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants, making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surface area of 2,116 km². It lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of...

(29 June), San Juan

San Juan, Argentina

San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....

(7 July), La Rioja

La Rioja, Argentina

La Rioja is the capital city of the Argentine province of La Rioja, located on the east of the province. The city has a population of almost 150,000 as per the ....

(1 September), Catamarca

San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca

San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca is a city in northwestern Argentina and capital of Catamarca Province, on the Río Valle River, at the feet of the Cerro Ambato....

(4 September) and San Salvador de Jujuy

San Salvador de Jujuy

San Salvador de Jujuy , commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. It lies near the southern end of the Humahuaca Canyon where wooded hills meet the lowlands....

(14 September) professed allegiance to the Junta in Buenos Aires and sent deputies. Tarija

Tarija, Bolivia

Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is both the capital and largest city within the Tarija Department, with an airport offering regular service to primary Bolivian cities, as well as a regional bus terminal with domestic and...

, in today's Bolivia, also joined on 25 June.

First actions in Upper Peru

With the insurrections in Alto Perú, Balcarce initiated the march towards it with 400 men. The first armed action of the Army of the Northin Upper Peru was the Battle of Cotagaita

Battle of Cotagaita

The Battle of Cotagaita was fought on October 27, 1810 during the Campaign of Upper Peru in the Argentine War of Independence when the troops of the Army of the North were sent by the Primera Junta government in Buenos Aires to the Alto Perú to fight the Royalists. It was the first skirmish of the...

, about 400 km (249 mi) North of San Salvador de Jujuy, on 27 October. The battle was not favorable to Balcarce and the outcome undecided, in part for the numerical superiority of the royalist, forcing the expeditionary troops to retreat to the South without pursuit. Balcarce reorganized his troops two days later in Tupiza

Tupiza

Tupiza is a city in Potosí Department, Bolivia. It is located at around at an elevation of about 3160 m. The population is 23,100...

.

On November 3, the Junta created the 3rd Infantry Regiment in the Argentine north, and placed it under the command of colonel Juan José Viamonte

Juan José Viamonte

Juan José Viamonte González was an Argentine general in the early 19th century.-Biography:Viamonte was born in Buenos Aires and entered the army in his youth following in his father's footsteps...

, with the infantry obtained from Buenos Aires and coningents from Tucumán and Santiago del Estero.

On 5 November the royalist forces started their march towards Tupiza, so Balcarce left that town the next day, and it was then occupied by 1,200 royalist troops. He stopped at Nazareno, where he received a reinforcement of 200 men from Jujuy with two pieces of artillery. On 7 November they again confronted the same troops they had met before at Suipacha

Battle of Suipacha

The Battle of Suipacha was fought on 7 November 1810 in Bolivia during the Bolivian War of Independence between the Spanish colonial army and the Republican forces sent by the Primera Junta from Buenos Aires. At the time Bolivia was known as Upper Peru . It was the first decisive defeat of the...

, where the Argentine army obtained its first victory. The battle was favorable to Balcarce even though he again had numerical inferiority (800 royalist against 600 rebels, and in Cotagaita 2,000 royalists against 1,100 rebels). Balcarce earned the rank of brigadier

Brigadier

Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....

, and the confidence to advance towards the Desaguadero River

Desaguadero River (Bolivia)

The Desaguadero River in Peru and Bolivia is the river that drains Lake Titicaca. It exits the lake at the southern part of the river basin, it flows south and drains approximately five percent of the lake's flood waters into Lake Uru Uru and Lake Poopó....

, border of the viceroyalty in colonial times. Due to internal disagreements Castelli had to dismiss Güemes and his gaucho

Gaucho

Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...

soldiers.

The royalist defenses were left in charge of general José Manuel de Goyeneche, who met with Castelli and signed an armistice

Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...

to last for forty days from 16 May. The army moved from the encampment at La Laja, where they were since April, to the new encampment at Huaqui.

General Pueyrredón

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón

was named president of the Audiencia de Charcas. On 21 November, a decree from the Primera Junta in Buenos Aires created the 7th Infantry "Cochabamba Regiment" with veteran forces from Upper Peru, composed of 12 companies of 100 soldiers each, with Cochabamba

Cochabamba

Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...

