Qualla: Battle of Viluma https://qualla.com/battle-of-viluma en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:08 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/6/s/b/u/battle-of-viluma-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Viluma https://qualla.com/battle-of-viluma Battle of Viluma: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-viluma/ Photo credit Daniel Pedrazzoli - Regimientos de America, CC BY 3.0. The commander who led the Army of the North into Upper Peru in 1815 was not supposed to be in charge. Jose Rondeau held his position through mutiny — his officers had refused to accept the replacement sent by Buenos Aires, and Rondeau, rather than insist on lawful succession, accepted their defiance and marched on. It was a pattern that would define the entire campaign: a sequence of insubordination, improvisation, and ultimately catastrophe. On November 29, 1815, on the plateau of Sipe-Sipe west of Cochabamba, Rondeau's undermanned and outgunned force collided with Brigadier Joaquin de la Pezuela's royalist army. The result was the worst defeat the independence movements had suffered since the Battle of Huaqui four years earlier, and it ended Buenos Aires's ambitions in Upper Peru for good.

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Image: Daniel Pedrazzoli - Regimientos de America | CC BY 3.0

]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/s/b/u/battle-of-viluma-wp/6sbu-battle-of-viluma-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Viluma: A Command Built on Defiance https://qualla.com/battle-of-viluma/ Photo credit Daniel Pedrazzoli - Regimientos de America, CC BY 3.0. The Army of the North had already seen better days and better commanders. Jose de San Martin, who would later become the liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Peru, had led the force before health problems forced him to step down. His replacement, Rondeau, inherited a difficult situ...

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Image: Daniel Pedrazzoli - Regimientos de America | CC BY 3.0

]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/s/b/u/battle-of-viluma-wp/6sbu-battle-of-viluma-a-command-built-on-defiance.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Viluma: The Long March to Sipe-Sipe https://qualla.com/battle-of-viluma/ Photo credit Daniel Pedrazzoli - Regimientos de America, CC BY 3.0. Despite these problems, the campaign began with promise. In April 1815, Rondeau won a skirmish at Puesto del Marquez, near the modern border between Bolivia and Argentina. His army pressed north, reaching Potosi by June and Chayanta by September. But an attempt to overrun a small...

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]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/s/b/u/battle-of-viluma-wp/6sbu-battle-of-viluma-the-long-march-to-sipe-sipe.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Viluma: Catastrophe on the Plateau https://qualla.com/battle-of-viluma/ Photo credit Daniel Pedrazzoli - Regimientos de America, CC BY 3.0. The battle on November 29, 1815, was devastating. Pezuela's larger force, with more than double the artillery, overwhelmed Rondeau's positions. The independence army lost an estimated 1,000 men — killed, wounded, or captured — along with every piece of artillery they had brought ...

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]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/s/b/u/battle-of-viluma-wp/6sbu-battle-of-viluma-catastrophe-on-the-plateau.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Viluma: Aftermath and the Marquis of Viluma https://qualla.com/battle-of-viluma/ Photo credit Daniel Pedrazzoli - Regimientos de America, CC BY 3.0. The consequences fell unevenly. Rondeau was relieved of command in 1816 and returned to Buenos Aires, though his career in Argentine politics was far from over — he would eventually serve as Supreme Director. Pezuela's reward was grander and more immediate: he was named interim V...

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]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/s/b/u/battle-of-viluma-wp/6sbu-battle-of-viluma-aftermath-and-the-marquis-of-viluma.mp3 0:06 5 full