Argentina: Expedition 1810-1812

ARGENTINA: LA EXPEDICION DE AUXILIO
A LAS PROVINCIAS INTERIORES 1810-12

BY MICHAEL PIPOH

On the 25th May 1810, a Junta Provisional Gobernativa was founded in Buenos Aires and declared the Independence from the Junta of Sevilla (in Spain). The Junta decided to send a military expedition to the north and there to attack the Royalists stationed in Alto Peru. The expedition consisted of the following troops, altogether 1,176 men;

Comandante del Ejercito: Colonel Francisco Antonio Ortiz de Ocampo
2nd in Command: Teniente Coronel Antonio Balcarce
Auditor de Guerra: Feliciano Chiclana
Representante de la Junta: Hipolito Vieytes
Cirujano No.1: Juan Madera
Cirujano No.2: Manuel Casa
Capellane No.1: Joaquin Ruiz
Capellane No.2: Manuel Albarinas

2 Companies 1st Regiment: Veteran Artillery (40 men)
2 Companies 2nd Regiment: Artillery of the Union (60 men)
2 Companies 3rd Regiment: Soldatos del Fixo (50 men)
2 Companies 4th Regiment: Dragones (50 men)
2 Companies 5th Regiment: Hussars de la Patria (50 men)
Regiment de Castas: Blandengues de la Frontera (100 men)

Map of Theatre of Operations

The troops left Buenos Aires on the 9th July 1810, reaching Cabeza del Tigre during August. Antonio Gonzales Balcarce became the new Commander in Chief while Doctor Juan Jose Castelli replaced Hipolito Vieytes. Liniers, the Governor of Cordoba and Hero of the British Invasions of 1806 and 1807 with some other Royalists were shot by order of the Buenos Aires Junta on the 26th August. The expedition continued the march to Alto Peru, recruiting new troops along its way, the first skirmish occurred near Tuipiza when on the 17th October about l00 men drove away a weak picket of 40-60 Royalists. Soon after on the 27th October the Vanguard of the Revolutionaries attacked 2,000 Royalists commanded by Capt. de Frag. Jose Cordoba y Roxas near Cotagaiga. The Revolutionaries were repulsed and forced to retreat, they then occupied a position near Nazareno on the southern bank of the Rio Suipacha.

Order of Battle: Cotagaita (October 27, 1810)

Revolutionaries:

Royalists:

Commander: Frigate Captain Jose Cordoba y Roxas Batallon de Puno Regimiento de Milicias Provincial de Potosi Cuerpo de Dragones Voluntarios del Rey Cuerpo de Veteranos 2,000 men in total

The Royalists, who had received reinforcements from Chuquisaca and Potosi decided to attack this position, crossing the Rio Suipacha on the 7th November with 800 men, but this time they were decisively beaten when their left flank was hit by a counter-attack. The Royalists lost 4 guns, 40 dead and 150 prisoners plus many stragglers, Jose de Cordoba and some of his officers were shot after being captured, the Revolutionaries had lost only 1 dead and 12 wounded. With this defeat Brigadier Goyeneche took command of the Royalist troops, retreating with his remaining troops to Zepita behind the Rio Desaguadero, the border between the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata and Alto Peru, here he awaited for reinforcements and replacement equipment.

Order of Battle: Battle of Suipacha (November 7, 1810)

Revolutionaries

Commander: Colonel Antonio Gonzalez Balcarce

(2 Field pieces re- Atlas Historico Militar Argentino)

Royalist

Commander: Frigate Captain Jose Cordoba y Roxas

Fracciones de Infanteria

Milicias de Caballeria

The Auxiliary Army (Ejercito Auxiliar), as the Revolutionaries force became known, slowly followed the retreating Royalists reaching Potosi on the 18th November 1810 and established a base from where to protect their long lines of communications then they carried onward, reaching the Rio Desaguadero during the first days of April 1811. On the 11th April a small group of Royalists, on their way to Huaqui clashed with a detachment from the Auxiliary Army and were driven away with some loss. In the next 4 weeks nothing of importance occurred, while on the 14th May Brigadier Goyeneche and Dr. Castelli signed an armistice that was to last for 40 days, both sides used this period to train new troops and bring up additional units.