's governor Francisco del Rivero as their new commander.

Defeat at Huaqui and retreat from Upper Peru

On 20 June 1811, Castelli violated the armistice and tried to surround the royalist troops crossing the Desaguadero River, Goyeneche ordered and attack (according to other sources he violated the armistice first), at what became the Battle of Huaqui

Battle of Huaqui

The Battle of Huaqui , was a battle between the Primera Junta's revolutionary troops and the royalist troops of the Viceroyalty of Peru on the border between Upper Peru, , and the Viceroyalty of Peru on June 20, 1811.- Prelude :The army commanded by Juan...

. The 5,000 rebel soldiers and the indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

with them could not deal with the strongly armed 6.500 royalist soldiers and suffered their biggest defeat to date. As a consequence of this battle, Goyeneche captured La Paz

La Paz

Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

and Cochabamba after the battle at Amiraya (also known as first Battle of Sipe Sipe) on 13 August 1811. The disorganized remainder of the army retreated south, taking refuge first in Potosí

Potosí

Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...

, which had been abandoned by Pueyrredón when he took the silver treasure from the city, then in Jujuy and finally in Salta's territory, where they would receive help from Güemes and where Balcarce was replaced by Pueyrredón.

General Eustaquio Díaz Vélez

Eustaquio Díaz Vélez

Eustaquio Díaz Vélez was an Argentine soldier who fought in the Argentine War of Independence and in the civil wars of his country.-Beginnings:...

with 800 soldiers was sent by Pueyrredón to support the insurrection at Cochabamba in a new attempt to advance on Upper Peru, but were repealed at Nazareno on 12 January 1812.

On 26 March 1812 the first campaign of the expeditionary army ended officially when Pueyrredón was replaced by brigadier general Manuel Belgrano.

Balcarce and Castelli where considered responsible for the debacle and were put on trial. Castelli died before sentence was pronounced, and Balcarce absolved and rejoined the fight, this time under the command of San Martín

José de San Martín

Second expedition to Upper Peru

Belgrano assumes command

In 1812, with the new commander Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano

, the Junta decided to fund a second expeditionary campaign to Upper Peru with the objective of finally defeating the royalist troops, conquer Upper Peru and avenge the overwhelming defeat at Huaqui, and also to raise the moral of the troops and citizenry.

On 26 March, Belgrano received command from Pueyrredón at Yatasto (Salta Province) and immediately advanced towards Jujuy Province, where he established a defensive perimeter.

When Belgrano took charge, the Army of the North comprised the following units:

Artillery: under the command of captain Francisco Villanueva, with 10 pieces of artillery and 106 men.
6th (Peruvian) Infantry Regiment commanded by lieutenant colonel Ignacio Warnes
Ignacio Warnes
José Ignacio Warnes y García de Zúñiga was an Argentine soldier who fought in the Argentine War of Independence. Son of the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires Manuel Antonio Warnes y Durango and Ana Jacoba García de Zúñiga y Lizola...

, with 613 men.
Pardos and Morenos Regiment (mulattoes): commanded by lieutenant colonel José Superí, with 305 men.
Fatherland Hussars (Húsares de la Patria): under the command of Martín Rodríguez, with 264 men. By decree of 26 November 1811, they were incorporated by Belgrano into the Fatherland Dragoons Regiment (Dragones de la Patria).
Light Dragoons of Peru: under the command of lieutenant colonel Antonio González Balcarce, with 305 men. Created on 3 November 1810.

Belgrano's task in the north, same as his previous one in Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, was part politics and part military; they counted on him to restore the morale on the region and try to disarm the local royalists among the population, many of whom were priests or rich citizens. He was preferred for the post, instead of other more experienced or capable officers as Eustaquio Díaz Vélez

Eustaquio Díaz Vélez

Eustaquio Díaz Vélez was an Argentine soldier who fought in the Argentine War of Independence and in the civil wars of his country.-Beginnings:...

or Juan Ramón Balcarce

Juan Ramón Balcarce

Juan Ramón González de Balcarce was an Argentine military leader and politician.Juan was the older brother of Antonio González de Balcarce and of Marcos González de Balcarce. He fought against the British in 1807, and in the 1812 military campaign in Peru under General Manuel Belgrano. He was...

