On August 6, 1824, the revolutionary and royalist armies confronted one another on the plain of Junín. The revolutionaries occupied the low ground, while the royalist cavalry held better territory. The armies clashed at around four in the afternoon. In the initial melee of "swords and sabers", revolutionary general William Miller's hussars were forced back. This initial setback led Simon Bolívar to withdraw from the field to his infantry rearguard. Reunited, they hurried back and waited once more for the royalist cavalry under Canterac.