Battle of Pichincha - Battle, 3,500 Meters Above Sea-level

Battle, 3,500 Meters Above Sea-level

Unknown to Sucre, when dawn came, the sentries posted around Quito had indeed caught sight of the Patriot troops marching up the volcano. Aymerich, aware now of the young General's intention to flank him by going up the Pichincha, ordered his army—1,894 men—to ascend the mountain at once, intent on facing Sucre then and there.

Having made contact in the most unlikely of places, both commanders had no choice but to throw their troops piecemeal into the battle. There was little room to manoeuvre on the steep slopes of the Pichincha, amid deep gullies and dense undergrowth. The men from the Paya, recovering from the initial shock, took positions under withering fire, waiting for the Trujillo to come up. A startled Sucre, hoping only that the Spaniards would be even more exhausted than his own troops, began by sending up the Yaguachi Battalion (Ecuadorians). The Colombians of the Alto Magdalena tried to make a flanking move, but to no avail, as the broken terrain made it impossible. Soon, the Paya, Barrezueta and Yaguachi, suffering heavy losses and lacking enough ammunition, began to fall back.

Everything now seemed to depend on the Albión, bringing up the much needed reserve ammunition, but whose exact whereabouts were unknown. As time went by, the Royalists seemed to gain the upper hand. The Trujillo was forced to fall back, while the Piura Battalion (Peruvians), fled before making contact with the enemy. In desperation, the part of the Paya held in reserve was ordered to make a bayonet charge. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the situation was somehow stabilized for the Patriots.

Nevertheless, Melchor Aymerich had an ace up his sleeve, so to speak. During the march up the Pichincha, he had detached his crack Aragón Battalion from his main force, ordering it to make for the top of the volcano, so as to fall upon the rear of the Patriots when the time came and break their lines with an attack on their rear. The Aragón — a veteran Spaniard unit that had seen plenty of action both during the Peninsular War and in South America — was now on top of the Patriots. As luck would have it, just as it was about to charge down onto the faltering Patriot line, it was stopped dead on its tracks by the Albión, which made a surprise entry into the battle. As it was, the Albión had actually advanced to a position higher than the Spaniards. Soon, the Magdalena joined in the fight, and the Aragón, after suffering heavy losses, was put out of action. The Colombians from the Magdalena then went up to the line to replace the Paya, and charged upon the Royalist line, which was finally broken.

At midday, Aymerich ordered the retreat. The Royalist army, now disorganized and exhausted, retreated down the Pichincha, towards Quito. Although some units descended to Quito in disarray, harassed by the Magdalena charging after them, others retreated in orderly fashion. The Colombians reached the outer limits of Quito, but did not go any further, acting on orders from their commanding officer who prudently decided against letting his soldiers enter the city. Thus, the Battle of Pichincha had ended. From the moment of first contact to the order of retreat, it had lasted no more than three hours.