Battle of Iquique

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Battle of Iquique
Part of the War of the Pacific
Naval Combat of Iquique - The sinking of the Esmeralda
Date May 21, 1879 Location near Iquique, Peru (present day Chile) Result Peruvian Victory
Combatants
Chile	Peru
Commanders
Arturo Prat †	Miguel Grau
Strength
1 corvette	1 ironclad turret ship
Casualties
135 dead 62 wounded 1 corvette lost	1 dead 7 wounded

War of the Pacific
Topáter - Chipana - Iquique - Angamos - Pisagua - San Francisco - Tarapacá - Tacna - Arica - San Juan - Miraflores - Callao - La Concepción - Huamachuco - San Pablo

The Naval Battle of Iquique took place on May 21, 1879 during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. This is one of the combats of the Sea Campaign.

Contents 1 Context 2 The Naval Battle of Iquique 3 Aftermath 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Context

During the first year of the war, Chilean war efforts were focused on destroying the Peruvian Navy. This, in order to clear the seas for the Chilean Navy, whose duty would be to help the army to conquer Bolivian and Peruvian territories with troop landings and port blockades.

During May 1879, the main ships of the Chilean Navy were sent towards the Peruvian port of Callao in order to destroy its navy, while two old, wooden ships -the corvette Esmeralda and the schooner Covadonga, commanded by Captain Arturo Prat and Captain Carlos Condell respectively - were left blockading the Peruvian port of Iquique.

However, as the Chilean Navy steamed north towards Callao, two ironclad ships of the Peruvian Navy steamed south from Callao, unseen. These ships were the monitor Huáscar and the armoured frigate Independencia, commanded by Admiral Miguel Grau and Captain Juan Guillermo More.

[edit] The Naval Battle of Iquique

On the morning of May 21, 1879, the watch in the crows nest of Esmeralda spotted two ships coming from the north. These were the Peruvian Independencia and Huáscar. Rumours had circulated in Iquique of stationary torpedoes (tethered mines) being deployed around the blockading Chilean ships. Outgunned, Captain Prat may have wanted to take advantage of this by acting the part, staying close to the port itself and stationary. Having received these reports from the port authorities, Captain Grau was faced with the difficult prospect of firing into the Chilean ships, possibly inflicting casualties and damage among Peruvian population and infrastructure right behind, or waiting while fired at by the Chileans. He decided to wait.

Coastal guns at Iquique solved the standoff by firing on the Chilean vessels. Attempting to escape, Covadonga headed south but Esmeralda experienced engine problems. By this time, the battle was inevitable: while Huáscar engaged Esmeralda, Independencia pursued Covadonga south.

It was now clear that no mines were in the water, so ironclad Huáscar maneuvered to ram wooden Esmeralda several times with its armoured bow. Esmeralda's captain saw this as an opportunity to board the Peruvian ship and overpower its crew in hand-to-hand combat - the plan was not without merit as his ship was definitely no match for the monitor otherwise.

The opportunity came with the first ramming, but the plan did not work. Captain Prat's yell "Al abordaje muchachos!" ("Let's board, boys!") was muffled by the sound of the Huascar's metal crushing the Esmeralda's wood, and thus heard and answered by only two sailors; both were killed by gunfire on the enemy ship's deck. The second ramming saw a better organized attempt with about 11 sailors led by 1st. Lt. Ignacio Serrano, which suffered a similar fate. Battered by heavy fire and Huáscar's ram, Esmeralda sank in Iquique Bay after the third ramming.

135 Chilean sailors perished, and 62 were rescued on order of the Huáscar's captain; 1 Peruvian sailor was killed and 7 wounded.

Meanwhile, Covadonga tried to escape south with Independencia in pursuit. This lead to the Naval Battle of Punta Gruesa, that ended with the Peruvian ship lost. This may be labelled as the second part of the Naval Battle of Iquique, although it is described in many sources as a separate battle.

[edit] Aftermath

The twin naval battles of Iquique and Punta Gruesa were Chilean tactical victories; the blockade on Iquique was lifted and Chile left the area. However, the battles proved to be strategically costly; one of the most powerful warships in the Peruvian Navy was lost, while Chile only lost one of its oldest wooden warships. This left the Huáscar alone to fight the entire Chilean Navy. Also, the heroic death of Captain Prat inspired thousands of Chilean youth to join the army. This is considered in Chilean history as one of the most important factors for achieving victory.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Battle of Angamos
• Battle of Punta Gruesa