Battle of Coatepeque

The Battle of Coatepeque (Spanish: Batalla de Coatepeque) was a battle fought between the forces of El Salvador and Guatemala from 22 to 24 February 1863.

Background 

In 1862, Guatemalan President Rafael Carrera revealed to his subordinates a plan to invade Salvadoran territory and overthrow Salvadoran President Gerardo Barrios, one of his rivals. The following year, 1863, Carrera invaded El Salvador and captured and devastated the local populations of Ahuachapán, Chalchuapa, and Santa Ana. On 13 February 1863, Barrios established his headquarters in the town of Jesús de los Milagros de Coatepeque anticipating that it would be Carrera's next target.

Order of battle

Salvadorans 

The Salvadoran Army under Gerardo Barrios consisted of 4,000 infantry soldiers. The army also consisted of an artillery corps and one cavalry corps. Most of the soldiers were stationed on the San Pedro Malakoff hill while the rest were divided between the El Congo hill and the town of Coatepeque where Gerardo Barrios himself would wait for Carrera with his soldiers. The main road to Santa Ana was fortified with barricades and wooden palisades. A trench with defensive positions was also built on a hill near the Santa Ana Volcano with 150 men stationed there. The position was very removed from the main defenses but its positioning was critical since if it was captured, Carrera could outflank the defenders and reach the village from behind.

The commanders of the Salvadoran Army were:

Gerardo Barrios – General Commander
José Trinidad Cabañas – Commander of the General Staff
Tomás Santander – Head of the Barrios Personal Guard
Domingo María Jehl – Vicar General
Horacio Parker – Commander of the Artillery Brigade
Alexandre Biscouby – Chief of the Artillery of San Pedro Malakoff
Alexandre Bassel – Chief of the Artillery of El Congo
Santiago González – Commander of the 1st Division
Rafael Osorio – Commander of the 2nd Division
Eusebio Bracamonte – Commander of the 3rd Division
Mariano Hernández – Commander of the 4th Division
Pedro Escalón – Commander of the 5th Division
Manuel Estévez – Commander of the Santa Ana Volcano Defenses

Guatemalans 

The Guatemalan Army was larger than the Salvadoran Army. It was composed of  6,500 infantry soldiers. The attacking Guatemalans were better equipped than the Salvadorans with better artillery and better rifles.

The commanders of the Guatemalan Army were:

Rafael Carrera – General Commander
Paul Brun – Commander of the Artillery
José Víctor Zavala – Commander of the 1st Division
Vicente Cerna Sandoval – Commander of the 2nd Division
Serapio Cruz – Commander of the 3rd Division

Battle 

On 22 February, skirmishes began between the reconnaissance patrols of the two armies.

On 23 February, there were several Guatemalan attacks on the Salvadoran positions on the San Pedro Malakoff hill. The attacks were all repelled by Biscouby's forces. Carrera gave the order for these assaults to stop since the attacks made no progress. The Guatemalans then dedicated themselves to bombarding the primary defending positions. At night the attacking Guatemalan troops managed to surround the San Pedro Malakoff hill and took the Salvadorans by surprise, but the attack was also repelled

On 24 February, the Guatemalans attacked the two hills and the town itself with their entire army. While the Guatemalans were just about to capture a trench, a fire broke out and many soldiers fled. After the fire died down, the Guatemalans regrouped and attacked the town. The assault failed with Barrios himself defeating Carrera with his personal guard. After the attacks left hundreds dead, Carrera decided use his artillery to its maximum capacity, opening fire towards Coatepeque and the San Pedro Malakoff hill from a hill they occupied, however, the cannons did not do enough damage to the Salvadorans.

At around 1 in the afternoon, the Guatemalans attempted a last attack to dislodge the Salvadorans, but a company under the command of Estanislao Pérez defeated them. General Santiago González and his division left their positions and attacked the Guatemalans head-on and managed to push them back a little before being surrounded. González's soldiers broke through the encirclement and returned to their positions. Meanwhile, General Eusebio Bracamonte attacked the Guatemalan rear which caused a panic in Carrera's entire army who began to flee. Carrera, seeing his strength dissipate, gave up and retreated from the battle field at around 5 in the afternoon. Upon seeing the Guatemalans retreat, González pursued the Carrera with cavalry to Jutiapa in Guatemala. The battle ended in a decisive Salvadoran victory.

Aftermath 

Carrera was forced to withdraw and leave the cities of Santa Ana, Chalchuapa, and Ahuachapán as well as the other towns he had occupied. However, he again invaded El Salvador in June and directly besieged San Salvador and forced Gerardo Barrios to resign and flee the country on 26 October 1863.

References

Bibliography 
 

Conflicts in 1863
Invasions
Rafael Carrera
1860s in El Salvador
Battles involving El Salvador
Battles involving Guatemala
Battles involving Honduras