Brigadier Goyeneche broke the truce on the 20th June in the early morning (3 a.m.), maybe all of his required units had managed to advance and unite ahead of proposed timings giving him the option of attacking a semi-efficient enemy whose complete force was not collected together as yet. Crossing the Rio Desaguadero at the Punta del Inca the Royalists formed into 3 columns and advanced towards the Republican encampments, the left column was under the command of Goyeneche and where he attacked the Revolutionaries they were commanded by Balcarce. The middle column was commanded by Tristan, these had to occupy the central ravine that separated both flanks of the battlefield. The right column was commanded by Ramirez who attacked the facing wing of the Auxiliary Army, the middle column under Tristan managed to advance along the central ravine and attack Balcarce's flank in conjunction with Goyeneche's own units, Balcarce's force was forced back and a general retreat was ordered towards Huaqui, this was hotly followed by the troops of Goyeneche and Tristan who managed to defeat the troops of Balcarce at Huaqui on the 20th June 1811 with a complete success.

Of the 6,000 revolutionaries only 800 returned to Potosi, there to re-group and receive a new commander, Colonel Juan Martin de Pueyrredon, at the end of September 1811. He decided to retreat to San Salvador de Jujuy and rebuild his forces. The Royalists during this time were on search and destroy missions to eradicate any pockets of resistance in the area around Potosi, hut by December 1811 they dispatched a small column, commanded by Colonel Francisco Picoaga from Potosi to Tupiza. Upon this information reaching Colonel Pueyrredon he also sent a small force of 150 men, 100 Dragoons and 2 field pieces, led by Col. Diaz Velez to keep a watch on this Royalist column, but Velez attacked them on the 12th January 1812 near Nazareno, though he had to call the attack off as he suffered 25 dead and some seventy wounded, with this news Pueyrredon retreated his force to Yatasto, there to build up a defensive position. Alas poor Pueyrreclon was to be replaced on the 27th March 1812 by General Belgrano who was to make plans for the second expedition to Alto Peru, being that the first had been such a failure.

Order of Battle: Battle of Huaqui (20th June 1811)

Revolutionaries

Commander: General Antonio Gonzalez Balcarce

Junta Supervisor: Doctor Juan Jose Castelli

Royalists

Commander: Brigadier Jose Manuel de Goyeneche 2nd in Command: Brigadier Pio Tristan Columna Derecha
Commander Brigadier Juan Ramirez

2,000 men with 6 Field pieces

Sources:

La Expedicion de Auxilio a las Provincias Interiores 1810-1810, by Emilio A. Bidondo. Buenos Aires.
Atlas Historico-Militar Argentino, by Circulo Militar, Buenos Aires.
Argentinien - Handbuch zur Physischen Landeskunde Band 1+2, by Franz Kuhn.
Handbuch fur Heer und Flotte Band 9, Kriege vom Altertum bis zur Gegenwart, by Von Alten, Berlin 1912.
Las Conquistas Territoriales Argentinas, by Romula F. Menendez, Buenos Aires, 1982.
Uniformes Militares usados en la Argentina desde el Siglo XVI hasta Nuestros Dias, by Enrique Udaondo, Buenos Aires, 1922.
Patricios, by Alberto D. H. Scunio, Circulo Militar No.S85 Buenos Aires, 1967.

Back to Table of Contents -- El Dorado Vol VII No. 3
Copyright 1996 by The South and Central Military Historians Society

ARGENTINA: LA EXPEDICION DE AUXILIO A LAS PROVINCIAS INTERIORES 1810-12

Order of Battle: Cotagaita (October 27, 1810)

Order of Battle: Battle of Suipacha (November 7, 1810)

Order of Battle: Battle of Huaqui (20th June 1811)

ARGENTINA: LA EXPEDICION DE AUXILIO
A LAS PROVINCIAS INTERIORES 1810-12