Battle of Maipú

Battle of Maipú
Part of the Chilean War of Independence
Battle of Maipú, painted in 1837
Date April 5, 1818 Location Maipú plains, near Santiago, Chile Result Decisive Patriot victory
Belligerents
Army of the Andes Government of Chile	Royalists
Commanders and leaders
José de San Martín Bernardo O'Higgins Juan Gregorio de Las Heras	Mariano Osorio
Strength
c5,000	c5,000
Casualties and losses
1,000	2,000 dead 3,000 captured
Location within Chile

The Battle of Maipú (Spanish: Batalla de Maipú) was a battle fought near Santiago, Chile on April 5, 1818 between South American rebels and Spanish royalists, during the Chilean War of Independence. The Patriot rebels led by Argentine general José de San Martín effectively destroyed the Spanish forces commanded by General Mariano Osorio, and completed the independence of the core area of Chile from Spanish domination.

In 1817, the Argentine General José de San Martín led an army across the Andes and defeated the Spanish at the battles of Chacabuco and Chalchuapa and captured Santiago. The Spanish viceroyalty sent a Spanish army to Santiago under General Mariano Osorio, which defeated San Martín at the Second Battle of Cancha Rayada. The drive for independence never diminished, however, and the following year San Martín launched a final offensive, which was to decide the outcome of the war.

Despite being defeated at Cancha Rayada, the Patriot army regrouped again in less than two days, adding up to about 4,000 men, allowing San Martín to rebuild his units almost entirely. Hence, on April 2, after leaving the Ochagavía camp to travel to the lower hills of Maipo, the Patriot army emerged organized in three infantry divisions with a total of 396 chiefs and approximately 5,000 lower-ranked officers and soldiers.

The Royalist army meanwhile continued in its attempt to consolidate and defeat the Patriots, and after Cancha Rayada begun a persistent and extenuating persecution, which was resisted in every town and countryside, delaying its advance towards Santiago and giving the Patriots some time to reorganize and to plan the way to stop Osorio and to avoid his entrance into the capital city.