Imperial Wars 1815–1914

By Amber Books Ltd

Although the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, the world entered a new era of conflict as the newly-industrialised European powers sought to contain the expansion of their neighbours on battlefields that spanned the globe, while the United States laid the groundwork for its future superpower status. The Wars of Empire and Revolt 1815–1914 volume in the Encyclopedia of Warfare Series describes the wars and battles that took place during the height of European imperialism. A chronological guide to conflict on every continent in the century after the fall of Napoleon, the book covers from the South American Wars of Independence to the American Civil War up to the Zulu Wars, the Boxer Rebellion in China and the Mexican Revolution. This volume tells the story of a turbulent century of empire, revolution and civil war. Featuring full colour maps illustrating the formations and strategies used, plus narrative descriptions of the circumstances behind each battle, this is a comprehensive guide to the conflicts of the world. The Encyclopedia of Warfare Series is an authoritative compendium of almost five millennia of conflict, from the ancient world to the Arab Spring. Written in a style accessible to both the student and the general enthusiast, it reflects the latest thinking among military historians and will prove to be an indispensible reference guide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amber Books Ltd
• Release date: Sep 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781782741251

Book preview

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

WARFARE

IMPERIAL WARS

1815–1914

This digital edition first published in 2013

Published by

Amber Books Ltd

74–77 White Lion Street

London N1 9PF

United Kingdom

Website: www.amberbooks.co.uk

Appstore: itunes.com/apps/amberbooksltd

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Twitter: @amberbooks

Publishing Manager: Charles Catton

Project Editors: Sarah Uttridge and Michael Spilling

Design Manager: Mark Batley

Design: Colin Hawes, Andrew Easton and Rick Fawcett

Cartographer: Alexander Swanston at Red Lion Media

Consulting Editors: Marcus Cowper and Chris McNab

Proofreader: Alison Worthington and David Worthington

Indexers: Malcolm Henley, Michael Forder and Penny Brown

With thanks to Patrick Mulrey, Ben Way and Martin Dougherty for their assistance

Copyright © 2013 Amber Books Ltd

ISBN: 978-1-78274-125-1

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

www.amberbooks.co.uk

Titles available in the Encyclopedia of Warfare series:

Ancient Wars

c.2500BCE–500CE

Medieval Wars

500–1500

Early Modern Wars

1500–1775

Revolutionary Wars

1775–c.1815

Imperial Wars

1815–1914

World Wars

1914–1945

Modern Wars

1945–Present

CONTENTS

SECOND BARBARY WAR 1815–16

SOUTH AMERICAN WARS 1815–30

Argentine-Brazil (Cisplatine) War 1827–28

Gran Colombia Peru War 1828–29

ZULU WAR 1817–19

GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1821–30

SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1820–23

ITALIAN WARS OF INDEPENDENCE 1848–70

OTTOMAN–TURKISH WARS 1828–78

Russo-Turkish War 1828–29

Egyptian Revolt against Turkey 1832–40

Russo-Turkish War 1877–78

Ottoman–Montenegrin War 1876–78

ANGLO-BURMESE WARS 1824–1905

NATIVE AMERICAN WARS, 1817–90

Arikara War 1823

Winnebago War 1827

Black Hawk War 1832

Creek War 1836

Comanche War 1820–1875

Wakara War 1851–53

The Jicarilla War, 1854–55

Puget Sound War 1855–56

Yakima War 1855–58

Spokane-Coeur d’Alene-Paloos War 1858

Mendocino War 1859

Other Wars 1859–1861

Dakota War/Minnesota Sioux Uprising 1862

Arizona/New Mexico Apache War 1862–65

Snake River War 1864–6839

Powder River War 1866–68

Black Hills War 1876–77

Nez Perce War 1877

Other Indian Wars 1878–82

Northwest Rebellion 1885

SOUTH-EAST ASIAN WARS 1825–1900

PORTUGUESE CIVIL WAR 1828–34

CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICAN WARS 1830–1905

THE NOVEMBER UPRISING/POLISH REVOLT 1830–31

FRENCH CONQUEST OF ALGERIA 1830–45

BELGIAN REVOLUTION 1830–31

FIRST CARLIST WAR 1834–39

TEXAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE/TEXAS-MEXICAN WARS 1835–43

