Liberation of South America Therefore, he joined the army of
Simón Bolívar in the midyear of 1820 as a low ranking officer. Felipe Braun, as he was called from then on, participated in the campaigns of
New Granada and the
Battle of Carabobo in
Venezuela. He joined the Guard of
Simón Bolívar in 1821 and accompanied him on his Campaign of South to liberate today's
Ecuador and
Peru as one of his many officers. On August 6, 1824, Braun was the first patriotic soldier to set foot on the plain of
Junín, where a superior cavalry force of the royalistic-Spanish army of
José de Canterac was waiting. Due to Braun's unusual conduct and over the years highly trained and well disciplined units, the patriotic cavalry not only resisted the superiority but was able to defeat their opponent. Braun was promoted and belonged from then on to the intimate circle around
Simón Bolívar and
Antonio José de Sucre. With the latter Braun participated in the liberation of
Upper Peru (later Republic of
Bolivia). During his time in
Bolivia (1825–1828) Braun served the Bolivian President Antonio José de Sucre loyally. After uprisings in
Cochabamba and
La Paz, in which parts of the unit Braun commanded participated, he fell into disgrace. This changed fundamentally when Braun withstood other attempts and bravely attacked the Peruvian invasion of Bolivia of 1828 under general
Agustín Gamarra.
Revolutionary aftermath In the
Peruvian-Colombian war of 1828/29 Braun fought on the side of Simón Bolívar, Antonio José de Sucre and
Juan José Flores. After a failed diplomatic mission as official representative of the victors, Braun had to flee, ending up in
Valparaíso,
Chile (1829). A few months later Braun was able to travel to
Arequipa,
Peru, where finally met his wife Justa Germana de Rivero y Abrill, who he had married through written authority in 1828. In
Arequipa Braun spend almost a year until the Bolivian president
Andrés de Santa Cruz asked Braun to join his new administration. Braun accepted and moved to
Bolivia. From 1830 until 1839 Braun became one of the most successful generals in Bolivian history. Furthermore, Braun became a very valuable adviser of President Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz made him Prefect, entrusted whole armies, and let him command battles and gave him the responsibility of the ministry of defense. During the
Peru-Bolivian Confederation (1836–1839) Braun served Santa Cruz loyally. After Braun triumphed in the
Battle of Montenegro against an Argentine invasion in June 1838, Santa Cruz awarded Braun with the Title Great Marshal of Montenegro. Until today Braun is the only foreigner ever to have gained this title in South America and the only marshal of Bolivia at all. After Santa Cruz lost the
Battle of Yungay in January 1839 against a Peruvian-Chilean invasion, his confederation collapsed due to a revolution led by
José Ballivián and
José Miguel de Velasco, and Braun's career was over. He had to leave Bolivia and headed back to Europe when the new president of Bolivia, General José Miguel de Velasco, dismissed Braun and removed all of his titles. Years later in 1850 he was rehabilitated by President
Manuel Isidoro Belzu, after which he returned several times to Bolivia and Peru where he had commercial ventures in copper mines and coffee plantations. == Later years ==