, both colonels at the time and veterans of many battles. Among the junior officers there were several that would make a name for themselves such as José María Paz

José María Paz

Brigadier General José María Paz y Haedo was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil War.-Childhood:...

, Manuel Dorrego

Manuel Dorrego

Manuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....

and Gregorio Aráoz de La Madrid. While in Salta, he would receive the help of Baron Holmberg

Eduard Ladislas Kaunitz, baron von Holmberg

Eduard Ladislas Kaunitz, baron von Holmberg was an Austrian military officer, who joined the Argentine revolutionary forces after serving alongside José de San Martín and Carlos María de Alvear during the Argentine War of Independence....

, veteran artillery man from the European wars, who would take charge of his meager artillery —only two cannon at first— and would give help on strategic planning.

His army's numbers were also low, only about 1,500 men at first, with two third on cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

, and only a little more than 600 had firearms. Bayonets were in short supply, so they had to improvise by adding lance

Lance

A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...

s to their arsenal. Those officers that could not bring their own saber would have to do without. The scarcity of arms and supplies forced them to impose a strict control and organization. Belgrano spent the first months of his command in establishing a hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

, military tribunal

Military tribunal

A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...

, supply corps, reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

company and in negotiating the manufacturing of ammunition

Ammunition

Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...

and clothing. The relative hostility of the local population over the demands of the porteño

Porteño

Porteño in Spanish is used to refer to a person who is from or lives in a port city, but it can also be used as an adjective for anything related to those port cities....

s did not make his job easy. He utilized the few friendships with the locals, La Madrid among them, to help with troop recruiting. Crucial in this task was Güemes, who with his troubled personal relations with Belgrano would force the latter to release him in June before even having had a chance to do combat.

The army was thus formed by 6th Infantry Regiment, Battalion of Peru Rifle Huntsmen commanded by Carlos Forest, a battalion of Pardos and Morenos (mulattoes), 14 pieces of artillery, the "Provisional Cavalry of the Río de la Plata" commanded by Balcarce (after the joining of the Dragoon and the Hussar regiments) and the Cochabamba Regiment. There were also local militias such as the Salta Militia commanded by Güemes. The military comptroller was Teodoro Sánchez de Bustamante

Teodoro Sánchez de Bustamante

Teodoro Sánchez de Bustamante was an Argentine statesman, lawyer and soldier. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina....

. On 1 July 1812, Belgrano created the 8th Infantry Regiment with men from Upper Peru, but it was disbanded after the defeat at Vilcapugio

Battle of Vilcapugio

The Battle of Vilcapugio was an action fought on October 1, 1813 during the second Campaign of Upper Peru in the Argentine War of Independence, where the republican forces led by General Manuel Belgrano were defeated by a pro-Spanish royalist army, led by Joaquin de la Pezuela.The campaign was...

as most of the officers and more than half their soldiers were lost at the battle.

In Salta he found an intelligence net who was passing information to Goyeneche's royalist army, headed by the city's bishop

Bishop

, whom he forced to leave the territories controlled by the Junta. Even though they suffered from malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

he decided to advance towards Cochabamba

Cochabamba

. The advanced elements consisting of the battalion of mulattoes and the two cavalry regiments of Hussars and Dragoons, reached Humahuaca

Humahuaca

Humahuaca is a city in the province of Jujuy, Argentina. It has 11,369 inhabitants as per the , and is the principal town of the Department of Humahuaca...

, while the rest of the army positioned itself in Jujuy. He celebrated there the second anniversary of the May Revolution

May Revolution

The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...

, and he had a new white and light blue flag blessed by the chaplain. The well-planned solemn ceremony helped gain the support of the locals who were distrustful and some supported the royalist army and the dislike of the troops to the Prussian regime imposed by Holmberg. Order was strict and Belgrano ordered capital punishment

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

inflicted for whom disobeyed express orders. One of the deserters due to the strict discipline was Venancio Benavídez, who moved to Goyeneche's forces, which had already taken Cochabamba and he told of the harsh conditions at Belgrano's army. With that intelligence, Goyeneche, whom had just reinforced Pío de Tristán

Pío de Tristán

Juan Pío de Tristán was a Peruvian general and politician...