LOWER CANADA REBELLION 1837–38

UPPER CANADA REBELLION 1837–38

FRENCH INTERVENTION IN MEXICO 1838

THE GREAT TREK 1838

FIRST OPIUM WAR 1839–42

FIRST ANGLO-AFGHAN WAR 1839–42

SECOND ANGLO-AFGHAN WAR 1878–80

ANGLO-MARRI WARS 1840, 1880 & 1917

INDIAN–BRITISH WARS 1843–49

WARS IN NEW ZEALAND, 1843–98

DOMINICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 1844–49

US-MEXICAN WAR, 1846–48

HUNGARIAN REVOLT, 1848–49

MINOR COLONIAL WARS IN AFRICA, 1848–68

FIRST SCHLESWIG WAR, 1848–51

TAIPING REBELLION, 1850–64

CRIMEAN WAR 1853–56

SECOND OPIUM WAR, 1856–60

ANGLO-PERSIAN WAR, 1856–57

THE BRITISH IN INDIA, 1855–95

The Indian Mutiny, 1857–59

Umbeyla Campaign, 1863–64

Bhutan War, 1864–65

Chitral Expedition, March–April 1895

MEXICAN WARS, 1857–67

SPANISH–MOROCCAN WAR, 1859–60

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR 1861–65

JANUARY UPRISING (POLAND), 1863

SECOND SCHLESWIG WAR, 1864

CHINCHA ISLANDS WAR, 1864–66

THE SEVEN WEEKS’ WAR, 1866

ETHIOPIAN (ABYSSINIAN) WARS, 1867–72

CUBAN WARS OF INDEPENDENCE 1868–75

FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR, 1870–71

US EXPEDITION TO KOREA, 1871

EGYPTIAN AND SUDANESE WARS, 1875–1900

Gordon Relief Expedition (Nile Expedition), 1884–85

ZULU–BRITISH WAR, 1879

WAR IN THE PACIFIC, 1879–1883

SOUTH AFRICAN WARS, 1880–1902

First Boer War 1880–1881

Second Boer War 1889–1902

SINO-FRENCH WAR, 1883–85

COLONIAL SERBO-BULGARIAN WAR, 1885

COLONIAL WARS, 1890–1911

SINO-JAPANESE WAR, 1894–1895

JAPANESE INVASION OF TAIWAN, 1895

GRECO-TURKISH WAR, 1897

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, 1898

PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR, 1899–1902

BOXER REBELLION, 1899–1901

RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR, 1904–05

MORO REBELLION, 1906

ALBANIAN REVOLT, 1911

ITALO-TURKISH WAR, 1911–12

BALKAN WARS, 1912–13

MEXICAN REVOLUTION, 1912–181

MISCELLANEOUS WARS AND BATTLES, 1783–1913

AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS

HOW TO USE THE MAPS

KEY TO THE MAP SYMBOLS

BATTLES AND SIEGES INDEX

GENERAL INDEX

MAPS

Algiers, 1816

Sipe Sipe, 1815

Pernambucan Revolt, 1817

Campaigns of Simon Bolívar

Valdivia, 1820

Ayacucho, 1824

Post Colonial America, 1830

Juncal, 1827

Navarino, 1827

Italian Independence

Solferino, 1859

Lissa, 1866

Russo–Turkish War, 1877–78

Plevna, 1877

Burma

Blackhawk Wars, 1832

Great Raid, 1840

Sioux Wars, 1854–91

Indian Wars, 1860 – 90

Washita River, 1868

Modoc War, 1872–73

Little Bighorn, 1876

Rosebud River, 1876

Nez Pearce War, 1877

White River, 1879

Wounded Knee, 1890

North-West Rebellion, 1885

Cochinchina Campaign – Territory Conquered, 1858–62

Shimonoseki Straits, 1863

Boshin War, 1868–69

Texan Wars, 1835–43

Alamo, 1836

San Jacinto, 1836

Lower Canadian Rebellion, 1837

Blood River, 1838

Ghazni, 1839

Kabul, 1842

Maiwand, 1880

Kandahar, 1880

Ferozeshah, 1845

Gujerat, 1849

New Zealand Wars, 1843–72

Palo Alto, 1846

Buena Vista, 1847

US–Mexican War, 1846–48

Alma River, 1854

Sebestopol, 1854–55

Balaclava, Charge of the Light Brigade, 1854

Taku Fort, 1858

Delhi, 1857

British Conquest of India

Cawnpore, 1857

Fort Sumter, 1861

Ball’s Bluff, 1861

Wilson’s Creek, 1861

Hampton Roads, 1862

Campaigns of 1861–62

Shiloh, 1862

New Orleans, 1862

Gaines’ Mill, 1862

Second Bull Run, 1862

Antietam, 1862

Fredericksburg, 1862

Chancellorville, 1863

Gettysburg (Third Day), 3 July 1863

