The 1896 Coup: A Bloody Agenda
In 1895, a disgruntled general Martin Schmidt, frustrated with the "do-nothing" Congreso that had prevailed under the Rivera administration and what he viewed as the inhumane treatment of soldiers in the army, began to push for additional healthcare reform, unemployment benefits, and pensions for the sake of "giving our soldiers the respect they deserve." As the election neared, Schmidt wrote a series of increasingly strongly-worded letters to local papers voicing his opinions in the hopes of making a "GI Bill" an issue in the coming elections. His words were little heeded. Between the drama of Rivera's retirement and excitement in the conservative Republicano and Patriotas primaries, the political establishment had no time for the words of a single disgruntled general in the north, nor did he find much sympathy in a populace who viewed soldier as one of the most steady forms of work in Chile. Deciding that direct action would be the only way to bring much-needed attention to the issues he viewed as critical, General Martin Schmidt of the Army of Peru-Bolivia decided to launch a coup in late 1895, just at the end of the primary season. His coup would prove to be of the longest and bloodiest single-general coups in Chile history, lasting over five months.
Schmidt announced his intention to overthrow the government in a letter to his colleagues, urging them to join him, but he found no supporters within the Rivera cabinet. General Rios of the Army of the North instantly moved to intercept Schmidt northeast of Potosi. The resulting bloody battle would last over a month and take more than 50,000 casualties as Rios charged Schmidt's fortified positions in Arica day after day. Damage to the two sides would be roughly equal, and at the end of a month of fighting, Schmidt and Rios were both left with 25,000 men fit to serve, roughly half of their original forces. Rios' forces were left in disarray after the unsuccessful attack and retreated to Potosi, cutting off Schmidt's route of escape. Schmidt, himself unwilling to attack a fortified position and slowed by a series of summer downpours, remained in Arica for more than a month. Morale amongst his men was reportedly extremely low as 1895 turned into 1896.
The Schmidt coup would continue past January of the following year, well after the end of elections, when the Grand Army of the Republic finally arrived to reinforce the Army of the North and launched a two-pronged attack on Arica, the battle, which lasted until March, finally saw the ultimate defeat of Schmidt and the Army of Peru-Bolivia in a frantic battle that claimed over 38,000 Chilean lives. The coup cost Chile 88,000 casualties, fatal and non-fatal, all told, and left the Chilean standing army at less than a quarter-million men, though reserves still numbered at roughly a million. Schmidt himself was unable to execute his plan of escaping to Argentina as Rios' Army of the North had acted fast enough to prevent his retreat, and was killed with a rifle in his hands, just before the march surrender of his forces.
