San Martín’s Strategy in the Peruvian Campaign
Argentine Sun Tzu scholar Marcelo Berrete used Sun Tzu’s strategy to analyze General San Martín and the Peruvian Campaign. He pointed out that at the end of the 6th century BC, the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote the world's first military book, "The Art of War", which had a great influence on Western military strategists and was an outstanding art of war; and Saint Martin was an outstanding war instructor. , the Peruvian independence he led reflected the philosophy of Chinese thinkers and provided a classic case for military historical research
José de San Martín was an Argentine general and one of the leaders of the Spanish colonial independence war in South America. He organized and commanded an Andean Liberation Army composed mainly of blacks and mixed-race people. He once led an expeditionary force of 5,000 people to cross the 12,000-foot Andes Mountains and unexpectedly attacked the Spanish defenders in Chile, completely defeating the enemy and liberating South America. The war shifted from strategic defense to strategic offense, and Chile declared independence. Soon a small navy was formed and marched towards Peru from the sea. Peru is Spain's strongest colony in the Americas. San Martín led his army to successfully attack Lima, and Peru also declared its independence. He liberated southern South America from Spanish rule and was regarded as a national hero
From the Battle of Maipu to the army that liberated Peru, starting with the expedition to the port of Valparaíso, and then to Peru's declaration of independence, during Saint Martin's idea of ??victory without fighting is the embodiment of the idea in Chapter 3 of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. This military campaign is an excellent example of the theories of Sun Tzu, an influential Chinese thinker and philosopher. "Sun Tzu's Art of War" writes: "In all methods of using war, the whole country is the best, and the breaking of the country is second. The whole army is the best, and the breaking of the army is second. The whole brigade is the best, and the breaking of the brigade is second. The whole army is the best, and the breaking of the army is second. "The whole army is the best, and the broken army is the second best. Therefore, to win a hundred battles is not a good thing; to defeat the enemy's troops without fighting is a good thing."
In General St. Martin's words. Deep in my mind, there is an "arrow" pointing from Santiago to Lima. The actions he took are also the best proof of the idea of ??victory without fighting: the navy established in 1818, with which he intercepted 11 transport ships and 2,000 people near the port of Talcahuano in October and November 1818 The maritime expeditionary force formed by the Spanish defeated Spain's attempt to reinforce Talcahuano Fortress and Lima, and captured most of the transport ships, strengthening his naval power. He also received funds from the governments of Buenos Aires and Santiago to equip his expeditionary force, and through political and diplomatic efforts kept them away from the impending civil war between the two countries.
Sun Tzu said in the first chapter: "The one who has temples before fighting is considered the winner, so he must be considered more; the one who has temples before fighting is not the winner, must be considered few." General St. Martin planned in advance. The "Liberator Army" was established. This is a joint army of Argentina and Chile, consisting of an Argentine division of 2,347 people and a Chilean division of 1,967 people. More than 4,000 patriots from all over Peru gathered together to fight against 23,000 Spanish soldiers commanded by Zuela. In his execution of the plan on how to capture Lima and how to defeat Spanish power in South America, it is obvious that what Sun Tzu called "temple calculation" played a decisive role.
Sun Tzu said in Chapter 10 of his book: "You cannot predict the enemy. Use the small to unite the masses, use the weak to attack the strong. The soldiers have no choice of front, and they are in the north." Saint Martin's vision is very clear, The campaign plan was sound. He developed a four-step plan to deploy troops at various points along the coast through landing operations to allow the enemy to spread out their forces. The ability to conduct military operations within Peru to demonstrate his influence, garner support for independence, and recruit troops to assemble at Falbarazor Harbor to avoid war on Peruvian soil.
The expedition began, but it was not known where the landing would be carried out, and the central idea of ??the plan was constantly changing. General San Martín finally made the decision to land at Paracos, 200 kilometers south of Lima. What happened next made the general idea of ??not fighting at Lima more and more concrete. San Martin's army landed in the Bay of Paracos and forced 400 Spaniards to retreat. On September 14, 1820, the Governor-General requested an armistice from Saint-Martin, and an agreement was reached on September 26 that the armistice would last until October 4. It can be seen that through this political action, San Martin bought time to consolidate the defense of the area.
With the armistice no longer in effect, General Arenal launched the Battle of the Mountains on October 4, defeating the Spanish army, crossing the Andes, and capturing Choga. The governor sent troops to stop the patriots, and they were defeated at Pasco. Another Spanish cavalry force eventually fled. Meanwhile, San Martín set sail again with the remainder of his army and blockaded the port of Caial. He landed with a small force 36 kilometers north of Lima and captured the village of Quanque to provide supplies. Spain sent a column to attack them, but the Spaniards were eventually defeated.
San Martin took advantage of the liberation movement in Guayaquil (now Ecuador) to land in the north of Lima and control the enemy's communication lines with the north. In December 1820, the mayor revolted and surrendered to Saint Martin, thus making the province independent. In May and June, San Martín launched a campaign in the central ports, performing daring tactical maneuvers to divert the enemy's attention. At the same time, General Arinel launched the Second Battle of the Mountains, captured the towns of Pacos and Choga, and signed an armistice.
When the Spanish army decided to retreat from Lima to the interior of Peru, it was possible for San Martín to attack and defeat him, but San Martín avoided the final conflict and gave him a wide berth because General San Martín's primary target was Lima.
In Chapter 4 of "The Art of War", Sun Tzu tells us: "Those who were good at fighting in the past were first invincible, waiting for the enemy to become victorious. The invincible lies in oneself, and the victorious lies in the enemy. Therefore, those who are good at fighting are It is impossible to defeat the enemy, so it is said: Victory can be known, but cannot be done." In St. Martin's view, he based this on the thinking of his colleagues, and then carefully planned and implemented it. . San Martin avoids sticking to prior ideas and makes natural adjustments according to the situation. He used stratagems to mislead his enemies, negotiate to buy time, conduct secondary military operations to weaken his enemies without being defeated militarily by them, and he exerted psychological influence on his people to win their support.
Marcelo Berrete commented that General San Martín is a soldier with academic attainments. He has accumulated rich experience on the battlefields in Europe, Africa and America, which makes him beyond genius. Although he never dared to refer to himself in this way. Some people praise General San Martin for establishing a great nation without fighting, only by combining temple calculations with unusual tactics. This is completely in line with Sun Tzu's idea of ??winning a battle, and Sun Tzu may regard him as "the most glorious one".