, decided to advance towards the south and press the advantage. Belgrano ordered conscription of all able men, forming a troop of cavalry irregulars, but received the order to retreat towards Córdoba from the Junta in Buenos Aires.

Jujuy's exodus and battles of Tucumán and Salta

Belgrano decided to leave nothing available for the enemy to use as supplies, he used scorched earth

Scorched earth

A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...

tactics, during the so-called Jujuy Exodus

Jujuy Exodus

The Jujuy Exodus was an episode of the Argentine War of Independence. It was a massive forced displacement of people from the Jujuy Province, under by General Manuel Belgrano, conducted by his patriot forces that were battling a Royalist army...

("Exodo Jujeño"), ordering the civilian population to move out of the city and into the countryside along with the army, and to burn everything left behind to hinder the enemy's advance. The retreat was orderly, with Díaz Vélez's troops protecting the rearguard. On 3 September he made contact with the enemy, whose advanced elements had chased the cavalry to the Las Piedras river. Taking advantage of the terrain, and with Holmberg's help, Belgrano opened fire with his new artillery and turned the tables on the enemy, taking the leader of the royalist advance, Colonel Huici, prisoner. Ten days later, they encamped in Tucumán, where they decided to end the retreat. On the 24th they confronted Tristán at the Battle of Tucumán

Battle of Tucumán

The Battle of Tucumán was a battle fought on 24 and 25 September 1812 near the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, commanded by General Manuel Belgrano, defeated the royalist troops commanded by General Pío de Tristán, who had a...

, where a decisive cavalry charge gave the rebels a victory. 1,800 patriots (800 infantry, 900 cavalry and 100 artillery men) defeated 3,000 royalists (2,000 infantry and 1,000 artillery men). The royalists suffered 450 casualties, 687 prisoners and lossof ammunition and materiel

Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

. Tristán was forced to retreat north to Salta, lost his artillery and most of his wagons to the independentist army, who needed the supplies and could put them to good use.

The four months he had to reorganize after the victory at Tucumán allowed Belgrano to double the number of men and improve on training and discipline, even though he lost Holmberg, who had made enemies of other officers and was recalled to Buenos Aires. The lack of a chief of staff with tactical experience would be felt later. He received reinforcements from Buenos Aires: 1st Infantry Regiment, commanded by lieutenant colonel Gregorio Perdriel with 395 men, 4 companies of 2nd Infantry Regiment with 360 men commanded by lieutenant colonel Benito Alvarez and 70 to 80 mulattoes.

Well equipped and with high morale, they started on 12 January the march north to Salta, where Tristán had entrenched. A month later, on the margins of the Juramento river (today's Salado River), the troops where the first to swear loyalty to the Constitutional Assembly

Asamblea del Año XIII

The Assembly of Year XIII was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata on October 1812....

and to the new flag recently created by Belgrano por Belgrano (today's Argentina's flag). With the help of captain Aparicio, a local from the area, allowed them to reach the road to Jujuy through a not-well known road and confront Tristán by his rear on 20 February. After a slow start, the independentist victory at the Battle of Salta

Battle of Salta

The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, near the present-day Argentina city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general...

was decisive, and Tristán surrender unconditionally. 3,700 patriots with 12 pieces of artillery annihilated 3,700 royalists with 10 pieces of artillery, with 480 royalist dead and 114 wounded, while Belgrano's troops only had 13 dead and 433 wounded. In exchange for the swearing to never again take arms against the United Provinces, Belgrano guaranteed Tristán and his men their freedom; took all his arms and supplies, which improved the army's situation considerably.

