The invading Argentine army was defeated by a force led by Otto Philipp Braun supported by Francisco Burdett O'Connor, settling the location of Bolivia's southwestern border.

As a Divisional General he accompanied Santa Cruz in the June 1835 invasion of Peru, in which the Bolivia-Peru Confederation was formed.

The Argentine forces were unable to follow up until they had dealt with the defection of the militia of Jujuy Province and with uprisings by Unitarian rebels, and had obtained reinforcements.

[7] Argentine forces under Colonel Gregorio Paz moved to the San Luis valley near Tarija, arriving there on 10 June 1838.

According to an Argentine account, Paz was told by the border commander that General Braun had reached Tarija with a force of five hundred infantry and 50 cavalry.

On 24 June 1838, the day of the battle, the Argentinians learned of the defeat of their compatriots in Iruya, causing some of the infantry to desert.

His main force was a rifle squadron, a company of Argentinian Cuirassiers and one hundred and fifty infantry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Ubierna.

[10] Santa Cruz lost power in January 1839 after the Bolivian defeat by Chile in the Battle of Yungay, and Braun was forced to leave Bolivia.