The Battle of Viluma, also known as Battle of Sipe-Sipe, was a major battle in the

South American wars of independence The decolonization of the Americas occurred over several centuries as most of the countries in the Americas gained their independence from European rule. The American Revolution was the first in the Americas, and the British defeat in the Ameri ...

in which the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (formerly the Spanish

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in ...

) were decisively defeated in

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

(current

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

)by the Royal Army of Viceroyalty of Peru. The battle took place on November 29, 1815 on a plain west of Cochabamba, and resulted in the loss of Upper Peru for

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. The area was reannexed by the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru.

Background

The Army of the North has been under the command of José de San Martín, but for health reasons he asked to be relieved. He was replaced by

José Rondeau José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra (March 4, 1773 – November 18, 1844) was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century. Life and Politics He was born in Buenos Aires but soon after his birth, the family moved t ...

. At the time of the third campaign in Upper Peru (the first two had been beaten off), General Carlos María de Alvear was named by Supreme Director

Ignacio Álvarez Thomas José Ignacio Álvarez Thomas (15 February 1787 – 20 July 1857) was a South American military commander and politician of the early 19th century. Biography Álvarez Thomas was born in Arequipa, Peru, and his family lived for some time in Lim ...

to replace Rondeau. However Rondeau's officers revolted, and communicated to him that they would obey only his orders. Rondeau, now in revolt himself, accepted the officers' proposal and remained in charge. General Martín Miguel de Güemes withdrew the support of his Gauchos and retired to

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, taking with him the part of the army that was in

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in Argentine Northwest, northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Depa ...

. After a successful battle in April at Puesto del Marquéz, near today's border between Bolivia and Argentina, Rondeau's army reached

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...

by June and Chayanta by September. In October, an attempt to overrun a small Royalist garrison at Venta y Media ended in defeat. Undeterred, the Army of the North occupied Cochabamba. From Cochabamba, Rondeau camped in the plateau of Sipe-Sipe, near the city of the same name. There on November 28, 1815 his troops were met by the Royalist forces from Peru under Brigadier

Joaquín de la Pezuela Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982 ...

. Rondeau had 3,000 to 3,500 men and nine field guns; Pezuela commanded 5,100 men and 23 field guns.

Opposing forces

The battle

The result of the battle the next day was the most serious defeat of the independentist movements since the

Battle of Huaqui The Battle of Huaqui (in some sources also called Guaqui, Yuraicoragua or Battle of Desaguadero), was a battle between the Primera Junta's (Buenos Aires) revolutionary troops and the royalist troops of the Viceroyalty of Peru on the border betw ...

in 1811. The insurgents' losses were estimated at 2,000 men and all of their artillery.

Aftermath

With this defeat, the region of Upper Peru was finally lost to the United Provinces, and Spanish control was reestablished. For his success, in 1816 Pezuela was named interim viceroy of Peru by royal order dated October 15, 1815. The following year he was also promoted to lieutenant general and given the title ''Marquis of Viluma''. Rondeau was removed from his command in 1816 and he returned to Buenos Aires.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viluma, Battle Of 1815 in Bolivia Battles involving 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 Conflicts in 1815 Mountain warfare November 1815 events History of Cochabamba Department