War of the Pacific
- Period
- February 1879 – October 1884
- Sides
- Chile vs Peru & Bolivia
- Battles
- 23
The War of the Pacific, also known by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Chilean claims on coastal Bolivian territory in the Atacama Desert, the war ended with victory for Chile, which gained a significant amount of resource-rich territory from Peru and Bolivia. The war demonstrated Chile's military-technological superiority over its opponents at the time.
Sources: Wikipedia — War of the Pacific · CC BY-SA 4.0
Battles 23
March 1879
Battle of Topáter
The Battle of Topáter, or Battle of Calama, was fought on March 23, 1879, between Chile and Bolivia. It was the first battle of the War of the Pacific.
April 1879
Battle of Chipana
The Battle of Chipana took place on 12 April 1879, during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. It was the first naval engagement between both navies and took place in front of Huanillos, off the (then) Bolivian coast, as the Peruvian corvette Unión and gunboat Pilcomayo found the Chilean corvette Magallanes on its way to Iquique.
April 1879
Blockade of Iquique
The Blockade of Iquique was a military operation that occurred during the War of the Pacific. Once war was declared by Chile upon Peru on Saturday, April 5, 1879, the first Chilean naval action for the War of the Pacific was set in motion. The plan was to block the Peruvian port of Iquique the same day the declaration of war was made. The first phase of the blockade ended on May 21, 1879, after the clashes between the Peruvian ships Huascar and Independencia versus the Chilean ships Esmeralda and Covadonga.
May 1879
Battle of Iquique
The Battle of Iquique was a naval engagement on 21 May 1879, during the War of the Pacific, where a Chilean corvette commanded by Arturo Prat Chacón faced a Peruvian ironclad under Miguel Grau. The battle occurred off the port of Iquique, Peru, and ended with the sinking of the Chilean wooden corvette Esmeralda by the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar after four hours of combat, marking a victory for Peru.
May 1879
Battle of Punta Gruesa
The Battle of Punta Gruesa was a naval action that took place on May 21, 1879, during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. This may be labelled as the second part of the Naval Battle of Iquique, which occurred on the same day, although it is described in many sources as a separate battle.
September 1879
Battle of Río Grande
The Battle of Río Grande was a minor military engagement that took place on 10 September 1879, during the War of the Pacific. A picket of Chilean soldiers and a Bolivian montonera clashed in Rio Grande, around San Pedro de Atacama. The Bolivians are defeated, which eliminates local resistance to Chilean occupation in the Litoral Department.
October 1879
Battle of Angamos
The Battle of Angamos was a naval encounter of the War of the Pacific fought between the navies of Chile and Perú at Punta Angamos, on 8 October 1879. The battle was the culminating point of a naval campaign that lasted about five months in which the Chilean Navy had the sole mission of eliminating its Peruvian counterpart. In the struggle, two armored frigates, led by Commodore Galvarino Riveros Cárdenas and Navy Captain Juan José Latorre battered and later captured the Peruvian monitor Huáscar, under Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario.
October 1879
Battle of Quillagua
The Battle of Quillagua was a battle of the War of the Pacific that occurred on October 10, 1879. It was the first ever land battle between the Peruvian and Chilean infantry.
November 1879
Battle of Pisagua
The Battle of Pisagua, was a landing operation of the War of the Pacific, fought on November 2, 1879, between Chile and the combined forces of Bolivia and Peru. The Chilean army commanded by Erasmo Escala, supported by the Chilean Fleet, launched an amphibious assault on the port of Pisagua and successfully drove the defending Bolivian-Peruvian forces, led by Gen. Juan Buendia, back from the shore. They established a beachhead that allowed an initial force of about 1,000 Chilean soldiers in two assault waves to disembark onto Peruvian territory at Pisagua in Tarapacá Department. This region was the principal territory in dispute.
November 1879
Battle of Tarapacá
The Battle of Tarapacá occurred on 27 November 1879 during the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific. A Chilean force of 2,300 soldiers divided in three columns attacked a Peruvian contingent of 4,486 troops at Tarapacá commanded by Gen Juan Buendía, resulting in a harsh defeat. The Chilean 2nd Line Regiment was the most damaged unit, losing almost half of its force, along with its commander Lt. Col. Eleuterio Ramírez and his second in command, Lt. Col. Bartolomé Vivar. The unit lost its banner, which was recovered six months later after the Battle of Tacna. Despite the victory, the Allies could not contest for the domination of the Tarapacá department, abandoning it to Chilean control.
November 1879
Battle of San Francisco
The Battle of San Francisco, also known as the Battle of Dolores, was a major battle in the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific, fought on November 19, 1879, in the Peruvian department of Tarapacá. A Chilean army under Colonel Emilio Sotomayor had moved via Dolores rail road deep into the desert and was encamped at San Francisco Saltpeter Office, about 30 kilometers south east of the port of Pisagua. Allied forces under General Juan Buendía launched an attack on Sotomayor's army. At the beginning, Bolivian General Carlos de Villegas pressed the attack over a poorly defended battery right in the Chilean centre and almost succeeded. Only the arrival of infantry support allowed Colonel José Domingo Amunátegui to hold the position.