Pleasant Hill, 1864

Spotsylvania, 1864

Sherman’s March, 1864–65

Lynchburg, 1864

Kennesaw Mountain, 1864

Mobile Bay, 1864

The Occupied South, 1861–65

Cedar Creek, 1864

Franklin, 1864

Sadowa, 1866

Adowa, 1896

Franco–Prussian War, 1870–71

Sedan, 1870

Paris, 1870–71

Bombardment of Alexandria, 1882

Tel el Kebir, 1882

Khartoum, 1884

Omdurman, 1898

Isandhlwana, 1879

Rorke’s Drift, 1879

Majuba Hill, 1881

Elandslaagte, 1899

Colenso, 1899

Spion Kop, 1900

Leliefontein, 1900

Sino-French War

Fuzhou, 1884

Fashoda Incident, 1898–99

Yalu River, 1894

Port Arthur, 1894

Sino–Japanese War, 1894–95

Manila Bay, 1898

Las Guásimas, 1898

Spanish–American War, 1898

San Juan, 1898

Relief of Peking, 1900

Russo-Japanese War, 1904–05

Yellow Sea, 1904

Ulsan, 1904

Liaoyang, 1904

Mukden, 1905

Tsushima, 1905

Beirut, 1912

The Balkans, 1913

Sarantaporo, 1912

Kumanovo, 1912

Kresna Gorge, 1913

Carrizal, 1916

Wexford Rebellion, 1798

German Coast Uprising, 1911

Peterloo Massacre, 1819

Toledo War, 1835

Sonderbund War, 1847

Eureka Stockade, 1854

Pig War, 1859

Lincoln County, 1878

Johnson County War, 1892

Agadir Crisis, 1911

FOREWORD TO THE SERIES

by Dennis Showalter

The Encyclopedia of Warfare offers five characteristics justifying its possession. First, it is chronological. Its entries reflect a fundamental characteristic of history. History is linear. It starts somewhere in time. It goes somewhere in time. Its events interact in a temporal context. And the encyclopedia’s chronological perspective enables making connections that otherwise might remain obscure. It contextualizes, for example, the 1147 siege of Lisbon with the Crusader-Turkish wars of the same period – and in the process demonstrating the comprehensive aspect of Christian–Muslim rivalry. Lisbon was far from Jerusalem only in terms of miles.

The encyclopedia is also comprehensive. It eschews a Western-centric perspective that too often sacrifices understanding for familiarity. The chronological chapters are subdivided by time and place. Thus they integrate the ancient wars of China and of South and South-East Asia, the battles of early Rome and those of Ireland in the twenty-fifth century BCE (a single entry, to be sure, but meriting consideration!) Cross-referencing cannot be easier. And that cross referencing enables not merely juxtaposition, but comparison on a global scale of war’s methods and war’s consequences.

The encyclopedia is concise. Its entries honour a time-tested formula. They address ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, and thereby offer frameworks for further investigation of taproots and ramifications. But that does not mean a ‘one size fits all’ template. Events recognized as important – Hattin, Gettysburg, the Somme – are more fully developed without distorting the essentially economical format. Nor are the entries mere narratives. They incorporate analytical dimensions relative to their length and insightful whether phrases, sentences or paragraphs – like the comment that Crusader Jerusalem’s 1187 surrender to Saladin involved ransoming most of the population ‘at reasonable rates’!

The encyclopedia is user-friendly and clearly written. Not only are its more than five thousand entries individually intelligible. The graphics synergise with the text, enhancing rather than challenging or submerging it. The maps in particular are models of their kind, both accurate and informative.

