Battle of Huamachuco
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| War of the Pacific | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Chile | Peru | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Alejandro Gorostiaga | Andres Caceres | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2.000 | 1.440 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 600 dead | 1.000 dead or captured | ||||||
| War of the Pacific |
|---|
| Topáter - Chipana - Iquique - Angamos - Pisagua - San Francisco - Tarapacá - Tacna - Arica - San Juan - Miraflores - Callao - La Concepción - Huamachuco - San Pablo |
The Battle of Huamachuco (July 10, 1883) was the last battle of the War of the Pacific; the Peruvian defeat paved the way for the treaty of Ancon that finally put an end to the war. One of Peru's greatest heroes, Colonel Leoncio Prado, also died as a consequence of this battle.
[edit] Background
The defeats suffered by the Chilean army in Marcavalle, Pucará and La Concepcion, plus the effect of the sanitary conditions that were decimating the troops, convinced the Chilean High Command of the need to completely abandon the Central Andes. By that time, the occupation troops had been reduced to about half their original size. Peruvian General Andres Caceres was in total control of the Mantaro valley and was even able to take possession of the city of Huancayo. He established his command post in Tarma and busied himself reorganizing his army. By January 1883, Caceres had raised his troops to 3.200 men well armed and equipped, and was in total control of central Peru.
Faced with this threat to the peace negotiations, Admiral Patricio Lynch, the Chilean Commander-in-Chief, decided to send a new force against General Caceres. This new army was composed of 3 divisions, under the command of colonels García, del Canto and Arriagada. The Chilean army was well armed, and had learned the lessons from his previous forays into the high Andes. Their plan was to surround and corner the Peruvians to force them into a conventional battle. Soon, they captured the strategic city of Jauja and on May 5, they came together in the city of Chicla. Faced with the threat of several thousand experienced, well equipped and well-armed troops, the Peruvian army decided to retreat north.
On May 30 the Peruvian army arrived to Cerro de Pasco, with the Chilean divisions under colonels del Canto and García in close pursuit. Under those circunstances, the Peruvians continued to retreat into the high Andes. By the third week of June the Peruvians were in critical condition. The Chileans had almost cornered them. On June 22 General Caceres was forced to order the retreat via the Llanganuco pass, located at an altitude of over 6.000 meters. Thanks to this risky maneover, he was able to evade the main Chilean force. After many more hardships, on July 5 the Peruvian army arrived to Tulpo, near Ayacucho. There, General Caceres was informed that the Chilean colonel Alejandro Gorostiaga was occupying the town of Huamachuco, isolated from the main corp of the Chilean army. Another enemy group was advancing from the rear to reinforce him in the town and to help push the Peruvians towards Cajamarca.
Caceres decided to try and destroy this reinforcement before it could reach the Gorostiaga division, but Chilean scouts were on the alert and the surprise was foiled. At that point, the Peruvian General called a war meeting and the decision was taken to stop retreating and try to destroy the Chilean forces in the town.
[edit] The battle
On July 8, 1883 the Peruvian forces, about 1.440 men in all, took positions on Cuyurgo hill and also on the facing Purrubamba hill, overlooking the city. The Peruvians were armed with Peabody and Remington rifles, but didn't have much ammunition or bayonnets. Originally, General Caceres divided his troops, with half on the Cuyurgo hill and the rest on the left of it, to try to cut the enemy from behind. Colonel Gorostiaga as soon as he saw the Peruvians on the top of the hills, inmediately gathered all his troops and evacuated the city, taking position in the Sazón hill, a perfect defensive position, steep and with a very difficult access, facing the Cuyurgo hill, that sported some Inca ruins that were to be used as parapets.
The Peruvians took control of the town of Huamachuco. On July 8 and 9 there were a few artillery exchanges but the final assault was reserved for the early hours of July 10. Their plan was to attack the most vulnerable Chilean position south-east of the Sazón hill. The Chileans, noticing the Peruvian advance, moved down the hill to try to contain the attack. The first Chilean attack was against the right enemy flank on the Cuyulga hill. They met fierce opposition, and became stuck in the area. Gorostiaga sent fresh troops to attack the left flank this time. Again they couldn't break the Peruvian lines. A third attack was stopped by the Peruvian's "Astete" division.
At that moment, both armies were on an equal footing. The Chileans were forced to retreat back into their own lines, under Peruvian attack. Little by little, the Peruvians started to push the full Chilean line back up onto the Sazón hill. The Chilean artillery was silenced. The Peruvians almost got to the top of the hill. Four hours into the combat, the Peruvians could almost taste victory. The Chileans were reduced to defending themselves on the very top of the hill. In those moments, the Peruvians started to run out of ammunition. It was at that point that General Caceres made a fatal mistake: he ordered the Peruvian artillery to relocate facing the hill to try to provide the final coup.
When the Chileans noticed that, they quickly reorganized themselves and charged the Peruvian lines with their bayonnets. The Peruvians, who didn't have bayonnets and had almost run out of ammunition by then, could only defend themselves with the butts of their rifles. The Chilean charge downhill broke the Peruvian lines and the troops started to disband. The Chilean cavalry, that was almost in full retreat towards Cajabamba, turned around, surrounded and destroyed the Peruvian artillery, ending any Peruvian possibility of turning the tide.
[edit] Aftermath
The Peruvians lost almost two thirds of their troops, including a great part of their officers. Among them General Pedro Silva, Chief of Staff Colonel Manuel Tafur, the four divisional chiefs: Germán Astete, Manuel Cáceres, Juan Gastó and Máximo Tafur. Many more died or were executed after the battle, chief among them one of Peru's greatest heroes, Colonel Leoncio Prado. General Cáceres, injured, was able to escape and evade capture. The battle effectively ended all further Peruvian resistance and the treaty of Ancon, putting an end to the war, was signed 3 months later, on 20 October 1883.
