Battle of Aguadulce facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Aguadulce
Part of Thousand Days War
Children recruited in the department of Panama
Date 23 February-27 August 1901 Location Aguadulce, Panama Result Liberal victory
Belligerents
Liberals	Conservatives
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Herrera	Francisco Castro
Strength
1,000	6,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	3,000 killed & wounded 3,313 captured (13 generals, 300 officers, & 3,000 soldiers)

The Battle of Aguadulce was a major event during the Thousand Days War in Colombia. This war was fought between two main political groups: the Liberals and the Conservatives. The battle took place in the city of Aguadulce from February 23 to August 27, 1901. It ended with a big victory for the Liberal army, led by General Benjamin Herrera. They defeated the Conservative army, which was commanded by General Francisco Castro.

First Battle for Aguadulce

In January 1901, Liberal leaders General Benjamin Herrera, Belisario Porras, and Victoriano Lorenzo arrived at Aguadulce. They asked the Conservative forces defending the city to give up. The Conservatives refused to surrender.

On February 23, 1901, a fierce battle began. The Liberal forces fought hard and managed to capture Vigía hill. This led to the defeat of the Conservative army under General Castro. However, General Castro and some of his officers managed to escape before the battle was completely over.

Second Attempt to Take Aguadulce

A few months later, in June, the Conservative government sent a much larger army to try and take back Aguadulce. This time, they had a more detailed plan. One part of their army, led by General Luis Morales Berti, was supposed to advance from the town of Antón towards Aguadulce. The other part, led by General Francisco Castro, would attack from the west. The idea was to trap the Liberal forces in a pincer movement.

However, General Castro made a mistake. Instead of attacking from the west, he decided to move to Antón to join forces with General Berti. This gave the Liberal army extra time. They used this time wisely and managed to escape from the city.

The Siege of Aguadulce: A Smart Strategy

General Herrera then came up with a very clever plan to retake Aguadulce. He moved his army to the Padilla stream, which was a good base near the city. From this position, Herrera and his soldiers systematically cut off all of Aguadulce's communication and supply lines. This meant no food, water, or messages could get in or out of the city.

Aguadulce was now completely surrounded by Herrera's army. This brilliant military move slowly weakened the city's defenders. For 29 days, the Conservative soldiers inside suffered greatly. More than half of them became sick or died from hunger, fever, and dysentery. Because of the terrible supply situation and constant attacks from the Liberal army, General Berti finally surrendered Aguadulce on August 27, 1901. The Liberals set very strict conditions for the surrender.

In total, 13 Conservative generals, 300 officers, and over 3,000 soldiers gave up. A large amount of weapons was also handed over to the Liberal forces.

The Siege of Aguadulce is seen as a masterpiece of military strategy. A Liberal army of only about 1,000 men managed to surround and defeat a much larger and more experienced army of around 6,000 men. This victory helped the Liberals keep control of the Isthmus of Panama until the end of the war.

Images for kids

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  Children recruited in the department of Panama

See also

• In Spanish: Batalla de Aguadulce para niños