The Battle of El Roble was fought on the Itata river, 17 October 1813, between the Chilean patriot general José Miguel Carrera and Spanish royalist forces under the command of Clemente Lantaño and Luis Urrejola.

[1] Having discovered Carrera's plans, Juan Francisco Sanchez, the royalist commander in Chillán, decided to destroy the patriot army in a surprise attack.

Meanwhile, then Colonel Bernardo O'Higgins had kept his composure from the start of the shooting and, gathering about two hundred men around him, ran to protect the artillery and organise the resistance.

Although injured in the leg, O'Higgins continued to lead the pursuit of the enemy on foot, until the royalists had crossed back over the river in total confusion.

For José Miguel Carrera, his retreat from the battlefield would cause him to lose support from Santiago, and result in his replacement by Bernardo O'Higgins, leading in turn to the battle of Las Tres Acequias the following year.