War of the Pacific
Naval Battle of Angamos
Date October 8, 1879 Location near Punta de Angamos, Bolivia (present day Chile) Naval Combat of Angamos File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Result Decisive Chilean victory
Combatants
Chile	Peru
Commanders
Juan Jose Latorre	Miguel Grau †
Strength
2 armoured battleships 3 corvettes 1 transport	1 turret ship
Casualties
7 dead	31 dead 4 missing 162 captured 1 turret ship captured

The Naval Battle of Angamos (October 8, 1879) was an important struggle in the War of the Pacific, where the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar was surrounded and captured by the Chilean Navy. The captain of the ironclad, Peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau, was killed in the combat. After this battle, the Peruvian Navy was unable to prevent the invasion of its territory. The seas were cleared for the invasion of Peru and Bolivia. Vice Admiral Juan José Latorre Juan José Latorre Benavente (Santiago; March 24, 1846 - July 9, 1912) Chilean Vice Admiral, one of the principal actors of the War of the Pacific, and hero of the Battle of Angamos. ... Miguel Grau Seminario Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario (July 27, 1834 - October 8, 1879) was a renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific (1879-1884). ... The firepower of a battleship demonstrated by USS Iowa A battleship is a large, heavily-armored warship with a main battery consisting of the largest caliber of guns. ... For the automobile, see Chevrolet Corvette. ... Ironclad warships, frequently shortened to just ironclads, were ships sheathed with thick iron plates for protection. ... Combatants Republic of Peru Republic of Bolivia Republic of Chile Commanders Juan Buendía Andrés Cáceres Miguel Grau Manuel Baquedano Patricio Lynch Juan Williams Strength Peru-Bolivian Army 7,000 soldiers in 1878 Peruvian Navy 2 ironclad, 1 corvette, 1 gunboat Army of Chile 4,000 soldiers in... Combatants Chile Bolivia Commanders  ? Ladislao Cabrera Strength 554 soldiers 135 soldiers Casualties {{{notes}}} The Battle of Topáter was fought on March 23, 1879 between Chile and Bolivia. ... Combatants Chile Peru Commanders Juan Jose Latorre Aurelio Garcia Strength 1 corvette 2 corvettes Casualties none none {{{notes}}} The Naval Combat of Chipana took place on April 12, 1879 during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. ... The Battle of Iquique took place on May 21, 1879 during the War of the Pacific between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru. ... ... Combatants Chile Peru, Bolivia Commanders Erasmo Escala Strength 2,100 1,150 The Battle of Pisagua was fought on November 2, 1879, between Chile and the combined forces of Peru and Bolivia. ... Combatants Chile Peru, Bolivia Commanders Erasmo Escala Strength 6,000 7,400 The Battle of San Francisco was fought on November 19, 1879, between Chile and the combined forces of Peru and Bolivia. ... Combatants Peru Chile Commanders Andrés Avelino Cáceres Eleuterio Ramírez Strength at least 4,000 at least 3,000 The Battle of Tarapacá was fought on November 27, 1879 between Chile and Peru. ... Combatants Chile Peru Commanders Pedro Lagos Francisco Bolognesi † Strength 4,000 2,000 Casualties 474 dead or wounded ~1,000 dead or wounded 1 monitor lost The Battle of Arica or the assault and capture of the Morro de Arica (Arica Cape), took place on July 7, 1880, between the... The Battle of Miraflores occurred on January 15, 1881 in the Miraflores District of Peru. ... This article is for the Bombardment of Callao during the War of the Pacific, for the conflict during the Chincha Islands War see Battle of Callao. ... Battle of La Concepción (Spanish: Batalla de la Concepción) was a battle between a Chilean patrol and Peruvian forces during the War of the Pacific. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Republic of Peru Republic of Bolivia Republic of Chile Commanders Juan Buendía Andrés Cáceres Miguel Grau Manuel Baquedano Patricio Lynch Juan Williams Strength Peru-Bolivian Army 7,000 soldiers in 1878 Peruvian Navy 2 ironclad, 1 corvette, 1 gunboat Army of Chile 4,000 soldiers in... Ironclad warships, frequently shortened to just ironclads, were ships sheathed with thick iron plates for protection. ... Huáscar is a small armoured turret ship, similar to the monitor type. ...

Background

After the Naval Battle of Iquique, the Peruvian ironclad Huascar made several incursions challenging the Chilean naval dominion, attacking ports along its entire coast and capturing transports. The Battle of Iquique took place on May 21, 1879 during the War of the Pacific between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru. ...

This sole ship was preventing Chile from invading Bolivian and Peruvian territory, and did so successfully for nearly five months. No attempt to disembark troops could be made, because the Huáscar was preventing the entire Chilean Navy from taking control of the sea.

Because Chile's plan was to achieve naval supremacy, prior to invading Bolivian and/or Peruvian territory, the Huascar had to be eliminated along with Admiral Grau.

Several efforts were made in order to capture or sink Huascar, but none succeeded. Finally, nearly six months after the naval combat of Iquique, the opportunity came for the Chilean Navy.

The Struggle

Six Chilean ships -- the Blanco Encalada and Cochrane casemate battleships among them -- were directed with the sole purpose of sinking or capturing the Peruvian vessel. An ambush had been set up, carefully planned by dividing the Fleet in two: one near the Bolivian coast and the other part waiting for instructions.

On October 8, 1879, near Punta de Angamos, the first part of the fleet, led by the Cochrane spotted the Huáscar and the corvette Unión. After ordering the Union to look for a safe port, Admiral Grau prepared his ship for battle.

The ironclad made the first shot at a distance of nearly 2,000 meters. None were capable of damaging the Cochrane. From the same distance Cochrane fired its first discharge of the battle. Its second shot hit Huáscar directly in the bridge, killing Admiral Grau and some of his senior officers. Another shot cut an important part of the helm, leaving the ship without control. Several members of the surviving staff (Elías Aguirre, Melitón Carvajal and Diego Garezón) led the ironclad until the end of the battle. Manuel Melitón Carvajal Ambulodegui (March 10, 1847–September 19, 1935)) was born in Lima to Francisco Carvajal and Maria del Pilar Ambulodegui of Carvajal. ...

Nearly two hours after the beginning of combat, when it became clear that the ship would be captured, the remaining crew of the ironclad made the decision to scuttle it rather than surrender it. However, the ship was captured nonetheless, and prevented from sinking.

The capture of the Huáscar brought an end to the sea campaign of the War of the Pacific. From this point forward, the Chilean navy was able to use the Huascar as one of its own ships.

References