Land campaign of the War of the Pacific
On 2 November 1879 at 7:15 began the naval bombardment and disembarkment at the small port of Pisagua and the Junin Cove, –some 500 km North of Antofagasta.
A detachment of 3,600[citation needed] Chilean soldiers, cavalry and artillery, was sent to face the Peruvian forces in the small town of Tarapacá.
[6] On 18 December 1879 the Peruvian President Mariano Ignacio Prado suddenly took a ship from Callao to Panama, allegedly with six million pesos in gold,[7] supposedly to oversee the purchase of new arms and warships for the nation.
Back to Arica from the aborted expedition to Iquique, on 27 December 1879 Daza received a telegram from La Paz informing him the army had overthrown him.
During the Bolivian tax crisis of 1879, Chile voted a new Congress on schedule and in 1881 Domingo Santa María was elected as President of the Republic.
The need for a port near the army to supply and reinforce the troops and evacuate the wounded made the Chilean command concentrate on the remaining Peruvian stronghold of Arica.
Although willing to accept the negotiated settlement, Peru and Bolivia insisted that Chile withdraw its forces from all occupied lands as a precondition for discussing peace.
[23] This forced both the Chilean government and its high command to plan a new campaign with the objective to obtain an unconditional capitulation at the Peruvian capital city.
[1]: 258–259 President Pierola ordered the construction of two parallel lines of defenses at Chorrillos and Miraflores a few kilometers south of Lima.
The line of Chorrillos had 10 miles (16 km) long, lying from Marcavilca hill to La Chira, passing through the acclivities of San Juan and Santa Teresa.
During the Battle of Chorrillos, the Chileans inflicted a harsh defeat to the Peruvian army and eliminated the first defensive line guarding Lima.
During the occupation of Lima, Chilean troops systematically pillaged Peruvian public buildings, turned the old University of San Marcos into a barracks, raided medical schools and other institutions of education, and stole a series of monuments and artwork that had adorned the city.
[1]: 296 The Peruvian dictator Nicolás de Piérola retreated from the capital to try governing from the rear area, and he still refused to accept Chile's demand for territory and indemnity.
Garcia Calderón was allowed to raise and arm two infantry battalions (400 men each) and two small cavalry squadrons to give more legitimacy to the provisional government.
[4]: 173 The commander of the Chilean occupation, Vice-admiral Patricio Lynch, set down his military headquarters in the Government Palace of Peru in Lima.
In February 1881, the Chilean forces under the command of Lt. Col. Ambrosio Letelier started the first Expedition, with 700 men, to defeat the last guerilla bands from Huánuco (30 April) to Junín.
After many losses the expedition achieved very little and came back to Lima in early July,[1]: 309- where Letelier and his officers were court-martialed because they illegally diverted money into their own pocket.
The leader of the resistance was General Andrés Avelino Cáceres (nicknamed the Warlock of the Andes), who would later be elected president of Peru.
Chile would once again attempt to dominate the region by sending another campaign force, but the Chilean troops were defeated at the battles of Chicla and Purhuay.
During the time prior to that date, Chilean troops occupied the city of Arequipa after an uprising forced the puppet regime of Lizardo Montero to flee to La Paz, Bolivia.
[1]: 329 On 1 April 1882 Miguel Iglesias, former Defence minister under Pierola, became convinced that the war had to be brought to an end if Peru was not to be completely devastated.
He issued a manifesto, "Grito de Montan", calling for peace and in December 1882 called a convention of representatives of the seven departments of northern Peru where he was elected "Regenerating President"[1]: 329–330 [4]: 181–182 To protect and support Iglesias against Montero, on 6 April 1883, Patricio Lynch started a new offensive to drive the Montoneros from central Peru and destroy Caceres' little army.
Unlike in previous plans, the Chilean troops pursued Caceres to northwest through narrow mountain passes until 10 July 1883 as the definitive Battle of Huamachuco was fought.
