The Battle of Moquegua (or Moquehua) took place during the

Peruvian War of Independence The Peruvian War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia del Perú, links=no) consisted in a series of military conflicts in Peru beginning with viceroy Abascal military victories in the south frontier in 1809, in La Paz revolution an ...

on 21 January 1823 around the city of

Moquegua Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Pr ...

, between the Liberation Army of Peru, under command of Argentinean General

Rudecindo Alvarado Rudecindo Alvarado (March 1, 1792 – June 22, 1872) was an Argentine general. He fought in the military campaigns of Manuel Belgrano, and in the Army of the Andes. He was governor of Mendoza. He left the country during the rule of Juan Manuel ...

, and the Royal Army of Peru under General

José de Canterac José de Canterac (July 29, 1786, Casteljaloux, Lot-et-Garone, France – April 13, 1835, Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish general of French origin who fought in the Spanish American wars of independence. In 1816 he joined the army of Pablo Mor ...

. The army of the Patriots was almost completely destroyed.

Prelude

After José de San Martín had abandoned Peru in September 1822, command of the United Peruvian army fell to General

, under whose command the United army was ordered to defeat the bulk of the Royalist troops that were still intact in the south and the country's mountains. In the first days of October, Alvarado's expedition, composed of approximately 4,300 troops and 10 pieces of artillery, sailed from

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

and on 6 December, landed in

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a Communes of Chile, commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The ...

.
Spanish Viceroy

José de la Serna José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, located in

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

, ordered Brigadier Gerónimo Valdés to immediately march to

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

to take command of the troops stationed there, and attack the army of Alvarado.Both armies met at Torata and the

Battle of Torata The Battle of Torata is part of the Peruvian War of Independence, which occurred on January 19, 1823 in the high Torata (town located northeast of Moquegua) between the Liberation Army of Peru, under command of Argentinean General Rudecindo Alva ...

ended in a defeat for the Patriots. After the battle of Torata, the Patriot army retreated to the town of

with the intention of reorganizing its forces. But the Royalists, knowing that reinforcements under command of General

were very close, did not plan to let victory, that was considered certain, slip away. After the arrival of the division of General Canterac, the Royalist army went on the offensive.

the Battle

General-in-Chief José de Canterac divided the Royalist army into two divisions. The first under the orders of Brigadier Valdés was to march hiding behind a hill on the enemy's right. The second divisions, under the command of Brigadier Manuel Monet, was to execute a frontal attack.
Meanwhile, General Alvarado's forces remained in Moquegua, with few ammunition and inactive. On 21 January, Canterac advanced and met the Patriots in the Tombolombo pampa, adjacent to the Moquegua River. At 10 in the morning the forces were face to face only separated by the river. Canterac gave the sign for a simultaneous frontal attack by Monet and an enveloping attack by Valdés on the right flank. The patriot defense was overwhelmed and dispersed, giving up the battlefield. As a result, about 700 Patriots were killed, and 1,000 taken prisoner. On the other hand, Royalist casualties totaled 150 dead and 250 wounded.Bicentenario de las batallas de Torata y Moquegua: valor y sacrificio del Perú
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Aftermath

The surviving Patriots retreated to

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191,468 ...

, where they were attacked by General Olañeta, and lost an other 100 men, before being able to embark at

Ilo The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

to return to Lima. The campaign had been a total disaster. Of the initial 4,300 men, only around 1,000 returned to Lima. Many elite troops from Chile had been lost.

References

Links

Centreo de Estudios Histórico Militares del Perú
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torata Torata Torata January 1823 events 1823 in Peru Conflicts in 1823 History of Moquegua Region