Finally the encyclopedia is concentrated on warmaking. It eschews military history’s framing concepts, whether economic, cultural or gender, in favour of presenting war at its sharp end. That enables covering the full spectrum: wars and revolutions, campaigns and counter-insurgencies, battle and sieges. And in turn the encyclopedia’s format facilitates integrating, rather than compartmentalising, war’s levels and war’s aspects. In these pages Marathon and Hastings, the rise of the Roman Empire and the British Empire, become subjects for comparison and contrast.

The Encyclopedia of Warfare, in short, admirably fulfills the definition of a work that provides information on many elements of one subject. Its value, however, is also in context. This work makes broader contributions to military history’s reference apparatus, and to its reference mentality, on two levels. The encyclopedia complements the electronic era’s meme of ‘six degrees of separation’. The idea that everything is no more than six steps away from everything else is a natural byproduct of websurfing, where a half-dozen mouse clicks can lead far away indeed from the original reference point. It also encourages diffusion: engagement on peripheries at the expense of the centre.

The Encyclopedia of Warfare encourages and facilitates refocusing on war’s essential elements: the planning, conduct and result of using armed force. Diffusion is a natural aspect of the currently dominant approach to military history as an academic discipline. The concept of pivotal events has been overshadowed by an emphasis on underlying structures: reaching out from the operational towards the institutional, the political and the social dimensions. War’s sharp end at best jostles for place. It can lose out to an intellectual disdain that is also aesthetic and moral. Warfare, in the sense of making war, is arguably to the twenty-first century what sex allegedly was to the Victorians. It involves emotions nice people do not feel and actions nice people do not perform. Writing about it becomes the new pornography, pandering to appetites best left neither nurtured nor acknowledged.

The encyclopedia contributes balance and perspective to this discourse. Its contents reinforce the specific, unique nature and function of armed forces compared to any other institutions. Its entries demonstrate that warmaking has had a direct, significant impact on human affairs; that combat has fundamentally altered history’s course in both short and long terms. To understand this is to understand the world in which we live. And The Encyclopedia of Warfare enables that understanding in an impressive fashion.

DENNIS SHOWALTER

June 2013

Wars of Empire and Revolt 1815–1914

Although the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, the world entered a new era of conflict. Developments in weapons technology meant that by the beginning of World War I in 1914, the potential for armies to unleash mass destruction was greater than ever.

Second Barbary War 1815–16

■ACTION OF 17 JUNE, 1815

With the War of 1812 concluded, the United States’ powerful and proven navy took the opportunity to deal with resurgent Muslim piracy in the Mediterranean, Congress declaring war against the Bey of Algiers in 1815. Commodore Stephen Decatur’s squadron of nine ships arrived before the news and USS Guerriere combined with Constellation upon this day to maul and capture frigate Meshuda, killing the pasha of the Algerian Navy.

■ALGIERS, 27 AUGUST 1816

The United States made an example of the Barbary pirates for preying upon American shipping in the Mediterranean. Armed with nine ships and a declaration of war, Commodore Stephen Decatur had the orders and capability to sweep every Algerian ship from the sea. The bey renounced piracy against American shipping in a treaty that was signed on 24 September 1816, on the deck of Decatur’s flagship. 1,083 Christian slaves and the British Consul were freed.

South American Wars 1815–30

■SANTA MARIA, 1815

General Simón Bolívar’s liberation of Venezuela received a check here, when a powerful Spanish force – sent out from Europe under Viceroy Pablo Morillo after Napoleon’s surrender – defeated the Venezuelans soundly, forcing Bolivar’s temporary exile to Jamaica.

■SIPE-SIPE, 28 NOVEMBER 1815

José Rondeau’s United Provinces Army of 3500 men was defeated at Sipe-Sipe (in modern Bolivia) by a 5100-strong royalist army under Joaquín de la Pezuela. The royalists inflicted 2000 casualties for the loss of 230 men.

■CROSSING THE ANDES, 19 JAN–13 FEB 1817

The rebel Army of the Andes, totalling 4000 Argentine and Chilean troops and 1200 auxiliaries under José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins, made an epic 500km march across the Andes from Argentina to Chile.

