Battle of Atlapulco

Battle of Atlapulco
Part of the Ten Years' War
Date February 11, 1720 Location near Atlapulco, Ocotlan State, Ardesia Result Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Soravia	Soravia
Commanders and leaders
Count Marinin	Count Vedernikoff  †
Strength
~1,100	~1,000
Casualties and losses
230–280	80–90

The Battle of Atlapulco (Vespesian: Battaglia di Atlapulco, Soravian: Битва при Атлапулько; Bytva pry Atlapul'ko), also alternatively known as the Atlapulco disaster, was a brief military event near the village of Atlapulco, Ardesia towards the end of the Ten Years' War. The battle was between two separate Soravian armies, one of which ambushed the other within dense jungle terrain. Over 300 were thought to have been killed before the battle came to an end.

Beginning in late 1719, after successive victories in the Asterian front and a victory at the decisive Battle of the Arucian, Soravia attempted to launch a late offensive into Ardesia, a colony of Vespesia. The offensive was immediately stifled by dense jungle terrain and unsuitable weather. The two largest armies in the south-east, led by the nobles Count Marinin and Count Vedernikoff, were assigned with capturing the city of Porto Sotiri, the largest in eastern Ardesia.

Allegedly, many troops of Marinin's army, including Marinin himself, suffered increasingly from heatstroke and paranoia as they ventured further. Historians generally agree that Marinin's army had actually circled back on itself, eventually coming into contact with Vedernikoff's trailing army. Marinin ordered an ambush on Vedernikoff's army, killing just under 100 men whilst losing nearly a quarter of his own before realising what had happened. Vedernikoff died in combat, and Marinin was discharged after and imprisoned on Apostola. Two weeks after Atlapulco, Soravia retreated its forces from Ardesia after heavy losses and no gains.

See also

• Ten Years' War