CHAPTER XVII
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE--II
It was at Mendoza that the famous Argentine General, San Martin,
recruited the army destined for the campaign of Chile. In 1817
everything was prepared, and with an army of 4,000 men San Martin set
out on one of the most extraordinary military marches that history has
known. Indeed, his passage of the Andes is considered as unique by
numerous military experts.
The advance of San Martin was not altogether unexpected by the Royalist
forces, whose spies kept the Spanish commander informed of this latest
move on the part of the patriot army. General San Martin, becoming aware
of this, repaid these spies in their own coin. Taking them, as it
seemed, into his confidence, he informed them of the route he was about
to take, and when the time came chose another and a parallel pass.
Hastening down the tremendous rocky walls of the western side of the
Andes, San Martin engaged the Spanish forces and won an important
victory at Chacabuco. The Royalists, under General Osorio, rallied and
made a last desperate stand; but their forces were decisively and
finally defeated on April 5, 1818, at Maipu, and this action resulted in
the definite liberation of Chile.
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