From the Atacama to the Andes

Battles of the War of the Pacific 1879-1883

Alan Curtis

• Publisher: Helion and Company
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781804516027
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

With the break up of the Spanish empire in South America, the continent split into nine independent states with often ill-defined boundaries. One of these was that between Bolivia and Chile, which were separated by the Atacama Desert, tone of the driest regions in the world. When it was realized that the area contained nitrates that the world needed for explosives and fertilizer the scene was set for the inevitable clash. When war broke out in February 1879, both sides found themselves unprepared for war. Rapid armament followed as the Peruvians were dragged into the conflict in support of their Bolivian allies. Initially there was a tiresome naval war of blockade and guerre de course. Two naval actions decided the naval campaign in favor of the Chileans who then proceeded to use their naval power to attack the Allies' isolated armies and capture Lima two years after war had broken out. Fighting then developed into a cruel and ruthless guerrilla war in the Andes, sometimes even pitting Peruvian against Peruvian, before the Peruvians finally concede defeat. The war was notable in the West for fights involving ironclads, particularly the Battle of Angamos, which saw the only time ironclads were pitted against each other between the Battle of Lissa and the Battle of the Yalu River. The war helped formulate Captain Mahan's thoughts in "The Influence of Sea Power upon History". The land war was more or less ignored abroad, although it included some of the biggest battles ever fought on the continent, using all the latest technology, including breech loading rifles and cannons and machine guns. The armies on both sides initially lacked experience and training as well as modern equipment. The Bolivian Army started the war with 806 officers and only 1369 other ranks! In the end the Chileans won because of their more stable government, better financial situation and their control of the sea, due to their two superior ironclads. From the Atacama to the Andes tells the brutal struggle between two sides to control the wealth of the Atacama and for retention of Bolivia's coast. The result was that Chile gained the mineral resources of the "New North" and Bolivia became the second landlocked country on the continent, paving the way for the even more catastrophic Chaco War 50 years later.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations, Plates and Maps
• Introduction
• Prologue
• 1. The Road to War
• 2. The Contending Forces
• 3. The Battle of Calama
• 4. The Battle of Iquique
• 5. The Battle of Angamos
• 6. The Pisagua Landing
• 7. The Battle of San Francisco
• 8. The Battle of Tarapaca
• 9. The Battle of Los Angeles
• 10. The Battle of Tacna
• 11. The Assault on the Morro of Arica
• 12. The Blockade of Callao
• 13. The Battle of Chorrillos
• 14. The Battle of Miraflores
• 15. The First Battle of Pucara
• 16. The Actions at Acuchimay, Concepcion, Marcavalle and 2nd Pucara
• 17. The Battle of San Pablo
• 18. The Battle of Huamachuco
• 19. The Fall of Arequipa
• 20. The End
• 21. Organisation of the Armies
• 22. Artillery
• 23. Uniforms
• 24. Major Warships
• Appendix I: Chilean Forces at Pisagua
• Appendix II: Chilean Forces in Tarapaca
• Appendix III: Allied Forces in Tarapaca
• Appendix IV: Peruvian Forces at the Battle of Tarapaca
• Appendix V: Chilean Casualties at Tarapaca
• Appendix VI: Peruvian Casualties at Tarapaca
• Appendix VII: Chilean Divisions January 1880
• Appendix VIII: Forces at the Battle of Los Angeles
• Appendix IX: Second Army of the South (1880)
• Appendix X: Allied Forces at the Battle of Tacna
• Appendix XI: Chilean Forces at the Battle of Tacna
• Appendix XII: Chilean Losses at the Battle of Tacna
• Appendix XIII: Forces at the Storming of the Morro Arica
• Appendix XIV: Armies of the North and Centre
• Appendix XV: Chilean Forces Landed at Pisco
• Appendix XVI: Chilean Casualties at the Battle of Chorrillos
• Appendix XVII: Chilean Casualties at the Battle of Miraflores
• Appendix XVIII: Official Chilean Casualty Returns
• Appendix XIX: Forces for the First La Brena Campaign
• Appendix XX: Chilean Deployment in the Mantaro Valley May 1882
• Appendix XXI: Combined Armies of the North and Centre July 1883 (Peru)
• Appendix XXII: The Peruvian Army of Arequipa 1883
• Appendix XXIII: Armies of the Final Campaign 1883
• Appendix XXIV: Armies of the Final Campaign: The Bolivian Army 1883
• Colour Plate Commentaries
• Bibliography
• Plates