Battle of Ayohuma
Part ofBolivian War of Independence Argentine War of Independence Spanish American Wars of Independence
Old map of the battle, drawn by first hand witness Francisco de Mendizábal
Date 14 November 1813 Location Bolivia 18°51′19″S66°7′36″W / 18.85528°S 66.12667°W /-18.85528; -66.12667 Result Royalist victory Withdrawal of theArmy of the North towardsJujuy andSalta
Belligerents
United Provinces Republiquetas	Viceroyalty of Peru
Commanders and leaders
Manuel Belgrano	Joaquín de la Pezuela
Units involved
Army of Peru	Royal Army of Peru
Strength
3,400 soldiers 8 cannon	3,500 soldiers 18 cannon
Casualties and losses
300 dead 200 wounded 600 prisoners	42 dead 96 wounded
class=notpageimage| Location within Bolivia Show map of Bolivia Battle of Ayohuma (South America) Show map of South America Battle of Ayohuma (America) Show map of America

TheBattle of Ayohuma ("dead man's head" inQuechua)^[1] was a military action fought on 14 November 1813 during theSpanish American wars of independence. The forces of the Royal Army ofViceroyalty of Peru, commanded by Spaniard GeneralJoaquín de la Pezuela defeated theArmy of the North, led by GeneralManuel Belgrano in their secondUpper Peru Campaign of theArgentine War of Independence.

Leader of the Independentist Army of the North, GeneralManuel Belgrano

Leader of the victorious royalist forces,Spaniard GeneralJoaquín de la Pezuela

After the rout of theUnited Provinces' army atVilcapugio on 1 October 1813, Belgrano established his headquarters atSantiago de Macha. There he reorganized his forces, obtaining help from Francisco Ocampo (then President ofCharcas), and from other provinces of Upper Peru (Cochabamba,Santa Cruz de la Sierra, andChayanta). At the end of October 1813, the Army of the North included around 3,400 men, of which barely 1,000 were veterans, the rest being recruits or men drafted from the native population after the initial defeat. An important fraction of the patriot army, under the command of General Díaz Vélez had remained isolated atPotosí in the aftermath of Vilcapugio, but was able to reunite with Belgrano after a smallaction at Tambo Nuevo relieved them from the pressure of the royalist army.^[2]

Despite their recent victory, Pezuela's troops were short of horses, mules and supplies. They had sought refuge on the Condo-Condo heights, where, being surrounded by hostile populations and still recovering from the casualties suffered at Vilcapugio, they could not readily take the offensive against the Army of the North. However, on 29 October, Pezuela's army left their camp in Condo-Condo in order to attack the patriots before they could obtain further reinforcements. On 12 November, they arrived at Toquirí, a mountain dominating the small plain of Ayohuma, half aleague from the village of the same name.^[3]

In the meantime, at his headquarters just two leagues away from Toquirí,^[4] on 8 November, Belgrano had discussed his plans with his officials. The majority of them wanted to withdraw to Potosí, but the general convinced his officers to fight. That night the army left Macha, reaching Ayohuma during the next morning.^[2]

The armies that were about to face each other exhibited a significant disproportion. While Belgrano'scavalry outnumbered the royalists' two-to-one, Pezuela had twice as much infantry and 18 pieces ofartillery, against only eight short-range guns carried by Belgrano's troops.

At dawn of 14 November the royalists began their descent from their high position and by mid-morning they had deployed the core of their forces on the plain. Belgrano's troops were meanwhile attendingMass, even if aware of the enemy movements. Some officers suggested to Belgrano an early cavalry assault on the enemy troops as these were still negotiating the steep terrain of the mountain slope, but the general opted for a head-on action on the plain. An hour later, Pezuela had completed his maneuver; instead of pushing a frontal assault, the royalist army outflanked the patriots on their right, crossing a range of hills that hidden them from their enemy and forcing Belgrano to hastily redeploy his troops in that direction. In the opinion of then LieutenantGregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid, one of Belgrano's best officers, this move proved decisive for the outcome of the battle.^[5] Then, Pezuela's artillery opened fire, blasting holes in the patriot ranks. In a hail of enemy fire, Belgrano ordered the advance of his infantry and cavalry toward the enemy right flank, but they could not overcome both the rugged terrain and Pezuela's entrenchments. To make matters worse, Belgrano' light guns were no match for the royalist artillery.Belgrano was forced to retreat. By a trumpet call and waving the United Provinces flag on the top of a hill, he managed to gather some 500 men, leaving around 300 dead, 200 injured, 600 prisoners and almost all his guns on the battlefield.^[6] The battle lasted seven hours.^[6]

Among the dead was the commander of theBatallón de Castas("Castes' Battalion"), Colonel José Superí, who was killed by the royalist artillery. His battalion was made of soldiers of African andmulatto descent.José María Paz, an officer who would later play a key role in theArgentine Civil Wars, had to rescue his brother, Captain Julián Paz, when the latter's horse was killed by gunfire while crossing a stream.^[2] Colonel Cornelio Zelaya, one of the best cavalry officers in the Army of the North, along with a few horsemen under his command, fought a rearguard action that allowed the orderly withdrawal of the bulk of Belgrano's forces.^[6] Threemulattoauxiliary women, María Remedios del Valle and her two daughters, became famous for their efforts to provide water to the troops and assist wounded soldiers on the battlefield in spite of the heavy royalist bombardment, and they are since remembered as theNiñas de Ayohuma ("Maidens of Ayohuma") in Argentina.^[7]

Belgrano's 500 survivors retreated toPotosí, but the city had to be quickly evacuated on 18 November due to the approaching royalist forces. Belgrano moved back toTucumán, where on 30 January 1814, he resigned the command of the Northern Army toGeneral San Martín.^[8][6] He would later write about the tactical superiority of the Spaniard officers as compared to his limited knowledge of warfare.

• Battle of Pequereque
• Battle of Vilcapugio
• Action of Tambo Nuevo
• Flag of Macha

• García Camba, Andrés (1846).Memorias para la Historia de las armas españolas en el Perú. Sociedad tipográfica de Hortelano y compañia, V. I.(in Spanish)
• Goman, Adolfo Mario (2007).Enigmas sobre las primeras banderas argentinas. Cuatro Vientos.ISBN 987-564-702-0(in Spanish)
• Paz, José María (1855).Memorias postumas (in Spanish). la Revista.

• 1813 in Bolivia
• Battles involving Spain
• Battles of the Argentine War of Independence
• Battles of the Bolivian War of Independence
• Battles of the Spanish American wars of independence
• Battles in 1813
• November 1813
• History of Potosí Department

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