The
First Upper Peru campaign (1810-1811) had ended in failure when the
Northern Army under command of
Juan José Castelli had suffered a crushing defeat in the
Battle of Huaqui, and was forced out of Upper Peru and retreated back to
Jujuy. The Junta in Buenos Aires decided in 1812 to carry out a second campaign to liberate Upper Peru. On 26 March 1812, Colonel Major Belgrano headed immediately towards Jujuy, where he found the Northern army in a sorry state. The revolutionary soldiers were demoralized, badly armed, isolated and facing an outbreak of
malaria. His first task was to restore discipline and improve the material condition of the Northern Army.
Manuel Belgrano stopped his retreat at
San Miguel de Tucumán and prepared for battle against the weakened Royalist army. He led the Northern Army to victory in the
Battle of Tucuman (24 September 1812) and forced the Loyalists to retreat. He won a second victory at
Salta in the north of present-day
Argentina on 20 February 1813 and captured the entire Loyalist army. The defeated Northern army retreated back to Jujuy. In January 1814, Manuel Belgrano was replaced by Colonel
José de San Martín, arrested and prosecuted, but finally his merits were recognized and he was acquitted. San Martín, for health reasons, resigned four months later, being replaced by Colonel
José Rondeau. == References ==