Battle of San Francisco - The Battle

The Battle

At 1 pm, the Chilean command has established its positions. The Chilean army counts now with 6,500 men and 34 cannons, thanks to Castro and Velázquez which joined in time and set between San Bartolo and Tres Clavos hills, behind the train station and the railroad in a way that could limit the access to Dolores from the plain. The Atacama and Coquimbo battalions reinforce the position at San Francisco. Buendía, notified of these reinforcements doesn’t want to wait the next day and gives the order to attack immediately. The units get ready to fight but after Suárez claims for delaying the attack, Buendía agrees again and issues a countermand, making his men to return to previous positions. All this movement confuses the Chileans, so when Salvo sees the incoming scout mission sent earlier, fires a warning shot over them. Some units from Cáceres and Suárez divisions rush to aid their companions, believing this is the battle signal; and assault Salvo’s position in disarray. Under Gen. Villegas, the Illimani, Olañeta, Zepita and Ayacucho battalions impelled over the enemy, and Col. Lavadenz with the Dalance Battalion manages to reach the bottom hillside getting out of the artillery range due to the cannons dead angle, where is reinforced by the Lima and Puno battalions. From here, Lavadenz climbs the slope and reaches the artillerymen, which barely contain the assault with their bayonets and the butts of their rifles.

Coming in Salvo’s aid, half of the Atacama Battalion plus a company of the Coquimbo Battalion reject the Allies and kept guarding the cannons, palliating the lack of protection and checked another effort on the hill by a reinforced column.

Meanwhile, Buendía has advanced over Dolores describing a semicircle to take the emplacement at Tres Clavos, only to be overwhelmed by Castro and Velázquez cross fire, being stopped as his units begin to dissolve. Back on the centre of the battle, the refolding units attack Salvo’s position again with no support at all. When the assault is resumed, the Allied reserve and the artillery fire without abandon its position, shooting their own companions from behind and decimating the troops massed at the bottom of the hill slope and at its bottom. Hence, the entire Allied left wing is forced to fall back without achieving its objective.

Right after this, the Coquimbo and Atacama battalions counterattack emerging from their stronghold, destroying some companies of the Olañeta and Illimani battalions and bayoneting off the Allies from the hill definitively. The three Allied colonels on the second line disband to Porvenir, and the Allied cavalry flees from the battlefield without covering the general retreat. In less than an hour, the Allied army disarticulates and retreats, abandoning the headquarters, the mules and supplies. The Chileans didn’t chase the enemy, waiting for a second massive attack.