Battle of Cúcuta
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| Battle of Cúcuta | |||||||
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| Part of Independence of Colombia | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| New Granada, Patriots | Spanish Monarchy, Royalist | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Simón Bolívar Francisco de Paula Santander | Ramón Correa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 400 | 800 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 dead and 14 hurts | 20 dead and 40 hurts | ||||||
The Battle of Cúcuta was a battle fought in the Independence of Colombia on February 28, 1813. It was an important symbolic victory that greatly increased the morale of Bolivar's army and aided them in their fight against the Spanish in Venezuela.
The battle
The battle began at 9:00 a.m. on 28 February 1813, and finished at noon. Four hundred men under the control of Simón Bolivar and eight hundred under the control of the Spanish General Ramon Correa fought. There were two fatalities and fourteen injuries among Bolivar's troops, and twenty fatalities and forty injured among Ramón Correa's troops.
Events
Simón Bolivar launched an offensive against the Spanish forces of the Eastern margin of Magdalena River. Bolivar's campaign ended in victory enabling him to drive Royalist forces from the Valleys of Cúcuta.
On 28 February 1813, the Sunday of Carnival, General Correa attended church, meanwhile at dawn the Bolivar's forces positioned themselves in the western hills that dominate Villa of San Jose de Cúcuta. General Correa learns of this movement and sets out to drive Bolivar's troops from their positions. A force of about 100 infantry of the King tries to dominate the right flank of the army of Bolivar, but a fast change of position lapses the movement. There was heavy fighting throughout the day. The battle lasted four hours before a decision was reached. In the afternoon, Bolivar ordered a bayonet charge, which drive General Correa's men from the field.
The decimated troops decided to withdraw to San Antonio of the Táchira and to the Outcry.
Victorious, Simon Bolivar entered Cúcuta with his soldiers. In the captured headquarters General Correa, the caudillo of Independence declared their victory.
After the conflict
Supporters of independence rejoiced and cooperated openly with Bolivar. Mercedes Reyes, decided in favour of the freedom of its mother country, when having the news of the triumph of Bolivar, hurried to show its complacencies by so indicated victory to him. As habitually it resided in its estate of Urimaco, quickly it is transferred Villa and it offers to colonel Bolivar to embroider a dress coat to him to shine it in its actions single-breasted uniform jackets of Admirable Campaign that will release of the Spanish dominion Venezuela.
According to Bolivar
"After to have arrived at my headquarters from San Cayetano the equipments and rear and one hundred twenty-six men from the Union, to the control of Captains Uscátegui and Ramirez, we passed behind schedule (yesterday (Zulia river)), and to the dawn of this day we started up towards this Capital Villa of Cúcuta, and headquarters of the enemy.
Not yet was the nine in the morning when we were posesionados of the height that dominated the Valley, from where we began to rout the enemy encamped outside Villa, to shot of gun of the top of the mount. Immediately that we appeared, a game of 100 men wanted to take the back us by our right, but in vain because our movements made them stop of their project. Then it varied his attempt and one seized of the heights that were to our left of where it was evacuated violently and well to his coast.
Meanwhile my center, to the control of the colonel Jose Rivas, maintained a horrible fire against the enemy who defended with a blind obstinacy, winning to him handspan to handspan the land and forcing it to take every moment new positions that he maintained with the thickness of his troops and all their artillery and cavalry.
Seeing that our soldiers filled as much of more ardor when the danger was greater, dí order to colonel Rivas and the rest of the troops who took to the assault Villa and the field. Therefore that executed it in spite of the alive fire that throughout rained to us, artillery like of fusilade, advancing step by step; and tired already of 4 hours battle, we entered the bayonet, by habérsenos almost finished the cavalry ammunition.
The enemy surprised at this moment of a terror panic, escaped precipitadamente, leaving to our power seat, artillery, equipments, guns, food and whichever effects belonged to the Spanish government and their accomplices. We have reached the most complete victory, empowering to us of its strong positions and these flowery valleys that they pressed killing to them or hurting a multitude to them of soldiers and officials, including he himself commander Strap, who have gathered it of the battlefield seriously hurt in the head, being by our part the so out of proportion loss that single we must deplore two dead men and 14 wounded, among them the valiant lieutenant of the troops of the Union, citizen Shell. All our soldiers, officials have covered with glory but very particularly colonel Rivas, who sent to all the troops of vanguard and to who the mother country must in this day a great part of his triumph; as also they were indicated the greater Narvárez, the captain Vidal, commander of the rear; the captain Linen Ramirez, commander of the troops of Pamplona; the commander of vanguard, the gallant citizen Pedro Guillen; Ribón assistant; and not to make one long enumeration I will say in a word that all, until the last soldiers, have filled his honorably to have. The enemy never managed to make us back down a single step, despite his advantages in artillery and cavalry and positions within Villa"..