Battle of Carabobo

Battle of Carabobo
Part of the Venezuelan War of Independence
Detail of La Batalla de Carabobo by Martín Tovar y Tovar. Oil on canvas.
Date 24 June 1821 Location Carabobo, Venezuela Result Decisive Patriot victory
Belligerents
Patriots Foreign volunteers British Legions	Royalists
Commanders and leaders
Simón Bolívar	Miguel de la Torre
Strength
6,500-8,000 Total 4,000 infantry 900-1,200 British [1] 2,500 cavalry	4,000-5,000 Total No cavalry fought[2]
Casualties and losses
200 dead[3]	2,908 captured, wounded or dead.

The Battle of Carabobo, 24 June 1821, was fought between independence fighters, led by Simón Bolívar, and the Royalist forces, led by Spanish Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victory at Carabobo led to the independence of Venezuela.

Order of battle

Army of Gran Colombia

• Commander in Chief: Gen. Simon Bolivar
• 1st Army Division (Commander: Gen. Jose Antonio Paez)
  • 1st Infantry Brigade
    • Apure Braves
    • British Legions
  • 1st Cavalry
    • Honor, Paez's Own Lancers
    • Honored Lancers, The Death
    • Valiant Horse Rifles, The Vengeance
• 2nd Army Division (Commander: Gen. Manuel Cedeno)
  • 2nd Infantry Brigade
    • Vargas
    • Boyaca
    • Tiralleurs Battalion
  • Sacred Cavalry Squadron
• 3rd Army Division (Commander: Gen. Ambrocio Plaza)
  • 3rd Infantry Brigade
    • • Victors of Boyaca Battalion
      • Foot Grenadiers
      • Rifle Regiment
      • Anzoátegui Regiment
  • 2nd Cavalry
    • Dragoons
    • Hussars
    • Horse Guards

Royalist Army

Commander in Chief of the Royal Armies: General en Chief Juan Miguel de la Torre

• Division Commanders: Gen. Morales, Cols. Herrera and Garcia
• Infantry Battalions attached under the three divisions:

Garcia Division: 1st Infantry Brigade

4th Division: The Prince's Own Foot

Morales Division: Morales Combined Brigade

• • 2nd Valencay Infantry
  • Barbastro Regiment
  • Burgos Regiment
  • Hostalrich Foot
  • Infante Don Francisco
  • Principe
• Cavalry Brigade
  • General's Bodyguards
  • Loyal Dragoons
  • HM King Ferdinand VII's Own Hussars
  • King's Own Lancers
• 2 artillery pieces, each attached to the Garcia and the 4th Divisions

History

Painting by Martín Tovar y Tovar

The Royalists occupied the road leading from Valencia to Puerto Cabello. As Bolívar's force of 6,500 approached the Royalist position, Bolívar divided his force and sent half on a flanking maneuver through rough terrain and dense foliage. De la Torre likewise split his force and sent half to deal with this flank attack. Hitting the Patriots with musket fire, the Royalists held back the attack for a while. The Venezuelan infantry failed and retreated, but the men of the "British Legions", among them many members of the former King's German Legion, fought hard and took the hills. They sustained about 50% of Bolívar's casualties. The Patriots eventually broke through the Royalist lines on the flank and marched towards the rear of de La Torre's force. The Spanish infantry formed squares and fought to the end under the attack of the Patriot cavalry. The rout was so bad that only some 400 of one infantry regiment managed to reach safety at Puerto Cabello. With the main Royalist force in Venezuela crushed, independence was ensured. Subsequent battles included a key naval victory for the independence forces on 24 July 1823 at the Battle of Lake Maracaibo and in November 1823 José Antonio Páez occupied Puerto Cabello, the last Royalist stronghold in Venezuela.

Commemoration

Painting by Martín Tovar y Tovar

24 June is celebrated as Battle of Carabobo Day .This day is also called "Army Day" in Venezuela.

See also

• Ambrosio Plaza
• Nevado, Bolivar's dog, who died in the Battle of Carabobo

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Battle of Carabobo

Animated Demo

• http://www.prodi.com.ve/home/presentacion1.htm (in Spanish language)

General

• Venezuela on Encyclopedia of Days
• Carabobo 1821 on Prodiseño Escuela de Comunicación Visual y Diseño
• Bolivar's British Legion by Ian Fletcher from Ian Fletcher Battlefield Tours
• Pages of Glory on Simón Bolívar, The Southamerican Washington from Don Mabry's Historical Text Archive.

Coordinates: 10°00′16″N 68°09′57″W / 10.0045°N 68.1657°W / 10.0045; -68.1657

v · d · e Gran Colombia independence Background Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717 - 1819)  · Captaincy General of Venezuela (1777 - 1821)  · Peninsular War in Spain (1808 - 1814) Overview Military career of Simón Bolívar  · Ecuadorian War of Independence  · Venezuelan War of Independence Political history Luz de América (1809) · Colombian Declaration of Independence (1810) · First Republic of Venezuela (1810 - 1812)  · Venezuelan Declaration of Independence (1811) · United Provinces of New Granada (1811 - 1816)  · Second Republic of Venezuela (1813 - 1814)  · Gran Colombia (1819 - 1831) (Ecuador, 1830 · Venezuela/Republic of New Granada, 1831) Military history: part 1 La Victoria (June 1812) · Admirable Campaign (1813: Cúcuta, February 1813 · Alto de los Godos, May 1813) · Araure (December 1813) · Spanish reconquest of New Granada (1815 - 1816) Military history: part 2 Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada (1819 - 1820: Las Queseras del Medio, April 1819 - Vargas Swamp, July 1819 - Boyacá, August 1819) · Carabobo (June 1821) · Lake Maracaibo (July 1823) Colombian figures Antonio Nariño · Benito Salas Vargas · Joaquín Camacho · Liborio Mejía · José María Obando · José Miguel Pey de Andrade · Antonio Ricaurte · Manuel Rodríguez Torices · Francisco de Paula Santander Venezuelan figures Simón Bolívar · Francisco de Miranda · José Antonio Páez · Manuel Piar · José Félix Ribas · Antonio José de Sucre · Carlos Soublette · Santiago Mariño · Cristóbal Mendoza · Mariano Montilla · Pedro Camejo · Juan Bautista Arismendi · Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi · Luis Brión · José Antonio Anzoátegui · Rafael Urdaneta Other figures José Tomás Boves · Louis-Michel Aury · Juan Manuel Cajigal · Juan Domingo de Monteverde · Pablo Morillo · Daniel Florence O'Leary · José Prudencio Padilla · Miguel de la Torre Other Carmañola Americana (1797) · Decree of War to the Death (1813)