Great Military Parade of Chile

It is also in honor of the anniversary of the formal inauguration on that day in 1810 of the First Government Junta, which witnessed the first military parade of the independent nation at the Plaza de Armas, Santiago.

Another military parade was held on September 28, 1819, in honor of the formal victory in the Chilean War of Independence with units of the Army of the Andes taking part.

In 1831, a military exercise was ordered by the government of President Joaquin Prieto on the Pampilla fields, which would witness the first ever parade on September 19 in the following year with Diego Portales taking the salute.

With the victory in the Chilean Civil War, in which Körner and the pro-modernization officers supported the Congress, the Prussian practice began to be standardized.

The parade's September 19 date was officially sanctioned in 1915 as Chilean Army Day (Dia de las Glorias del Ejercito) per a presidential decree by President Ramón Barros Luco and Interior and Public Security Minister Pedro Nicolás Montenegro, then confirmed by Law 2977 by the National Congress, celebrating the Army, the first full day of the full independent nation, and the 1810 inauguration of its first government.

The President of Chile, in his/her constitutional duty as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the principal guest of the national parade which is held every 19 September for over a century, not just as the principal parade celebrating the anniversary of Chilean independence, but also in recognition of the valuable contribution of the Army and the entire Armed Forces and Carabineros in defending the territorial integrity and ensuring the public security of the country.

At the stands fronting the Movistar Arena are members of the public, veterans of the armed forces and Carabineros, and families of the active duty personnel attending.

At the central grandstand are representatives of the armed forces and Carabineros, military attaches to the republic and the diplomatic corps, guest military officers from NATO countries and from countries that also served with Chile in UN peacekeeping operations, the president of the Senate and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and congressional representatives and senators on the defense committees of both chambers, the Commanders of the Navy and Air Force, the Director General of the Carabineros, the National Director of the Gendarmerie and the Director General of the Investigations Police, the Minister of Interior and Public Security, the Minister of Justice and other cabinet ministers, the President of the Supreme Court, religious leaders and representatives of the mainland and Easter Island ethnic minorities.

Following the report, the training officer of the Corps of Drums of the Military Academy, upon noticing that the commander has ridden back to his position in the parade, then orders the Corps of Cadets for the march past in the following manner: The Drum Major of the Corps of Drums of the Military Academy, acting on the orders of his superior officer, begins the parade with the Prussian Parademarsch der Spielleute by the Corps and at the signal of his mace it then goose steps to the tune of the Preußischer Lockmarsch as a transition to the march past piece, the drum and bugle majors and the band conductor signal the formation to start forming in review order, with band instruments now at the ready to commence playing.

Following the army cadets, the Arturo Prat Naval Academy, the Manuel Ávalos Prado Air Force Academy and the Carabinier School President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo all march past with their respective bands, field music and corps of cadets, with the same order as the Army's to commence their respective segments, and with their bands forming up in review order in like manner.