The crossing of the snow-capped Andes was rapidly and successfully accomplished, and on the 12th of February, 1817, the Spanish Army, commanded by General Maroto, was completely defeated on the slopes of Chacabuco, not far from Santiago. Maroto himself was captured, and San Martín entered Santiago de Chile with his army on the 14th of February. Meantime, the remaining Spanish forces fled to Talcahuano, where, having been reënforced by 3000 fresh troops from Peru, they attacked the detachment under Las Heras that San Martín had sent in their pursuit. The siege of Talcahuano had to be raised, and Las Heras withdrew in 1818 to join the corps of the main army. On the 19th of March, San Martín was again closely pressing the enemy, and after a cavalry skirmish the Spaniards sought the protection of the city of Talca. The Argentine forces encamped outside of the city, and the Spaniards, surprising the patriots at night, charged their bivouac, dispersing and killing many of the patriot troops. This night attack is known as the battle of Cancha Rayada. It came very close to wrecking the long-prepared and carefully thought-out plans of San Martín. His coolness and the indomitable courage of his generals, particularly Las Heras, saved the day, and hardly two weeks later, on the 5th of April, he was able to meet the Spaniards on the shores of the River Maipú or Maipo, defeating them decisively, and sealing forever the independence of Chile. Now, San Martín was able to carry out his long-cherished plan of attacking Peru from the Chilean side, transporting his army by water to Pisco. With the aid of Lord Thomas Cochrane, an English sailor in the service of Chile, he was able to clear the seas of Spanish ships, and on the 7th of September, 1820, he landed his forces in the Bay of Paracas. San Martín drove the Spaniards before him, and Lima and Callao were captured in quick succession. The former was evacuated by La Serna, Spanish viceroy of Peru, the 19th of July, 1821, and Callao was surrendered on the 21st of September of the same year. Once in Lima, the first thing that San Martín did was to call together an assembly to find out the wishes of the people of Peru. The Junta met and notified the Protector, the title given to San Martín by the Peruvians, that the unanimous wish of all was the independence of Peru. At a great demonstration, held in the Plaza Mayor of Lima, San Martín rose before the assembled multitude and unfolding for the first time the national flag of Peru, created by San Martín himself, he exclaimed amid the thunderous applause of the people: "Peru is from this moment free and independent, by the will of its people and the justness of its cause, which God defends."