Upper Peru actions and retreat to Jujuy

Continuing his march to the north, he took Potosí

Potosí

on 21 June and Vilcapugio on 27 September where they awaited reinformcement. Meanwhile rebel scouts, under the command of Colonel Cornelio Zelaya, defeated a royalist squadron at Pequereque

Battle of Pequereque

The Battle of Pequereque was a clash which took place on 19 June 1813, during the second Upper Peru campaign of the Argentine War of Independence, between scouting forces of the United Provinces Army of the North and the royalist Army of Perú...

on 19 June. Belgrano named colonel Figueroa as governor of Potosí, colonel Álvarez de Arenales as governor of Cochabamba and colonel Warnes in Santa Cruz. As president of Charcas he named Francisco Antonio Ortiz de Ocampo. Knowing that Goyeneche and Joaquín de la Pezuela

Joaquín de la Pezuela

Joaquín de la Pezuela Griñán y Sánchez Muñoz de Velasco, 1st marquis of Viluma was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of Peru during the War of Independence.-Background:...

, an able and experienced soldier, had the advantage, he negotiated with Goyeneche a 40-day armistice. The Assembly

Asamblea del Año XIII

The Assembly of Year XIII was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata on October 1812....

in Buenos Aires and the viceroy of Peru, José Fernando de Abascal, disapproved of this agreement. The royalists attacked by surprise, disregarding the agreement, before the arrival of reinforcements at the Battle of Vilcapugio

Battle of Vilcapugio

on 1 October 1813.

The royalist army, commanded by brigadier Joaquín de la Pezuela

Joaquín de la Pezuela

Joaquín de la Pezuela Griñán y Sánchez Muñoz de Velasco, 1st marquis of Viluma was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of Peru during the War of Independence.-Background:...

and with 4,000 men and 12 pieces of artillery confronted a patriot army with a high morale composed of 3,500 men, 14 pieces of artillery and cavalry mounted mostly on mules.

Even though it started as a victory for the rebels the tables turned and they were defeated, retreating to Macha

Macha

Macha is the name of a goddess and several other characters in Irish mythology.Macha can also mean:*The LÉ Macha , a ship in the Irish Naval Service, named for the goddess*The Macha crater in Russia, less than 7000 years old...

where Belgrano established his headquarters and managed to receive reinforcements following the royalist withdrawal after the rebel success at Tambo Nuevo

Action of Tambo Nuevo

The Action of Tambo Nuevo, also known as Hazaña de los Tres Sargentos was a successful cavalry raid carried out between 23 and 25 October 1813, during the second Upper Peru campaign of the Argentine War of Independence, by a small detachment of Dragones of the Army of the North...

. He then marched to Ayohuma arriving on 9 November.

Five days later the royalist army arrived, commanded by General Joaquín de la Pezuela, to fight at the Battle of Ayohuma

Battle of Ayohuma

The Battle of Ayohuma was an action fought on 14 November 1813, during the second Upper Peru Campaign of the Argentine War of Independence...

. The rebel army, with 2,000 men and 8 pieces of artillery (even though they counted 3,400 men, 1,400 were not in fighting conditions) they confronted a superior army with 3,500 men and 18 pieces of artillery. The fight was bloody for both sides, with a rebel defeat, but they were not chased by the royalists as they had suffered 500 loses and after a very trying battle. As a consequence of these defeats, Upper Peru returned to royalist control and Belgrano returned to Jujuy.

In January 1814, at Tucumán, Manuel Belgrano was replaced by the then colonel José de San Martín

José de San Martín

who was put in charge of the 1st Regiment and on the 30 of the month, the government separated Belgrano from the Army of the North and returned to Buenos Aires, where he was arrested and processed, but in the end his merits and accomplishments where recognized and honored. San Martín, quit four months later for health reasons and was replaced by colonel José Rondeau

José Rondeau

José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.-Biography:...

.

Ignacio Warnes

Ignacio Warnes

José Ignacio Warnes y García de Zúñiga was an Argentine soldier who fought in the Argentine War of Independence. Son of the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires Manuel Antonio Warnes y Durango and Ana Jacoba García de Zúñiga y Lizola...

liberated Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country...

. Warnes and Álvarez de Arenales continued with the resistance in Upper Peru but the first one was killed at El Pari, and the latter obtained victory at La Florida (24 May 1814) and Postrer Valley (4 June), but was later defeated at Sumarpata on 5 August.

