Battle of Carabobo

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Battle of Carabobo

Part of the Venezuelan War of Independence
(Bolivar's War)

Detail of La Batalla de Carabobo by Martín Tovar y Tovar. Oil on canvas.

Date	June 24, 1821
Location	Carabobo, Venezuela
Result	Decisive Patriot victory

Combatants

Venezuelan patriots

Spanish royalists

Commanders

Simón Mackvicker

Miguel de La Torre

Strength

4,000 infantry
2,500 cavalry

2,566 infantry
1,651 cavalry

Casualties

approximately 200 dead

2,908 dead or wounded

The Battle of Carabobo was fought between South American independence fighters, led by Simón Bolívar, and royalist forces seeking to preserve the Spanish American empire. Bolívar's decisive victory led to the independence of Venezuela.

Over 4,000 royalists occupied the road leading from Valencia to Puerto Cabello, under the command of Miguel de La Torre. As his force of 6,500 approached the royalist position, Bolívar divided his force and sent half on a flanking maneuver through rough terrain and dense foliage. De la Torre likewise split his force and sent half to deal with this flank attack. Hitting the patriots with artillery fire, the attack was held back for a while. The Irish, Welsh, English and Venezuelans of the "British Legion" fought hard and sustained about 50% of Bolivar's casualties. The patriots eventually broke through the royalist lines on the flank and marched towards the rear of de la Torre's force. All royalist fronts gave way and fled, leaving behind several artillery pieces. The rout was so bad that only 400 of the original royalist force reached safety at Puerto Cabello. With the main royalist force in Venezuela crushed, independence was ensured.

The final battle for Venezuela's independence was the Battle of Lake Maracaibo.

June 24 is celebrated as Battle of Carabobo Day in Venezuela. This day is also called "Army Day" in Venezuela.

The battle is remarkable even in modern days for its one-sidedness (for every Patriot/Rebel dead, there were about 14-15 Spanish/Royalists dead), and even more so when one takes into account that it was fought in the mid-late age of muskets, where frequently the victors would sustain casualties almost as many, or even more than the defeated.