The Battle of Aculco was the first battle after the cry of Dolores where the insurgents against the Spanish crown were defeated, this battle gave the impression that the independentistas did not have the preparation or the weapons to achieve their independence. After this defeat, which lasted only about an hour, came other defeats and the death of the forerunners of the independence movement . Battle of Aculco

When did this battle take place and what led to such a crushing defeat when the independence troops were larger than the royalists? Who played a leading role in that battle? What consequences did this defeat bring for the insurgents? We invite you to know the answer to these questions about this time of the beginning of the Republic of Mexico .

Enhance your reading: Industrial Revolution definition/concept

When and where did the Battle of Aculco take place?

The battle of Aculco, a town in the state of Mexico, took place on November 7, 1810 , this being one of the first battles of the Mexican war of independence, it was in fact the first defeat of a series of defeats that the independentistas suffered. This occurs on a hill near Aculco known as the brotherhood hill , that hill is almost a rectangle and it was where the insurgent troops were installed, a short distance from the town of Aculco. It is interesting that just a few days before, on October 30, these troops had been victorious in the Battle of Monte de las Cruces., and they just left there due to certain differences between the leaders of the insurgent military forces, they decided to move to the west of the country, instead of going to take Mexico City, which seemed the logical step, after being so close.

Who participated in the Battle of Aculco?

The Battle of Aculco is apparently a paradox, since the insurgents under the command of priest Miguel Hidalgo and Captain Ignacio Allende had just achieved an overwhelming victory against the royalist forces commanded by General Torcuato Trujillo in the vicinity of where the Battle would be fought. of Aculco. We say “apparently”, because when analyzing both armies we see the great difference between the royalist army, that is, the Spanish empire.

The independence army could hardly be called that since most were simply militias without experience in battle, a large part were half-armed indigenous people with no experience in war, and only a small part of that army was truly an armed and trained troop. for the war. Apart from this they were very badly armed, many of these men were unarmed and had no military discipline, and this was reported to the royal army commander. This insurgent army numbered about 16,000 members.

The royalist troops in this battle were commanded by Brigadier Félix María Calleja del Rey and Manuel Flon, Count of la Cadena, and had about 9000 soldiers, all well-trained and disciplined men-at-arms, 2000 were seasoned infantry, 7000 were cavalry, and also had 12 artillery pieces and their respective artillerymen.

Causes of the Battle of Aculco

The main cause of the Battle of Aculco is basically the independence process , that is, at the beginning of the Mexican independence feat, the military forces of the Spanish empire began to confront who are called royalists and the forces born of the effort of the Mexican people to rise up. against the Spanish empire, seeking its independence. This formally begins on September 16, 1810 when the cry of Dolores is given . The priest Hidalgo summons the people to revolt in the town of Dolores, and the feat that would lead several years later to independence begins.

Now, the Battle of Aculco was not something planned, but among the causes of that confrontation we can point out the fact that the troops commanded by the priest Hidalgo decided to change course and the better-trained royalist troops quickly marched from San Luis de Potosí and They caught up with him, the story adds that Brigadier Calleja immediately knew his superiority and forced the battle.

Enhance your reading: What is Russian Revolution definition/concept

Aftermath

The immediate consequences were dire for the defeated insurgents. The losses are listed as very serious: About 200 dead and 600 prisoners . They lost a lot of war material that they just did not have: 8 cannons, 50 iron bullets, 40 canisters of shrapnel, 11 boxes of gunpowder, 300 rifles, a food cart and 1,300 cattle, 1,600 rams plus 200 horses, a veritable booty of war.

Another consequence was the decline of spirit and capacity for surprise in the insurgency that gave the insurgents several victories in a row . This was the first of several battles where the insurrectionary forces were to prove defeat. In addition, another consequence was the division of its most outstanding leaders , among them Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende.

Winner

The undisputed winner of the battle of Aculco was the royalist army commanded by Brigadier Félix María Calleja del Rey . Truly knowing some details of this battle, it is understood why it was such a short and crushing battle.

One of the reasons for such a rapid victory is due to the fact that the royalists formed a compact army of 2000 infantrymen, 7 men on horseback and 12 artillery cannons for this battle, they were professional troops , which was noticed when despite the fact that the rebels They began with the use of their artillery, their shots did not hit the target, on the other hand, when the Royalist artillery fired and the attack began on the left flank of the Royalist cavalry, the result was immediate, a retreat or disbandment was unleashed that immediately decided the battle.