The Crossing of the Andes ( es, Cruce de los Andes) was one of the most important feats in the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

and Chilean wars of independence, in which a combined army of

soldiers and Chilean exiles invaded

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

crossing the Andes range separating

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

from

, leading to Chile's liberation from Spanish rule. Led by

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and cent ...

, and setting out from Mendoza – then part of the Province of Cuyo,

– in January 1817, the successful crossing of the army took 21 days. Having to manage heights averaging 3,000 mts, the feat has been compared to Hannibal's or Napoleon's crossing of the Alps, and is regarded among the greatest of its kind in universal military history.

Background

The crossing of the Andes was a major step in the strategy devised by

to defeat the

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

forces at their stronghold of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

Viceroyalty of Perú The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...

, and secure the Spanish American independence movements. The idea of crossing was already developed by secret lodges seeking the independence of South America, and was part of the Maitland Plan designed by Thomas Maitland. San Martín learned of it during his brief time in Britain, before sailing to South America. After becoming aware of the difficulty of attacking the royalist stronghold of Lima across Upper Peru, he decided to proceed with such a plan. The Captaincy General of Chile had removed their governor in 1810, and replaced him with the First Government Junta, starting a period of Chilean history known as

Patria Vieja Patria Vieja (, ) refers to a time period in the History of Chile occurring between the First Junta of the Government (September 18, 1810) and the Disaster of Rancagua (October 1, 1814). In this period, Chilean measures were taken for the imp ...

. However, they would be defeated in 1814 during the

battle of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the rebel Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. ...

, and with the Reconquista Chile would become again a royalist stronghold.

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...

and other Chilean leaders had fled to Mendoza during the new royalist government, which led to O'Higgins being part of the Army of the Andes as well as the Argentine soldiers.

Troops and equipment

The city of Mendoza, during this time frame, became a factoring headquarters during the pre-crossing. The citizens of Mendoza assisted their troops by manufacturing gunpowder and ammunition. They also learned to make cannons. The main food of the army was a regional meal called ''valdiviano''. It was prepared with dry meat or ''

charqui Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...

'', sliced raw onion, potatoes and boiling water. They had designated soldiers who carried the food. These soldiers transported forty tons of charqui;

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. T ...

cakes; meat;

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured wit ...

, to counter the nighttime cold; garlic and onion, to deal with the lack of appetite; more than 4,000 cattle for the rest of the campaign; plus cheese and rum."Chacabuco 1817."
Glasgow and District Wargaming Society.

Crossing

On the morning of January 19, 1817, San Martin and his army set out from their base camp ''El Plumerillo'' and began their journey across the Andes Mountain range. San Martin crossed with 4,000 men, only to end up losing 1/3 of them. The number of auxiliaries reached 1,200. For the crossing, San Martin split his army into two divisions: The main division, which traveled through the pass of Los Patos, was led by San Martin, Miguel Estanislao Soler and

. The secondary troop, which traveled through the more southern

Uspallata Uspallata is a village and administrative district in Argentina, in a scenic location on the road that crosses the Andes between Mendoza and Santiago in Chile. It is located west of Mendoza and was once served by the now disused Transandine Rai ...

, was led by Juan Gregorio de Las Heras.

Coming to an end

On February 13, 1817, San Martín, O’Higgins, and their army successfully entered

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

, after crossing 500 kilometers of mountain range, and the journey came to an end. The royalist forces, by this time, had advanced north to avoid San Martín's army, but a royalist leader had stayed behind with 1,500 men to advance at a valley called Chacabuco, which was located near Santiago. Thus, the

Battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, led by Captain–General José de San Martín, defeated a Spanish ...

began.

Legacy

In 2010 the

and Chilean armies recreated the crossing during the commemorations of the 200 years of Revolution.Rememorando el Cruce de los Andes
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Background

Troops and equipment

Crossing

Coming to an end

Legacy

See also

Notes

Further reading