■CHACABUCO, 12 FEBRUARY 1817

The Army of the Andes under José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins defeated Rafael Maroto’s 1500 royalists at Chacabuco near Santiago. The rebels inflicted 1100 casualties for the loss of 100 men.

■PERNAMBUCAN REVOLT, 1817

The Portuguese province of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil had prospered during the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain, and opened markets for its cotton in Europe. However, as the Portuguese reestablished control after 1815, they once again began to impose restrictions on Brazilian commerce. Tensions grew between Brazilians and Portuguese in Pernambuco, gradually developing into a full-scale movement to establish an independent republic in the region. The rebels formed a provisional government, which sought arms and diplomatic support from Argentina, Britain and the United States. Failing to get international help, the rebels sought support from Bahia and Ceará, but the governors of these regions remained loyal to the Portuguese crown. The Pernambucan rebels abolished titles of nobility, class privileges and some taxes. Although insurgents from Paraíba and Alagoas joined those from Pernambuco, royalist forces quickly suppressed the rebellion.

■SECOND BATTLE OF CANCHA RAYADA, 16 MARCH 1818

Don Mariano Osorio’s 5000-strong royalist army decisively defeated the 7000 men of the rebel Army of the Andes under José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins at Cancha Rayada near Talca in central Chile.

■LA PUERTA, 16 MARCH 1818

Simón Bolívar’s rebel army pursued the royalist forces of Pablo Morillo into Guarico and they met at El Semen, near La Puerta. Bolivar was routed in a bloody action with the loss of 1200 men.

■MAIPÚ, 5 APRIL 1818

The 5000-strong rebel Army of the Andes commanded by José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins attacked Don Mariano Osorio’s royalist forces, also totalling roughly 5000 men, on the Maipú plains, near Santiago. The rebels won a decisive victory, inflicting 3000 casualties for the loss of 1000 men. The victory ended Spanish control of Chile and allowed Chilean and Argentine rebels to liberate much of Peru from Spanish rule.

■LAS QUESERAS DEL MEDIO, 2 APRIL 1819

The cavalry vanguard of Simón Bolívar’s rebel army comprising 153 men under José Antonio Páez, defeated the 1200 cavalry of Pablo Morillo’s royalist army. The rebels inflicted 400 casualties for the loss of eight men.

■BOYACÁ, 7 AUGUST 1819

Gen Simón Bolívar advanced with his rebel army of almost 3500 men on Bogotá, the capital of Gran Granada (modern Colombia). Anticipating this move, General José María Barreiro’s 3000-strong royalist force marched to intercept the rebel forces.

Bolívar caught Barreiro’s men as they were crossing the bridge at Boyacá (el Puente de Boyacá). Sending two-thirds of his men forward under Brigadiers Francisco de Paula Santander and José Antonio Anzoátegui, the Colombian, Venezuelan and British Legion troops successfully routed each half of Barreiro’s army in turn. The infantry attacks were supported by effective cavalry charges against the Spanish rearguard, which completed the royalists’ defeat.

Bolívar’s forces only suffered 66 casualties, while the royalists lost 250 dead and wounded, plus 1600 prisoners including Barreiro and his second-in-command, Francisco Jiménez. Barreiro and 38 other royalist officers were later executed.

■PÍLEO, 7 DECEMBER 1819

A foraging detachment of 50 Chilean cavalry under Capt Pedro Kurski was trapped and virtually wiped out by a 200-strong band of Vicente Benavides’ royalist guerillas at Píleo, on the south bank of the Biobío river.

■VALDIVIA, 3–4 FEBRUARY 1820

Lord Cochrane, a former British naval officer who had commanded the Chilean Navy since 1818, led a 350-strong landing party that surprised and captured the heavily defended royalist port of Valdivia in southern Chile.

■AGÜI, 18 FEBRUARY 1820

Lord Cochrane’s squadron landed a 60-strong detachment of Chilean marines under William Miller in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Fort Agüi on the Chiloé archipelago, which was held by a royalist garrison under Antonio de Quintanilla.

■EL TORO, 6 MARCH 1820

Jorge Beauchef, the Chilean governor of Valvidia, led a 140-strong detachment south against the remaining royalist forces. The Chileans defeated 300 royalists at the Hacienda El Toro, inflicting almost 150 casualties for the loss of 40 men.

