 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2011) |
| Crossing of the Andes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish American wars of independence | |||||||
 Battle of Chacabuco, fought after the Crossing of the Andes | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Army of the Andes |
 Spanish Royalists | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 José de San Martín Miguel Estanislao Soler Bernardo O'Higgins |
Francisco Marcó del Pont Mariano Osorio | ||||||
The Crossing of the Andes (Spanish: Cruce de los Andes) was one of the most important feats in the Argentine and Chilean wars of independence. A combined army of Argentine soldiers and Chilean exiles crossed the Andes mountains, which separate Argentina from Chile, to invade Chile, leading to its liberation from Spanish rule.
Led by General José de San Martín and departing from Mendoza—then part of the Province of Cuyo, Argentina—in January 1817, the successful crossing took 21 days. The army navigated heights averaging 3,000 meters.[1][2] The feat has been compared to Hannibal's and Napoleon's crossings of the Alps and is considered one of the greatest achievements of its kind in military history.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
- ^ "El cruce de la Cordillera de los Andes". Museo Histórico Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ^ a b "La ruta de San Martín, el hijo de españoles que cambió el destino de América - ABC.es". www.abc.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ^ "When the "Hannibal of the Andes" Liberated Chile | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ^ Mitre, Bartolomé (1887). Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Ediciones Peuser (published 1950). p. 366.
- ^ Gral. José de San Martín, padre de la patria: 150 años (in Spanish). Círculo Militar. 2000. p. 99.
- ^ Campos, Omar (2006). El cruce los Andes. Tras las huellas de San Martín (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Dunken.
- ^ Galasso, Norberto (2007). Seamos libres y lo demás no importa nada: vida de San Martín (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Ed. Colihue. p. 207.