One of the most significant contributions were the British Legions, a volunteer unit that fought under Simón Bolívar. This force numbered upwards of 6,000 men – the majority of whom were composed of veterans of the Napoleonic wars. In combat their greatest achievements were at Boyacá (1819), Carabobo (1821), Pichincha (1822) and Ayacucho (1824) which secured independence for Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru from Spanish rule respectively. Bolívar described the Legions and all who served in them as "the saviours of my country".