■TARPELLANCA, 26 SEPTEMBER 1820

Acting on forged orders, Pedro Andrés del Alcázar’s 600-strong Chilean garrison of Los Angeles evacuated the town and was defeated by 2400 royalist guerillas under Vicente Benavides at the Tarpellanca ford on the Laja river.

■CARABOBO, 24 JUNE 1821

Gen Simón Bolívar’s 7500-strong rebel army (including roughly 1000 British Legion veterans of the Napoleonic Wars) attacked a royalist army of 5000 men under Miguel de la Torre that blocked the road to Puerto Cabello (in modern Venezuela). Bolívar attempted an outflanking manoeuvre across rough terrain that was initially beaten off. A further attack by the British Legion routed the royalist forces, inflicting 2900 casualties for the loss of 200 men.

■PICHINCHA, 24 MAY 1822

Antonio José de Sucre’s 3000-strong rebel army defeated 1900 royalists under Melchior Aymerich on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, near Quito (in modern Ecuador). The rebels destroyed the royalist army for the loss of 340 men.

■ACTION OF 4 MAY 1823

Expatriate British admiral Thomas Cochrane’s services and long experience against Napoleon proved useful to more than one coastal South American country during the series of revolts that left Spain and Portugal at the end reft of their empires in the southern hemisphere. After service with Chile and Peru, Cochrane accepted an appointment as First Admiral of the Brazilian Navy in March 1823. Cochrane immediately experienced great difficulties with sub-standard ordnance and ammunition. A bigger obstacle was the insubordination of South American officers, who, during a revolt against Europe, became disgruntled with serving under a European and resentful of Cochrane’s sudden superior rank. Cochrane faced a powerful Portuguese squadron comprising ships mounting 75, 50 and 44 cannon, with five smaller frigates and six lesser vessels. This flotilla took possession of Bahia on the Brazilian coast as the restored Portuguese government sought to reassert its control in Brazil. Cochrane’s untried squadron of seven ships consisted of vessels mounting 74, 32 and fewer guns. Cochrane found his move to blockade Bahia countered by a sortie of the entire Portuguese squadron, which sailed forth to meet him in line. Nonetheless, in the largest vessel, the Pedro Primiero, Cochrane sailed Nelson-style through the approaching Portuguese, signalling to the rest of his squadron to support him in isolating and destroying the four vessels at the end of the enemy line. Instead, Cochrane found himself battling the entire enemy squadron when his subordinate commanders ignored his orders to engage. Defective munitions and unskilled gunners frustrated Cochrane’s attempt to damage the nearest Portuguese, while the Portuguese serving in the magazines denied powder to the guns. Cochrane withdrew and launched a reformation of the Brazilian Navy into a capable fighting force.

■LAKE MARACAIBO, 24 JULY 1823

Adm José Prudencio Padilla defeated a royalist squadron under Capt Ángel Laborde on this Venezuelan lake, the rebel forces and royalists exerting considerable effort in what proved to be the last battle of Venezuela’s liberation.

■JUNIN, 6 AUGUST 1824

Generals Simón Bolívar’s and José Canterac’s royalist cavalry employed lance and sabre in this battle in Argentina. Bolívar’s hussars saved the day as Canterac’s lancers drove the patriots back by attacking from the royalists’ rear.

■AYACUCHO, 9 DECEMBER 1824

In this, the final, decisive battle for Spain’s control over South America, Spain’s last viceroy, José de La Serna e Hinojosa, led Spain’s last effort to retain control of at least the southernmost portion of the New World in Peru. De La Serna and Antonio José de Sucre (Simon Bolívar’s most talented subordinate) gathered their forces, the rebels securing some advantage by mustering in the Andean highlands and acclimatizing to the very high altitude. The two roughly even armies then manoeuvred against each other among the rivers and around the plateau of Ayacucho, each seeking geographic advantage. Both sides took their time in selecting a proper battlefield. The royalists occupied the proverbial high ground with well-equipped cavalry and artillery, factors that have determined more than one military victory for the side possessing them, while the rebels were the hardened veterans of a long succession of campaigns. Moreover, Sucre had the remnants of Bolívar’s cadre of British and other European mercenaries (some veterans of the Napoleonic Wars) and experienced and well-motivated native officers of his own. A head injury incapacitated De La Serna early in the fighting. When the Spanish general José Canterac’s detached artillery and cavalry forces got ready to make their assault downhill from the heights, Sucre launched a spoiling attack that negated the royalists’ artillery, who were unable to fire into the melee. As the last royalist attack moved to flank Sucre’s line, Gen William Miller, commanding a powerful if scratch reserve of cavalry, launched a charge strong enough to defeat the long-maturing Spanish surprise attack toward the battle’s end. De La Serna recovered and negotiated Spain’s final withdrawal from South America, leaving Sucre with a complete and enduring victory.

