Battle of Carabobo (1814)  The" 'First Battle of Carabobo"' (1814) was a battle in the Venezuelan War of Independence, in which the forces of the Second Republic, commanded by Simón Bolívar, defeated the Spaniard forces under Field marshal Juan Manuel de Cajigal y Martínez. The colonial government was restored in Venezuela after Domingo de Monteverde's successful taking of Caracas on July 29, 1812, during his reconquest campaign. Monte Verde planned to launch an offensive against the United Provinces of Nueva Granada. However, before he could execute it, two renegade exiled colonels overtook him early the following year. Simón Bolívar began his Admirable Campaign in the West, while Santiago Mariño reached the East with exiles from Trinidad Island. Before this desperate situation, Monteverde tried to reconquer Maturín, as the provinces of Guayana, Nueva Barcelona and Cumaná had fallen to Mariño quickly, but he failed on multiple occasions. When he tried to stop Bolivar in the West, he was wounded in battle and was forced to take refuge in Puerto Cabello, where Cajigal relieved him from command. After Bolívar took Caracas on August 6, 1813, the Royalist forces were reduced to their positions in the nearby Orinoco Valley, Apure and the Province of Coro. Fortunately for them, the arrival of Brigadier José Ceballos with 5,000 Spaniard soldiers allowed them to resist the offensive again. In February 1814, the main threats to the Second Republic of Venezuela were José Tomás Boves's armies in Los Llanos (8,000 men), José Ceballos in the West (4,000 men) and Juan Manuel Cajigal (3,000 men), who had reorganized their forces after the Admirable Campaign, and were starting their offensive. At the same time, Colonel Francisco Rosete (under Boves' orders) was acting wildly in Valles del Tuy. Given this danger, Santiago Mariño finally tried to help Bolivar, but it was too late to contain all their enemies. On March 23, the patriot army in the West and its partner in the East, under the command of Bolívar and Mariño respectively, joined in Los Pilones - currently Guárico State - in order to join forces against the Royalists.