The campaign objectives were partially accomplished. The royalist army was not defeated, but they could contain their advance into northern Argentina and keep the revolution going.

Third Auxiliary Campaign to Upper Peru

After having protected the Argentine north for a year, the Army of the North received orders for a third campaign to Upper Peru (present-day Bolivia). The objective this time was to occupy all of Upper Peru, closing ther door on the royalists and therefore establishing the sovereignty of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. Afterward they planned to continued the advance to Lima

Lima

to try to liberate the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru

Viceroyalty of Peru

Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...

Mutiny and new advance on Upper Peru

While the troops were being prepared to start the third campaign, general Carlos María de Alvear

Carlos María de Alvear

Carlos María de Alvear was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815....

was named as replacement for Rondeau. The Army of the North's officers mutinied and told to Rondeau they would only accept orders from him and disregard Alvear's and they asked him to initiate the campaign. Rondeau accepted and ordered the start of the operation in January 1815. During the first ten months there were some skirmishes against the royalist troops, but never of the size of the previous campaign.

On 19 February they fought the battle of El Tejar where the patriot vanguard was surprised by the whole of the royalist army.

The following April, the march was stopped by the Puesto del Marqués, which was occupied by the royalists. General Rondeau, advanced with 500 men defeating the 300 defenders.

Continuing forward with the march into Upper Peru, a reconnaissance group found royalist troops encamped at Venta y Media commanded by Olañeta. They prepared a plan to attack them by sursprise, but they failed and the royalists escaped. Colonel Martín Rodríguez was taken prisoner with his subordinates. General Joaquín de la Pezuela

Joaquín de la Pezuela

Joaquín de la Pezuela Griñán y Sánchez Muñoz de Velasco, 1st marquis of Viluma was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of Peru during the War of Independence.-Background:...

in charge of the royalists, moved his forces back to Oruro

Oruro, Bolivia

Oruro is a city in Bolivia with a population of 235,393 , located about equidistant between La Paz and Sucre at approximately 3710 meters above sea level. It is the capital of the department of Oruro....

, abandoning towns that were later occupied y Rondeau's forces, who took control of Potosí and Charcas and established a headquarters at Chayanta.

Güemes, unhappy with Rondeau, abandoned the army along with his gaucho forces and returned to Salta, carrying with him many of the supplies left in Jujuy.

Defeat at Sipe-Sipe and retreat to Tucumán

The first and only great battle of the campaign happened on 29 November 1815. When the patriot army was situated north of Venta y Media, nearing Cochabamba

Cochabamba

they found the army commanded by General Pezuela and fought the Battle of Sipe-Sipe

Battle of Sipe-Sipe

The Battle of Sipe-Sipe was a major battle in the South American wars of independence in which the United Provinces of Río de la Plata were decisively defeated by Spanish royalist forces in Upper Peru...

which ended in a defeat for the rebels. The 3,500 men and 9 artillery pieces could not deal with the 5,100 royalists and 23 artillery pieces and had to escape with about 1,000 casualties, while the royalists only counted 32 dead.

Objectives were not met and the provinces were left surrounded by potential enemies. British and French could arrive by sea, Portuguese from the East and Spaniards from the North. Had they conquered Upper Perú, the biggest threat, the royalists, would have been ended.

In January 1816, Lieutenant Clonel Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid was sent to the north, but on 31 January was defeated at Culpina. On 2 February he had a victory at Utarango and was later defeated on 12 February by the San Juan river. Rondeau received an order to retreat to Tucumán. The army, almost beaten, marched for nine months going through Potosí and Humahuaca until reaching Tucumán. On 7 August 1816 at Las Trancas, Rondeau replaced again by Manuel Belgrano. Martín Miguel de Güemes was named commander of the northern border.

Belgrano moved the army to the citadel built by San Martín in the city of Tucumán. There he attempted to rebuild the morale, and materials, in search for a new action in Upper Peru, combining with San Martín actions in the Andes.

Fourth Campaign and gaucho war

The furth was the last attempt to liberate Upper Peru. Belgrano sent troops with the objective of supporting the resistance in Oruro. The army also intervened in this stage in internecine quarrels.

