His chief hope had been in the army of Colombia; but, while in Trujillo, he learned that the government of Colombia would not send any troops or resources without express authorization from Congress, which meant a long delay. Meanwhile, the Spaniards under command of Canterac were advancing against Trujillo. Bolívar set to work again with that feverish activity which seemed to enable him to create everything from nothing--men, uniforms, arms, horses, even horseshoes. The smallest detail, near or at a distance, was the object of his care, and he attended to everything with that precision and accuracy which form a great proportion of what we call genius. The city of Pasco was selected by Bolívar as the meeting place of all the independent forces, and the month of May chosen for the general movement. In June the Andes were crossed, and on August 2nd, the army was assembled on the plain of Sacramento, near Pasco. There he arranged his soldiers for battle and decided to attack on the 6th the royalists, who were near by. Canterac was approaching with an army of 9,000 of which 2,000 were cavalrymen. On August 6, 1824, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the two armies met on the plain of Junín, near the lake of that name, the source of the Amazonas. This battle was one of cavalry only, and was in appearance and in results one of the most terrible. Throughout the whole combat not one shot was fired. Only the horsemen fought, but the defeated royalist cavalry on retreat, drew the infantry with them. The battle of Junín ranked in importance with those of Boyacá, Carabobo and Bomboná, as well as that of Pichincha, and had a marked effect on the ultimate success of the Peruvian campaign. The morale of the royalists was destroyed. Canterac, in his retreat, was forced to cover 450 miles of very rough country, and lost a large part of his army. A festivity following this success was the occasion of generous words exchanged between the victor of Bomboná and the conqueror of Pichincha. Sucre said: "Led by the Liberator, we can expect nothing but victory!" to which Bolívar answered: "To know that I will conquer, it is enough to know who are around me." At another time, Bolívar reiterated his feelings in the following way: "Let the valiant swords of those who surround me pierce my breast a thousand times if at any time I oppress the countries I now lead to freedom! Let the authority of the people be the only existing power on earth! Let the name of tyranny be obliterated from the language of the world and even forgotten!" Bolívar then left the army in the command of Sucre and departed for the seaboard to continue his work of organization. The royalists had left Lima as soon as they learned of the defeat of Junín. Rodil was in the fortress at Callao. The viceroy in Cuzco gathered all the soldiers he could, forming an army of 11,000 men, and started out to avenge the defeat of Junín.