retreating forces a chance to rally; the result was a total and complete victory over the Spaniards after a battle that lasted less than an hour, during which not a shot was fired, the lance and sabre alone being used. The royalists lost nineteen officers and three hundred and forty-five soldiers of the line, besides eighty taken prisoners. The patriot losses were three officers and forty-two soldiers of the line killed and one hundred wounded. The victory of Junin gave Bolivar command of Tarma, Jauja, Huancayo, Huanta, and Huamanga. General Canterac retired to Cuzco where he was joined by Valdes, and the viceroy himself then took command of the united armies, with Canterac as his chief of staff. The Liberator placed his troops in charge of General Sucre with instructions to go into quarters in the Apurimac valley, east of Ayacucho, during the rainy season. But the viceroy immediately began operations against the patriot army, hoping to get a position in their rear and cut off communication with Lima. While General Sucre fell back to Andahuaylas, La Serna led his army across the Apurimac and around by Pampachira and Huamanga, and there countermarched along the Cuzco highroad to meet the patriots. His army numbered ten thousand men, with fourteen pieces of artillery, and sixteen hundred cavalry, presenting a very formidable force. When General Sucre found out that the viceroy was leading his army toward Huamanga, he left Andahuaylas and marched westward, crossing the Pampas River a few leagues southeast of Ayacucho, and reaching the village of Quinua, at the western extremity of the plain, on the 6th of December. The viceroy advanced and took his position on the heights of Condorcunca, which rose abruptly along the eastern boundary of the plain; General Sucre’s troops were encamped in front of the Spaniards, about a mile distant and having Quinua in the rear. On the morning of December 9, 1824, the armies were ready for battle. The patriot forces were formed in close columns, General Cordova commanding the right, General La Mar the left, and General Miller the centre, with General Gamarra as first chief of staff. The troops did not number more than five thousand, but every soldier was fighting for a cause dearer than life itself, and every heart thrilled with patriotic fervor as General Sucre, in an inspiring voice, recalled their former achievements and urged them to fight for their honor and the salvation of their country, exclaiming: “On the efforts of to-day depends the fate of South America!” As the royalist army was seen descending Condorcunca, he added, pointing to their glittering columns: “Another day of glory is about to crown your admirable constancy.” When the enemy appeared on the plain, General Sucre ordered the Cordova division and two regiments of cavalry to advance to the charge.