On 10 December 1816 Belgrano sent La Madrid to quelch the autonomist movement in Santiago del Estero

Santiago del Estero

, defeating Juan Francisco Borges's troops at Pitambalá. On 1 January 1817 Borges was executed by firing squad in Santo Domingo by order of the Tucumán Congress.

On 18 March 1817 a troop of 400 soldiers left San Miguel de Tucumán under command of general La Madrid to advance to Oruro. Once in Bolivian territory they were joined by local rebels under the command of Eustaquio Méndez, José María Avilés and Francisco Pérez de Uriondo who helped in the fight to stop reinforcements from reaching the Tarija royalist commander, Mateo Ramírez. On 15 April 1817 the rebels were victorious at the Battle of la Tablada de Tolomosa

Battle of la Tablada de Tolomosa

The Battle of la Tablada de Tolomosa was fought on 15 April 1817 near the town of Tarija in Southern Bolivia between the royalist forces under colonel Mateo Ramírez and independentist local forces under Eustaquio Méndez allied with the Army of the North under Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid.The...

, and were able to liberate Tarija. The victory gave the Army of the North the capture of abundant arms, ammunition, supplies and prisoners, plus over a thousand new volunteers from Upper Peru joined the army. La Madrid stayed in Tarija until 5 May 1817. He named Francisco Pérez de Uriondo governor of Tarija and marched towards Chuquisaca. In the course of his march, he captured an entire Royalist company on Cachimayo hill. La Madrid attacked Chuquisaca on 21 May, but was defeated. On 12 June the army was caught by surprise at Sopachuy (120 kilometres (75 mi) southeast of Chuquisaca) and was defeated after a brief street battle. They had to retreat to Salta, by the same road.

Last royalist invasion and death of Güemes

In August 1817 colonel Olañeta iniated a new invasion with 1,000 men. On 15 August they fought at the second battle of Humahuaca, city evacuated by colonel Arias. On 12 September they fought at Huacalera, where Arias captured royalist prisoners. On 3 January 1818 the royalsts retreated to Yavi and returned to Upper Peru. A while later Olañeta and colonel José María Valdez invaded Yavi again with 2,400 men. On 14 January they occupied Jujuy, but had to evacuate on 16 January an returned to Yavi.

On 11 July 1817, commander Mariano Ricafort reoccupied Tarija and committed acts of vengeance against the local population, ordering the burning of the Cabildo and the Tarija Archives.

Colonel José Canterac after pacifying Tarija and Cinti, started a new invasion with three columns under command of Olañeta (through Humahuaca), Vigil (through Orán) and Valdez (through Despoblado). On 26 March the occupied San Salvador de Jujuy for a few hours but had to retreat to Yala under risk of being isolated. Later on they returned to Tupiza.

On 1 February 1820 the Army of the North received orders to abandon Tucumán and go to Buenos Aires to fight the autonomist risings. Defense of the northwest was left to the gaucho soldiers of Güemes.

In February 1820 José Canterac was replaced by Juan Ramírez Orozco as commander of the Royalist forces in Upper Peru. On 12 May Orozco commanding a force of 4,000 men advance to Jujuy, and on 28 May occupied the city, then on 31 May occupied Salta. On 2 June the royalist forces defeated the patriots at Chamical (southwest of the city of Salta). At the battle of Las Cañas lieutenant colonel Rojas was killed but 400 royalist forces were defeated. On 8 June there was a new independentist victory at Cuesta de la Pedrera (southeast of Salta), dispersing 2,000 royalist whoi retreated to Jujuy. At the battle of Yala another royalist force was defeated and colonel Vigil, their commander, was captured. De La Serna ordered a retreat to Tupiza.

On 15 April 1821 colonel Guillermo Marquiegui entered Jujuy which he had to abandon a while later. On 27 April they fought at León (12 kilometres (7 mi) north of Yala), where general José Ignacio Gorriti defeated 400 royalists, so Olañeta had to retreat his forces to Tilcara

Tilcara

San Francisco de Tilcara is a city in the province of Jujuy, Argentina, and the head town of the Tilcara Department...

