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.

As a result of the battle, Bolivia was knocked out of the war, leaving Peru to fight the rest of the war alone. The victory also consolidated the Chilean domain over the Peruvian department of Tarapacá. Following the signing of the Treaty of Ancón on October 20, 1883, the war concluded and the territory was definitively annexed to Chile. Tacna itself remained under Chilean control until signing of the Treaty of Lima in 1929.

After their success in the Tarapacá campaign, the Chileans went quiet for some time. The Chilean government believed that with the capture of Tarapacá, Peru would sign a truce, allowing Chile to keep the recently gained territory as war compensation. Besides, the army had enlarged by mass civilian volunteers. By November, the Army of Northern Operations had 12,000 men. Finally, the control of Antofagasta meant an extra cash-flow from the saltpeter exports. This made possible to purchase weapons, clothes, food and other war materials the expanding army would require, easing the burden of war expenditures.

But, the lack of results generated popular discontent in Peru and Bolivia. Especially in the latter, the retreat from Camarones was a shame. This was determinant for the deposition of the President of Peru, Mariano Ignacio Prado, and his Bolivian counterpart, Hilarión Daza. Both were deposed and replaced by Nicolás de Piérola and General Narciso Campero, respectively. Also, the loss of the Tarapacá Department stopped the earnings of the saltpeter trade, making the war financial weight heavier for the Allies.

The Allies had 11,000 men between Tacna and Arica. The army present in Tacna had about 10,000 men and thirty one cannons — six Krupp breech-loading cannons, six Gatling machine guns, nine La Hitte 4kg muzzle-loading rifled cannons, and two Blakely 12pdr muzzle-loading rifled guns. Elements of the allied army had been stationed about a year in the city, but had little experience of the dry conditions outside the valley where the city of Tacna lay. By the time of the battle the sanitary conditions in the city were poor with infectious diseases being widespread among both soldiers and the civilian population. Civilians and soldiers alike died of infectious diseases, hospitals were underfunded, and overall the management of the military effort poor. Many diseased soldiers went directly from hospital and houses where they were resting to the battlefield.

The main problem for the allies was that the infantry had different types of rifles, and many of them were obsolete, with no compatible ammunition. Being the highest-ranking officer, the command of the Allies fell to Gen. Narciso Campero, president of Bolivia.

The Chilean High Command planned a landing at Ilo and Pacocha to scout the country and to gain knowledge of the Allies status. Following two previous incursions, 10,000 men were unshipped at Ilo. By the time of these events, Gen. Erasmo Escala resigned his commission as Commander in Chief due to constant arguments with War Minister Rafael Sotomayor. The latter appointed General Manuel Baquedano González as his successor. Baquedano was a veteran of the war against the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy, who had the sympathies and respect of the soldiers.

The infantry was equipped with Comblain and upgraded Gras rifles, which used the same type of bullets. The artillery had 37 cannon — 20 Krupp cannon and 17 mountain cannon.