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{{Short description|Battle fought in the Argentine War of Independence}}{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Vilcapugio
| partof            = [[Bolivian War of Independence]]<br/>[[Argentine War of Independence]]
| image             = Plano Vilcapugio.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = Old map of the battle
| date              = 1 October 1813
| place             = [[Bolivia]]
| coordinates       = {{coord|19|2|19|S|66|33|31|W|type:event_region:BO|display=inline,title}}
| result            = Spanish victory
| map_type          = Bolivia#South America#America
| map_size          = 300px
| map_caption       = 
| map_label         = 
| territory         = 
| combatant1        = {{flagicon|Argentina|alt}} [[United Provinces of South America|Provinces of Río de la Plata]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of Bolivia (state, 1825-1826).svg}}[[Republiqueta]]s
| combatant2        = {{flagicon|Spain|1785}} [[Spanish Empire]]<br>{{flagicon|Spain|1785}} [[Viceroyalty of Peru]]
| commander1        = {{flagicon|Argentina|alt}} [[Manuel Belgrano]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Spain|1785}} [[Joaquín de la Pezuela]]
| strength1         = 3,400 soldiers<br>14 cannon
| strength2         = 3,500 soldiers<br>12 cannon
| casualties1       = 350 dead
| casualties2       = 200 dead
}}
{{Campaignbox Upper Peru Campaigns 1810–1817}}
The '''Battle of Vilcapugio''' ({{langx|qu|Sacred Well}})<ref>[[Vicente Fidel Lopez|López, Vicente Fidel]] (1881).''La revolucion argentina: su origen, sus guerras, y su desarrollo político hasta 1830, Volume 1''. Imprenta y librería de Mayo, de C. Casavalle, p. 21 {{in lang|es}}</ref> was a major battle fought on October 1, 1813, during the second Campaign of [[Upper Peru]] in the [[Argentine War of Independence]], where the [[United Provinces of the Río de la Plata|United Provinces]] forces led by General [[Manuel Belgrano]] were defeated by a royalist army, led by [[Joaquin de la Pezuela]].

==Second Upper Peru campaign==
After the [[Army of the North|Army of the North's]] victories during the Battles of [[Battle of Tucumán|Tucumán]] and [[Battle of Salta|Salta]], the campaign against the royalists in Upper Peru was restarted upon the insistence of the government in [[Buenos Aires]].  Despite being ill with [[malaria]] and having to command a company of new conscripts with insufficient artillery, Belgrano accepted the commanding post.

Belgrano's army was supported from [[Oruro Department|Oruro]] province 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 raise the aboriginal populations against the Spanish authorities. Knowing that the royalist 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's lack of mobility would be a decisive factor.

==The battle==
At the end of September 1813, most of Belgrano's army arrived to the plain of Vilcapugio, a plateau surrounded by high mountains several miles north of [[Potosí]]. The royalist troops were encamped further west at Condo-Condo under the orders of Pazuela and Major Saturnino Castro, which allowed them to take by surprise and utterly defeat Cárdenas' native troops at Ancacato, 23&nbsp;km north of Belgrano's headquarters. Castro also obtained documents from Cárdenas giving instructions to Belgrano. With these documents Pezuela was able to interrupt Belgrano's plans and began his advance on the mountains on 1 October, long before Zelaya's cavalry from Cochabamba could join the United Provinces army at Vilcapugio. Belgrano's army veterans from the North contained the left flank and center column of the royalist army and forced them to back down to the point that Pezuela had in mind, by a moment, to send a message to the Viceroy of Peru intimating that the battle had been lost. His own left flank, however, remained in action and defeated Belgrano's right column. Had the Northern army continued to persist in pursuing the Spanish troops, victory would have been secured, but the arrival of the royalist cavalry commanded by Saturnino Castro made the rebels panic, causing them to disperse.<ref>''El brigadier Pezuela y su segundo, Ramírez, acudieron velozmente a contener la dispersión y reparar tamaño desorden; pero como la reserva había huído también sin disparar un solo tiro, todos sus esfuerzos habrían sido estériles si la Divina Providencia no protege a las armas de España guiando a Castro al combate en tan crítico momento.'' García Camba, Andrés (1846). ''Memorias para la Historia de las armas españolas en el Perú.'' Sociedad tipográfica de Hortelano y compañia, V. II, page 105. {{in lang|es}}</ref> The royalist army reorganized itself and captured all of its artillery, continuously shelling the few soldiers left in Belgrano's encampment. As result of the battle, 350 rebels and some 200 royalists were killed.

==Aftermath==
Belgrano and [[Eustaquio Díaz Vélez]] had decided that Vélez would march to the south to Potosí to reunite with the dispersed troops, while Belgrano would gathered the remains of his army near the town of [[Santiago de Macha|Macha]], some 65&nbsp;km to the east.

Díaz Vélez 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 reorganized themselves to pursue the Campaign of Upper Peru according to the orders from the government of Buenos Aires.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== See also ==
* [[Battle of Pequereque]]
* [[Action of Tambo Nuevo]]
* [[Battle of Ayohuma]]

{{Argentine War of Independence}}
{{Manuel Belgrano}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilcapugio, Battle of}}
[[Category:1813 in Bolivia]]
[[Category:Battles involving Bolivia]]
[[Category:Battles of the Argentine War of Independence]]
[[Category:Battles of the Bolivian War of Independence]]
[[Category:Battles of the Spanish American wars of independence]]
[[Category:Battles in 1813]]
[[Category:October 1813]]
[[Category:History of Oruro Department]]