The Battle of Rancagua

The Disaster of Rancagua occurred in October 1814 when the Spanish under Mariano Osorio defeated rebel Chilean forces. Mariano Osorio Mariano Osorio (Sevilla, Spain; 1777 - † Havana, Cuba; 1819) was a Spanish general and Governor of Chile from 1814-1815. ...

On October 1, the insurgents started to battle in Rancagua in an attempt to prevent the expeditionaries from taking Santiago, Chile. Brigadier Osorio's second in command, Rafael Maroto, manifesting a disdain for his opponents typical of officials recently arrived in the Americas, ordered his troops to attack the enemy fortifications without bothering to send in either scouts or guerrillas. The result was that the so-called Talaveras regiment, bombarded by the volley of shots, was forced to retreat with heavy losses. October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The snowcapped Andes are a Santiago landmark Santiago (Spanish: ) is Chiles capital and largest city. ... Rafael Maroto with his niece Margarita Borgoño, painting by Raymond Monvoisin Rafael Maroto Yserns (October 15, 1783 — August 25, 1853) was a Spanish general. ...

On the next day, Bernardo O'Higgins managed to make his way past the royal troops and retreat to the capital, where his opponents entered without resistance a few days later. This led to the harsh reconquista rule of the Spanish. Bernardo OHiggins Riquelme (August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842), South American Independentist leader and first Chilean head of state (Supreme Director, 1817–23), commanded the military forces that won independence from Spain. ...