Argentine–Brazil (Cisplatine) War 1827–28

■JUNCAL, 8–9 FEBRUARY 1827

This naval battle took place between a squadron of ships from each country on 8–9 February 1827, at the Uruguay river near the Rio de la Plata. The Argentine Navy, under the command of Adm William Brown, was victorious, destroying or capturing 15 of 17 Brazilian ships from the Third Division of their fleet led by Cdr Jacinto Pereira, by using superior tactics and artillery.

■MONTE SANTIAGO, 7–8 APRIL 1827

This naval battle occurred on 7–8 April 1827, between 12 Brazilian ships and four Argentine ones. It resulted in a victory for Brazil and the loss of two Argentine ships that allowed Brazil’s future domination of the Rio de la Plata.

■IRISH–GERMAN SOLDIERS’ REVOLT, 9 JUNE 1828

Revolt on 9 June 1928, by thousands of German and Irish immigrants to Brazil, who were falsely recruited as farmers, then forced into the Brazilian Army. The uprising was finally suppressed with the assistance of French and British marines.

Gran Colombia Peru War 1827–29

■ITUZAINGO, 18 FEBRUARY 1827

A revolt by the Brazil province of Banda Oriental and the Argentine Army led to a battle near the Santa Maria river with Brazilian forces. The several thousand soldiers on each side fought to a stalemate on 18 February 1927.

■TARQUI, 27 FEBRUARY 1829

The battle of Portete de Traqui took place on 27 February 1829, near Cuenca, Ecuador, between armies of about 4000 soldiers from the victorious Gran Colombia alliance of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama against Peru with hundreds of casualties.

■SAN ROQUE, 22 APRIL 1829

A retreating federalist force in a defensive position at San Roque near Cordoba on 22 April 1829, was overrun by a Unitarian cavalry charge that followed an artillery bombardment. The Federalists fled leaving over 100 casualties.

Zulu War 1817–19

■GQOKLI HILL, APRIL 1818

The Ndwandwe tribal army divided by a decoy manoeuvre twice attacked the Shaka-led Zulu Army in a defensive bull horn position on the hill in April 1818, leading to their defeat and loss of several thousand men.

■MHLATUZE RIVER, 1819

While pretending to retreat from Gqokli Hill, the Zulu army attacked the Ndwandwe tribal forces when they crossed the Mhlatuze river in pursuit. The remnants of the Ndwandwe fled in disarray and their leader Zwide was killed shortly after. the attack.

Greek War of Independence, 1821–30

■TRIPOLITSA, APRIL–23 SEPTEMBER 1821

A Greek rebel army of 15,000 men under Theodoros Kolokotronis began the blockade of Tripolitsa in April 1821, but failed to prevent reinforcements reaching the Ottoman garrison, which ultimately totalled 8000 Turkish and 3000 Albanian troops under Kâhya Mustafa Bey. Kolokotronis negotiated the evacuation of the garrison’s Albanian contingent before the city was stormed and the remaining garrison troops were massacred, together with the entire Muslim and Jewish population.

■ALAMANA, 22 APRIL 1821

An 8000-strong Ottoman army commanded by Omer Vrioni defeated a band of 1500 Greek rebels under Ioannis Dyovouniotis, Dimitrios Panourgias and Athanasios Diakos at the Alamana river (Spercheios) near Thermopylae. Diakos was captured and executed.

■GRAVIA INN, 8 MAY 1821

After his victory at Alamana, Omer Vrioni headed south into the Peloponnese with an army of 9000 men. However, 120 rebels under Odysseas Androutsos blocked his advance at the village of Gravia, barricading themselves in a roadside inn. Vrioni ordered a series of frontal attacks on the inn, all of which were repelled before the rebels escaped into the surrounding hills, having inflicted 1100 casualties for the loss of six men.

