page_title: José de San Martín
section_title: Crossing of the Andes
hierarchical_section_title: José de San Martín / South America / Argentina / Crossing of the Andes
context_page_description: José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras, known simply as José de San Martín or El Libertador of Argentina, Chile and Peru, was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire who served as the Protector of Peru. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern-day Argentina, he left the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.
  In 1808, after taking part in the Peninsular War against France, San Martín contacted in London South American supporters of independence from Spain. In 1812, he set sail for Buenos Aires and offered his services to the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, present-day Argentina. After the Battle of San Lorenzo and time commanding the Army of the North during 1814, he organized a plan to defeat the Spanish forces that menaced the United Provinces from the north, using an alternative path to the Viceroyalty of Peru. This objective first involved the establishment of a new army, the Army of the Andes, in Cuyo Province, Argentina.
context_section_description: Although the Congress of Tucumán had already formalized the flag of Argentina, the Army of the Andes did not use it, choosing a banner with two columns, light blue and white, and a coat of arms roughly similar to the Coat of arms of Argentina. The army did not use the flag of Argentina because it was not exclusively an Argentine army.
  Contrary to the common understanding, the crossing of the Andes was not the first time that a military expedition crossed the mountain range. The difference from previous operations was the size of the army, and that it had to be ready for combat right after the crossing. The army was divided in six columns, each taking a different path. Colonel Francisco Zelada in La Rioja took the Come-Caballos pass towards Copiapó. Juan Manuel Cabot, in San Juan, moved to Coquimbo. Ramón Freire and José León Lemos led two columns in the south. The bulk of the armies left from Mendoza. San Martín, O'Higgins and Soler led a column across the Los Patos pass, and Juan Gregorio de Las Heras another one across the Uspallata Pass.
  The whole operation took nearly a month. The armies took dried food for the soldiers and fodder for the horses, because of the inhospitable conditions. They also consumed garlics and onions, to prevent altitude sickness. Only 4,300 mules and 511 horses survived, less than half the original complement.
  Manuel Rodríguez had returned to Chile before the crossing, and began a guerrilla war in Santiago de Chile against the royalists, in support of the upcoming army. He was supported in the south of the city and the countryside. The strategy was to occupy nearby villages, seize the royalists' weapons and flee. The attacks on Melipilla and San Fernando, and a failed one at Curicó, demoralized the royalists.
caption: Generals José de San Martín (left) and Bernardo O'Higgins (right) during the crossing of the Andes.
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