November 1879
Battle of Pampa Germania
The Battle of Pampa Germania was a cavalry battle of the Tarapacá campaign of the War of the Pacific that took place on November 6, 1879. In this battle, the Chilean cavalry led by Lieutenant Colonel José Francisco Vergara and Sofanor Parra ambush and massacre the allied cavalry commanded by Peruvian Lieutenant Colonel José Buenaventura Sepúlveda who was in the rear of the allied army, which had already undertaken their march to Dolores, in the Pampa Germania sector, near Agua Santa.
December 1879
Battle of Tambillo
The Battle of Tambillo was a battle of the War of the Pacific that occurred on December 6, 1879, between the Bolivian 5th Division under the command of Colonel Rufino Carrasco and the Chilean garrison stationed at the town commanded by Lieutenant Emilio Ferreira.
March 1880
Battle of Los Ángeles
The Battle of Los Ángeles was a military action fought on 22 March 1880 between the Chilean and Peruvian armies during the Tacna and Arica Campaign of the War of the Pacific. The Chilean forces under Commander in chief Manuel Baquedano assaulted and defeated the Allied stronghold guided by Andrés Gamarra garrisoned at Los Angeles hill top.
April 1880
Battle of Locumba
The Battle of Locumba was a battle of the Tacna and Arica campaign of the War of the Pacific that took place on April 1, 1880, between the Chilean cavalry and the Peruvian garrison at the town.
May 1880
Battle of Tacna
The Battle of Tacna, also known as the Battle of the Alto de la Alianza, was a battle that took place on May 26, 1880, at the plateau of the Alto de la Alianza, a hill a few miles north of the Peruvian city of Tacna. It effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian alliance against Chile, forged by a secret treaty signed in 1873. During the battle, the Chilean Northern Operations Army led by General Manuel Baquedano González conclusively defeated the combined armies of Peru and Bolivia commanded by Bolivian President, General Narciso Campero.
June 1880
Battle of Arica
The Battle of Arica, also known as Assault and Capture of Cape Arica, was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru.
January 1881
Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos
The Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos was the first of two main battles in the Lima campaign during the War of the Pacific, and was fought on 13 January 1881. This battle is really a group of smaller, yet fierce confrontations at the defensive strongholds of Villa, Chorrillos, Santiago de Surco, San Juan de Miraflores, Santa Teresa and Morro Solar. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel Baquedano inflicted a harsh defeat on the Peruvian army commanded by the Supreme Chief Nicolás de Piérola. The Chilean triumph eliminated the first defensive line guarding Lima, and almost obliterated the Peruvian army defending it.
January 1881
Battle of Miraflores
The Battle of Miraflores occurred on January 15, 1881 in the Miraflores District of Lima, Peru. It was an important battle during the War of the Pacific that was fought between Chile and the forces of Peru. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel Baquedano defeated the army commanded by Nicolás de Piérola guarding the second defensive line of the Peruvian capital city. Two days later, Lima, the capital city of Peru was occupied by Chilean troops. Gen. Baquedano's forces marched into Lima triumphant, while Peru's president and his officers fled into the interior, leaving the country without any government. Even after the fall of Lima, the war continued between the occupation army and the troops of Andres Caceres for another three years. During the occupation of Lima, Peru's National Library was burned, while a number of other monuments were ransacked by Chilean forces and taken as war trophies.
February 1882
First Battle of Pucará
The Battle of Pucará was fought on February 5, 1882, during the Sierra Campaign of the War of the Pacific. With a two-to-one superiority in numbers and even more in artillery, the Chilean army under the command of Colonel Estanislao del Canto was unable to destroy the little Peruvian army of General Cáceres, and withdrew to the town of Pucará leaving the Peruvian army to continue its strategic retreat.
July 1882
Battle of La Concepción
The Battle of La Concepción was fought between Chilean and Peruvian forces on July 9 and 10, 1882, during the Breña campaign of the War of the Pacific. Heavily outnumbered, the Chilean detachment of 77 men under the command of Captain Ignacio Carrera Pinto was annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears, commanded by Col. Juan Gasto and Ambrosio Salazar after a 27-hour fight in the small town of Concepción in the Peruvian Andes.
July 1883
Battle of Huamachuco
The Battle of Huamachuco was fought on the 10 July 1883, and it was the last major battle of the War of the Pacific. The Chilean soldiers, led by Colonel Alejandro Gorostiaga, decisively defeated the Peruvian army commanded by General Andrés Avelino Cáceres near the town of Huamachuco. This Chilean victory effectively eliminated Cáceres' Ejército de la Breña, ending any real threat or resistance in the Peruvian Andes. The Peruvian defeat paved the way for the Treaty of Ancón that finally put an end to the war. Also, one of Peru's greatest heroes, Colonel Leoncio Prado, died as a consequence of this battle.
Earlier and later events nearby
- 1808–1833Spanish American wars of independence
- 1816Argentine Declaration of Independence
- 1824Battle of Ayacucho
- February 1879 – October 1884War of the PacificThis page
Who ruled this land
States that held this place in the historical borders data (Cliopatria). Years are approximate, as fine as the data's snapshots (every few years to a century). Tap to open the map for that year.
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