Battle of Vilcaconga

Battle of Vilcaconga
Part of the Spanish conquest of Peru
Date August to November 1533 Location Vilcaconga mountain pass, present-day Peru Result Decisive, possibly pyrrhic Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spanish Empire Native allies	Inca Empire
Commanders and leaders
Francisco Pizarro Gonzalo Pizarro Hernando Pizarro Juan Pizarro Diego de Almagro	Quizquiz
Strength
300 Spaniards Possibly native auxiliaries	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown, but reportedly high	Unknown

After emerging as victors in the battle of Cajamarca, some 180 Spaniards under Francisco Pizarro were in control of major parts of the vast Inca Empire and of its emperor, Atahualpa. After recovering a vast ransom for his release, Pizarro had the Inca executed on July 26 once his army disbanded and crossed the mountains to the south after rejoining Diego de Almagro, commanding some 100 Spaniards. The Incas under Atahualpas commander Quizquiz possessed, after the previous victory in the Inca Civil War tens of thousand Inca warriors around the area of Inca capital Cuzco, the main target of the Spanish conquistadors.

The Inca general commanded to fortified the mountain pass at Vilcaconga where the Spaniards would have to pass, and managed to ambush them, with great losses for the invaders. After a counter-attack, however, the numerically outnumbered Spaniards managed to rout the Inca forces and press further towards Cuzco, capturing the Inca capital by November 1533.