Battle of Sarandí

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Battle of Sarandí
Part of the Cisplatine War
Battle of Sarandí, oil by Juan Manuel Blanes
Date October 12, 1825 Location Arroyo Sarandí, present-day Florida Department, Uruguay Result Oriental victory[1]
Belligerents
Empire of Brazil	Banda Oriental
Commanders and leaders
Bento Manuel Ribeiro	Juan A. Lavalleja
Strength
1,411[2][3]	2,200-2,600[2][3] 1 field gun
Casualties and losses
~200 killed 515-575 captured[2][3]	35 killed 90 wounded[2][3]

The Battle of Sarandí was fought on 12 October 1825, in the vicinity of the Arroyo Sarandí in Uruguay, between troops of the Banda Oriental and the Empire of Brazil. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Orientals.

Background

The Banda Oriental was occupied by the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves in 1820 under the name of Cisplatina, and was incorporated as a Brazilian province in 1822 when Brazil became independent from Portugal. The Orientals resumed their efforts to get rid of foreign occupation and, after the landing of the Thirty-Three Orientals on 19 April 1825, engaged the Brazilian forces in a series of actions which included the Siege of Montevideo (May 8, 1825), led by Manuel Oribe and that of Colonia del Sacramento (August 18, 1825).

The Battle of Rincón (September 24, 1825) resulted in a victory for the Oriental forces, and represented a major setback for the Brazilian forces besieged at Montevideo, as Brazilian casualties were high, which included about 6,000 horses captured by the Orientals.^[4] As soon as the news were known in Montevideo, a force of around 1,000 Brazilian soldiers under Colonel Bento Manuel Ribeiro was organized with the objective of joining a Brazilian army of similar strength that was in the field, led by General Bento Gonçalves da Silva.

Juan Antonio Lavalleja was in Durazno with Oriental troops, and after becoming aware of these news, tried to prevent both Brazilian forces from joining in a single army; this action was unsuccessful. With a major effort Lavalleja was able to muster a force of similar strength, and faced the Brazilian army at the tips of the Sarandí creek, in an area located on the present-day Florida Department, on 12 October 1825.

The battle

On the morning of the 12th, after arriving to the vicinity of

Meanwhile, the Imperial troops had reached Sarandi del Yí, and believing that Rivera was on the right bank of the Sarandí creek were surprised to see them the other side. After crossing the stream and reaching higher ground, the Brazilians realized that the whole of the Oriental force was formed in the line of battle. Bento Manuel Ribeiro realized the advantage of the Oriental formation, and rather than attacking realigned his forces. The manoeuver of the Brazilian Army put Lavalleja off balance, forcing him to change his front from the south to the west, but the speed with which the maneuver was carried out caused confusion in the line, leaving Zufriategui in the center and Manuel Oribe at the right.

At 8 in the morning the action began. The Oriental artillery began opening fire; and Ribeiro ordered the Brazilian Army to attack. Rivera charged on Bento Gonçalves, while in the center Oribe was suddenly charged by the Imperial forces of Alvaro de Alencastre whose disciplined troops penetrated the front and reached the Oriental reserves; this manoeuvre could have been fatal to the Oriental forces. Realizing the danger, Lavalleja charged with the reserve forces against the Brazilians and divided their formation in two. The Oriental right wing charged against the Brazilian left wing, which was trying to support the Brazilian centre. As a result, Alencastre’s forces were flanked by Rivera’s troops and by the Oriental reserves, which were in pursuit of the scattered troops under Gonçalves Bentos. This allowed Oribe to reorganize its forces and counterattack. The confusion of the Brazilian troops was huge and caused its dispersion, as they suddenly found themselves charged by the Oriental cavalry, who forced the Imperial troops to leave the battlefield and relentlessly pursued the enemy.^[5]

Aftermath

The Orientals organised the

For this reason, the Orientals took action to regain control of this area, culminating in the capture of the Fortress of Santa Teresa on 31 December 1825 which was located in the Rocha Department, near the present border with Brazil.^[6]

From then on the Brazilian forces held only the besieged cities of Colonia and Montevideo.

Currently the small town close to the battlefield is called Sarandí Grande.

References

Bibliography

• Donato, Hernâni (1987). Dicionário das Batalhas Brasileiras (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Editora Ibrasa.
• Garcia, Rodolfo (2012). Obras do Barão do Rio Branco VI: efemérides brasileiras (in Portuguese). Brasília: Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão.
  ISBN 978-85-7631-357-1
  .
• Larrosa, Augusto Soiza (2007). "Batalla de Sarandí (12 de octubre de 1825): Cómo fueron asistidos los heridos de la Batalla de Sarandí". Salud Militar (in Spanish). 29 (1): 80–88.
  ISSN 1688-0633
  .
• Scheina, Robert L. (2003). Latin America's Wars: The Age of the Caudillo, 1791-1899. Vol. I. Potomac Books Inc.
  ISBN 978-1-57488-450-0
  .

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