Battle of Ayohuma The Battle of Ayohuma ( " dead man ' s head " in Quechua ) was an action fought on 14 November 1813 , during the second Upper Peru Campaign of the Argentine War of Independence . The republican forces of the Army of the North , led by General Manuel Belgrano were defeated by the royalists , commanded by Joaquín de la Pezuela . Background . After the rout of Vilcapugio , Belgrano established his headquarters at Macha . There he reorganized his army , obtaining help from Francisco Ocampo ( then President of Charcas ) , and from the provinces of Upper Peru ( Cochabamba , Santa Cruz de la Sierra , and Chayanta ) . At the end of October 1813 , the republican army included around 3 , 400 men , of which barely 1 , 000 were veterans . An important fraction of the republican army , under the command of General Díaz Vélez had remained isolated at Potosí after Vilcapugio , but was able to reunite with Belgrano after a small action at Tambo Nuevo relieved them from the pressure of the royalist army . Despite their recent victory , Pezuela ' s troops were short of horses and supplies . They had sought refuge on the Condo - Condo heights , where , being surrounded by hostile populations and still recovering from the casualties suffered at Vilcapugio , they could not readily take the offensive against the Army of the North . However , on 29 October , they left their camp in Condo - Condo in order to attack the republicans before they could obtain further reinforcements . On 12 November , they arrived at Toquirí , a hill dominating the small plain of Ayohuma , half a league from the village of the same name . In the meantime , just two leagues away from Toquirí , on 8 November , Belgrano had discussed his plans with his officials . The majority of them wanted to withdraw to Potosí , but the general convinced his officers to fight . That same night the army left Macha , reaching Ayohuma on the morning of the next day . The battle . The armies that were about to face each other exhibited a significant disproportion . While the republican cavalry outnumbered the royalists ' two - to - one , Pezuela had twice as much infantry and 18 pieces of artillery , against only eight carried by Belgrano ' s troops . At dawn of 14 November the royalists began their descent from their high position and by mid - morning they had deployed the bulk of their forces on the plain . Belgrano ' s troops were meanwhile attending Mass , even if aware of the enemy movements . An hour later , Pezuela had completed their maneuver , outflanking the republicans on their right . In the opinion of Lieutenant Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid , one of Belgrano ' s best officers , this move proved decisive for the outcome of the battle . Then , Pezuela ' s artillery opened fire , blasting holes in the republicans ranks . In a hail of enemy fire , Belgrano ordered the advance of his infantry and cavalry toward the enemy right flank , but they could not overcame Pezuela ' s entrenchements . To make matters worse , the republican ' s lighter guns were no match for the royalists . Belgrano was forced to retreat . By a trumpet call and waving the United Provinces flag on the top of a hill , he managed to gather some 500 men , leaving around 200 dead , 200 injured , 500 prisoners and almost all his artillery on the battlefield . Belgrano ' s 500 survivors retreated to Potosí , but the city had to be quickly evacuated on 18 November due to the approaching royalists . Belgrano moved back to Tucumán , where on 30 January 1814 , he resigned the command of the Northern Army to General San Martín . He would later write about the tactical superiority of the Spaniard officers as compared to his limited knowledge of warfare .