First battle of

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

, also called the 'Taking of

' occurred on 3 March 1814, during the War of Chilean Independence.

Background

The town of

, held by the Patriotic forces under the command of Carlos Spano, had sent a military force Juan Rafael Bascuñán to the aid of

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Althou ...

. This left the town relatively exposed, with only 300 men defending it.

Gabino Gaínza Gabino or Gavino Gaínza y Fernández de Medrano (October 20, 1753 or 1760, depending on the source, Guipúzcoa, Basque Country (autonomous community), País Vasco, Spain – c. 1829, Mexico City) was a Spanish military officer and politician ...

, commanding the Royalist army had left a small force on the other side of the

Maule river The Maule river or Río Maule ( Mapudungun: ''rainy'') is one of the most important rivers of Chile. It is inextricably linked to the country's pre-Hispanic (Inca) times, the country's conquest, colonial period, wars of Independence, modern hist ...

under the command of Ildefonso Elorreaga, but with orders not to attack

. Elorreaga, realising the Patriots' true situation, seized the opportunity and crossed the river, surprising the Patriots guarding the crossing points. He then advanced on

The Attack

At 0700 on 3 March, Elorreaga sent an ultimatum to Spano to surrender

within fifteen minutes, or face destruction. Spano concluded he might be able to hold out long enough for Bascuñán's force to return and defend the town; sending an urgent message to Bascuñán, he arrayed all his forces, including his three artillery pieces, to defend the location. Elorreaga, knowing he had to take the town before Patriot reinforcements arrived, launched a ferocious attack. The fighting went on all morning, but by noon the Royalist forces had managed to take and position themselves on the roof of the house of Vicente de la Cruz Bahamondes; a substantial and well positioned building, this enabled them to dominate the town. With this, the battle became a massacre. Spano was killed in the fighting and by the time Bascuñán arrived, the Royalists were in control of

Aftermath

Bascuñán managed to save the money and materiel which Spano had sent with him originally, sending it to

Curicó Curicó (), meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun (originally meaning "Land of Black Water"), is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley. The province lies between the provinces of Colcha ...

by the way of the coast. With the loss of

, O' Higgins and Mackenna had lost their key supply base, with both commanders divided and now surrounded by the enemy.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talca, First battle of Conflicts in 1814 Battles involving Chile Battles involving Spain Battles of the Spanish American wars of independence Battles of the Chilean War of Independence Battles of the Patria Vieja Campaign 1814 in the Captaincy General of Chile March 1814 events