. On 7 June he sent 600 infantry under colonel José María Valdés from Yavi, who marched to Purmamarca

Purmamarca

Purmamarca is a town in the Tumbaya Department of the Jujuy Province in Argentina.- Etymology :The name of the town can be interpreted as the combination of Aymara language words purma and marca , though desert in that language can refer to uncivilised or not touched by human hand, thus the name...

and taking side roads bypassed Tres Cruces and Chañi and on 7 June took Salta by surprise, where one of his advance parties wounded Güemes, who died on 17 June 1821 in Chamical. Colonel José Enrique Vidt assume command of Güemes' army. On 22 June Olañeta took Jujuy and advanced to Salta, where finding himself surrounded, he signed an armistice 14 July and returned to Upper Peru.

Olañeta made his last incursion into Argentine territory in June 1822, reaching Volcán (40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Jujuy). On 6 December 1822 he left Argentina for the last time, therefore ending the royalist invasion.

On 4 August 1824 governor of Salta, general Juan Antonio Álvarez de Arenales, named commandant to general José María Pérez de Urdininea

José María Pérez de Urdininea

José María Pérez de Urdininea was the third President of Bolivia and the first to be born in Bolivia itself. He fought with the patriots against the Argentines in Peru. Despite being President for only three months, Pérez held a number of important positions in the Bolivian government including...

as per a request from marshal Sucre

Antonio José de Sucre

Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá , known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , was a Venezuelan independence leader. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.-Ancestry:...

, and ordered him to go to Upper Peru to attack Olañeta from the southstarting his march on 3 January 1825. In March 1825 Álvarez de Arenales started another campaign but when at his headquarters at Tilcara he received the news that lieutenant colonel Carlos Medinaceli had turned to the independentist cause, so he sent Pérez de Urdininea from Humahuaca to support Medinaceli. On 1 April 1825 they fought at Tumusla where Medinaceli defeated Olañeta, finally liberating Upper Peru.

Commanders

Hipólito Vieytes
Hipólito Vieytes
Juan Hipólito Vieytes, was an Argentine merchant and soldier. He was born in San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires Province on 6 August 1762, son of Juan Vieytes and Petrona Mora Fernández de Agüero...

(June 14, 1810 - August 1810) Political command
- Francisco Ortiz de Ocampo (June 14, 1810 - August 1810) Military commander
Juan José Castelli
Juan José Castelli
Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer. He was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence...

(August 1810 - June 1811) Political command
- Antonio González Balcarce (August 1810 - June 1811) Military commander
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan was an Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century. He was appointed Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata after the Argentine Declaration of Independence.-Early life:Pueyrredón was born in Buenos Aires, the fifth of...

(June 1811 - March 26, 1812)
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...

(March 26, 1812 - January 30, 1814)
José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...

(January 30, 1814 - May 1814)
José Rondeau
José Rondeau
José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.-Biography:...

(May 1814 - August 7, 1816)
Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815....

appointed in January 1815, he could not assume command
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...

(August 7, 1816 - November 11, 1819)
Francisco Fernández de la Cruz (November 11, 1819 - January 8, 1820)

Component units of the Army of the North

July-August 1810

1st and 2nd Regiments of Patrician Infantry
3rd Infantry Regiment "Arribenos"
4th Mountain Infantry Regiment
5th Infantry Regiment "Andaluces"
Pardos and Morenos Regiments
Representative Company, Buenos Aires Regt.
Artillery Group
Blandengues Cavalry Battalion
Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....

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Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...

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November-December 1810

1st and 2nd Regiments of Patrician Infantry
6th Regiment of Foot Infantry
Fatherland (Peruvian) Light Dragoons Regiment
7th Regiment of Infantry "Cochabamba"
Salta Division

March 1812

Artillery Group
6th (Peruvian) Infantry Regiment
Pardos and Morenos Regiment
Fatherland Hussars and Dragoons
Peru Light Dragoons

External links

Regiments Güemes and Goyeneche Reorganization of the Army of the North - 1816 Peace and the end of the Army of the North O'Donnell notes (comments on the defeat at Vilcapugio)

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