■VALTETSI, 12 MAY 1821

Following the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in March 1821, the Greek rebels focused their efforts on the capture of the city of Tripolitsa (modern Tripoli) in the central Peloponnese. The veteran Greek warlord Theodoros Kolokotronis was proclaimed as rebel Archistratigos (C-in-C) and began to concentrate his forces around the mountain village of Valtetsi near Tripolitsa. The 2300-strong rebel force was attacked by an Ottoman army of 5000 men under Kehayabey Mustafa. Although parts of the village were overrun, the Greeks held on, aided by the rocky terrain that was virtually impassable by the Ottoman cavalry. Effective flank attacks by a 700-strong force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis in person and a further Greek detachment under Dimitris Plapoutas forced the Ottomans to retreat, which rapidly became a rout. The rebels inflicted 650 casualties for the loss of 150 men.

■DOLIANA, 18 MAY 1821

A 2000-strong Ottoman army that broke out from the besieged city of Tripolitsa (modern Tripoli) in the central Peloponnese was defeated with the loss of 300 men by 200 Greek rebels under Nikitas Stamatelopoulos.

■DRAGASHANI (DRĂGĂŞANI), 19 JUNE 1821

A revolt in the Ottoman province of Wallachia (modern Romania) was exploited by the Greek nationalist secret society ‘Filiki Eteria’ (‘Friendly Society’), who organized a military wing, the ‘Sacred Band’, from volunteers from the Greek communities around the Black Sea. Initially organized as a 500-strong unit, later expanding to 2000 men, it was annihilated by an Ottoman army of 7500 men at the village of Drăgăşani.

■SKULENI (SCULENI), 29 JUNE 1821

Sultan Mahmud II’s 5000-strong Ottoman army defeated a force of 500 Greek rebels under George Cantacuzenus and Giorgakis Olympios at the village of Sculeni in Moldova. Olympios blew himself up in the Secu Monastery rather than surrender.

■VASSILIKA, 25 AUGUST 1821

A force of 800 Greek rebels under Ioannis Gouras ambushed and defeated an Ottoman army of 5000 men commanded by Behrem Pasha at Vassilika near Thermopylae. The Greeks inflicted over 1000 casualties and captured two guns.

■PETA, 4 JULY 1822

A Greek rebel force of 2200 men commanded by Prince Alexandros Mavrokordatos and Markos Botsaris was surprised and decisively defeated by Omer Vrioni’s 7000-strong Ottoman army near the village of Peta in Epirus.

■DERVENAKIA, 26–28 JULY 1822

Mahmud Dramali Pasha’s 30,000-strong army of Ottomans was defeated by a Greek force of 10,000 irregulars under Theodoros Kolokotronis, Demetrios Ypsilantis, Papaflessas and Nikitas Stamatelopoulos. The Ottoman army sustained 20,000 casualties during the battle and was effectively destroyed.

■KARPENISI, 8 AUGUST 1823

Markos Botsaris’ band of 450 Greek rebels made a night attack on an Ottoman Army of 13,000 men encamped near Karpenisi. The Greeks inflicted 1000 casualties almost without loss, but retreated when Botsaris was killed.

■KASOS MASSACRE, 7 JUNE 1824

The Pasha of Egypt, Mehmet Ali, invaded Kasos in retaliation for the islanders’ raids on Egyptian shipping. After overcoming the defenders in two days of fighting, Egyptian landing parties massacred an estimated 7000 inhabitants.

■SAMOS, 17 AUGUST 1824

A Greek squadron of 16 warships under Adm Georgios Sachtouris intercepted Koca Mehmed Husrev Pasha’s Ottoman fleet of 22 vessels. An attack by Greek fireships sank three of the Ottoman vessels and the rest withdrew.

■GERONTAS, 29 AUGUST 1824

An Ottoman fleet of 40 warships under Koca Mehmed Husrev Pasha approached the rebel-held island of Samos in July, but were forced to retreat by a Greek squadron of 21 vessels. Both sides were steadily reinforced until, by late August, Adm Andreas Miaoulis’ Greek fleet of 70