MARITIME CAMPAIGN OF THE WAR OF THE PACIFIC - HISTORY - 2025

The maritime campaign of the War of the Pacific was part of the War of the Pacific that confronted Chile with the alliance formed by Bolivia and Peru. The conflict was unleashed mainly by the dispute over neighboring territories rich in saltpeter and guano.

Chile took the initiative by occupying Antofagasta, then belonging to Bolivia. This led to the declaration of war between the two countries. Peru, which had signed a mutual defense treaty with Bolivia, immediately entered the conflict.

Source: National Historical Museum of Chile via Wikipedia under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license

The first stage of the war took place in the waters of the Pacific. For Chile the control of the ports was vital to weaken the enemy troops. This maritime campaign faced the Chileans and Peruvians, since Bolivia lacked a navy.

The fighting between the naval forces of both countries lasted about six months, from the beginning of the conflict in April until Chile captured the last Peruvian tank in October. The Chilean victory on this front facilitated the subsequent land campaign and marked the final result of the war.

Background

Although the tensions between the countries in the area had begun much earlier, in February 1878 the event occurred that would end up unleashing the war.

That month, Bolivia imposed a tax on the Chilean company Compañía de Salitres y Ferrocarril de Antofagasta (CSFA), despite the fact that the boundary treaty signed by both countries prohibited it.

Chile tried to take the measure to neutral arbitration, but the Bolivian government rejected the possibility. In addition, he ended up terminating the license of the Chilean company and seizing its assets.

Given this, the Chilean army occupied Antofagasta on February 14, 1879, later advancing to the 23rd parallel. On March 1, Bolivia declared war on Chile.

For their part, Peru and Bolivia had secretly signed a mutual defense treaty. The government of Lima sent a diplomat to Chile to try to stop the conflict, but to no avail. On April 5, Chile declared a state of war against the two allies. The next day, Peru would do the same in support of Bolivia.

Objectives of the naval campaign

Both sides had the same claims when they decided to start the war at sea. Thus, it was the best way to transport, defend and supply your ground forces.

In addition, dominating the ports prevented the disembarkation and supply of enemy troops, especially in the Atacama desert.

On the other hand, both Peru and Chile had to defend their ports dedicated to the export of nitrate and guano. The Chileans, by occupying Antofagasta, had managed to get ahead in this matter.

Development

In principle, the two sides were fairly balanced in terms of naval power. Bolivia did not have a Navy, but both Peru and Chile had bought modern warships in previous years.

The Peruvians had the battleships Huáscar and Independencia, while the Chileans had the Cochrane and the Blanco Encalada.

The most important clashes took place between April 5 and October 8, 1879, leaving Chile as the dominator of the coasts of its enemies.

Iquique Blockade

The first move made by Chile was to block the port of Iquique. With this, he intended to stop Peruvian exports, as well as force his ships to abandon Callao and present battle on the high seas.

To the blockade, which began on April 5, he joined the bombings on Pabellón de Pica, Mellendo and Pisagua.

The Peruvian reaction was quite conservative. He always avoided confrontation with superior Chilean units and proceeded to attack Chilean transport lines and ports that had no protection.

On May 16, most of the Chilean army left Iquique to go to Callao. It left only two ships to maintain the blockade, something that reached the ears of the Peruvian authorities.

Naval battle of Iquique

As mentioned, the Chileans only left two quite old ships in Iquique: the Esmeralda and the Covadonga. On May 21, two large Peruvian vessels broke the blockade. It was about Huáscar and Independence.

The Huáscar immediately attacked the Esmeralda and, after four hours of fighting, ended up sinking it. La Covadonga, on the other hand, not only managed to escape, but ended up defeating the Independence at Punta Gruesa.

Capture of the Rímac and Huáscar

The aforementioned Huáscar became the objective most pursued by the Chileans. For six months, the Peruvian battleship attacked enemy transports by surprise, bombed military installations and destroyed some lines of communication. Everything, in addition, managing to escape from the Chilean armor.

The culminating point was the capture of the steamer Rímac, which was carrying an important body of Chilean cavalry. This came to cause a great crisis in the government of Chile and the change of the chief of its navy.

The new authorities of the Chilean navy organized their ships into two divisions, with the specific purpose of capturing the Huáscar. On October 8, they achieved their objective during the Battle of Angamos, decisive for the end of the maritime campaign.

The loss of the Huáscar left Peru without possibilities in the maritime campaign. From that moment, the Chileans could land wherever they wanted and transport troops and materials without danger.

Callao blockade

After Angamos, the Peruvians tried to buy some new warships, but without success. With their forces diminished, they could only bring some supply to the ground troops, always avoiding confronting the Chilean ships.

Although some other naval confrontations still took place, such as the blockade of Callao or the taking of Arica, the Peruvians could no longer fight. The Chilean victory at sea cleared their land campaign.

Consequences

The loss of the Huáscar and, in practice, the maritime defeat of Peru, led to the resignation of the Minister of War and Navy.

Disembark in Pisagua

Having achieved primacy at sea, the Chileans transported about 9000 soldiers to disembark in Pisagua. With this movement, on November 2, 1879, the Tarapacá campaign began.

Blockade of Arica and Callao

Chilean ships, unopposed, blockaded Arica on November 28, 1879. Finally, they managed to seize the port, further consolidating their dominance.

On the other hand, during the blockade of Callao, the Peruvians managed to sink La Covadonga, although it did not help them to stop the Chilean offensive. These landed between Pisco and Lurín and began their advance until they reached Lima.

Self-destruction of the Peruvian fleet in Callao

Occupied Lima and Callao, during the night of January 17 to 18, 1881, the Peruvian government decided to destroy all its ships to prevent them from being captured by the Chileans.

References

1. Icarito. Maritime Campaign (1879). Obtained from icarito.cl
2. Larreta, Alfredo. Naval combat of the War of the Pacific. Obtained from mercuriovalpo.cl
3. Orrego Penagos, Juan Luis. The War of the Pacific: the beginnings of the conflict and the maritime campaign. Obtained from blog.pucp.edu.pe
4. New World Encyclopedia. War of the Pacific. Retrieved from newworldencyclopedia.org
5. Williamson, Mitch. Peru, Chile, and the War of the Pacific (1879–84) - Naval Warfare. Retrieved from andeantragedy.blogspot.com
6. GlobalSecurity. War of the Pacific / Guerra del Pacifico / Chile-Peruvian War (1879-1882). Retrieved from globalsecurity.org
7. Clem, Andrew G. War of the Pacific, 1879-1883. Retrieved from andrewclem.com