Battle of Vilcapugio

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Date	16 October 1813
Location	Bolivia
Result	Spanish victory

Belligerents

United Provinces of South America

Spanish Empire

Commanders

Manuel Belgrano

Joaquín de la Pezuela

v • d • e Alto Perú Campaign 1810-17

Cotagaita – Suipacha – Huaqui – Tucumán – Salta – Vilcapugio – Ayohuma – Sipe-Sipe – Yavi – La Tablada

The Battle of Vilcapugio (Quechua: Pozo Santo) was fought on October 1, 1813 during the Campaign of Alto Peru in the Argentine War of Independence, where the pro-independence forces led by General Manuel Belgrano were defeated by the pro-Spanish Realists, led by Joaquin de la Pazuela.

The Campaign was restarted upon the insistence of the government in Buenos Aires after the Army of the North's victories during the Battles of Tucumán and Salta. Despite having malaria and having to command a company of new conscripts with insufficient artillery, Belgrano accepted the commanding post.

Belgrano's army was supported by Colonel Baltasar Cárdenas and the 2,000 poorly organized natives under his command, and Colonel Cornelio Zelaya with forces from Cochabamba. Both colonels had orders to incite rebellion amongst the indigenous populations who provided the realists with valuable information. Knowing that the realist army did not have enough mules to move its artillery and provisions, Belgrano planned to use a pincer movement to attack, confidently believing that Pezuela would not provide much resistance.

At the end of September 1813, most of Belgrano's army arrived in the prairie of Vilcapugio, which was a plateau surrounded by tall mountains to the north of Potosí. The realist troops were encamped at Condo-Condo under the orders of Pazuela and Major Saturnino Castro, which allowed them to cut off Cárdenas' troops and any communication between Belgrano and the Cochabamban forces. Castro also attained documents from Cárdenas giving instructions to Belgrano. With these documents Pazuela was able to interrupt Belgrano's plans and began his advance on the mountains on October 1. Belgrano's army veterans from the North contained the left flank and center column of the realist army and forced them to back down until Pezuela recognized he was losing the battle at Virrey de Lima; however, his own left flank remained in action and defeated Belgrano's right column. If the Northern army had continued to persist in defeating the Spanish troops or attacked the section that found Cárdenas' troops, victory would have been secured.^{[citation needed]} The arrival of the realist cavalry made the rebels panic, causing them to disperse. The realist army reorganized itself and appropriated all of its artillery, continuously shelling the few soldiers left in Belgrano's encampment. Belgrano and Eustaquio Dìaz Vèlez had decided that Velez would be the one to go to Potosí to reunite with the dispersed troops.

Dìaz Vèlez took command over the troops in Potosí after Vilcapugio with the rest of the army on the left flank of the enemy. At this point the troops organized themselves to pursue the Campaign of Alto Perú according the orders of the government of Buenos Aires.