At long last, an update!
Chapter VIII - South America's Great War - The War of the South
On April 9, 1881, Chile declared war on Argentina, sparking the War of the South. It was to be a war that would change the face of South American geopolitics forever and cement Chilean dominance as a Great Power and the controller of South America.
The odds were clearly stacked in Chilean favour--it would take another intervention on the level of Napoleon III's intervention in the War of the Bankers to stop Chilean ambitions, but this time foreign influence in Argentina was much weaker after several regime changes. Five nations--Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil, stood allied to defeat Chile's historic rivals Argentina and Peru. Brazil jumped at the chance for a rematch of the War of the Bankers, though Dom Pedro II was an elderly man by this point. Paraguay as well hoped to be able to defeat Argentina to once again confirm the southern Chaco was theirs. Colombia and Venezuela lacked much ambition in the war--Colombia mainly joined in to repay their debt to Chile for backing them in the Panama crisis, while Venezuela merely did it out of obligation to their alliance. Bolivia was a wild card, having alliances with both Chile and Argentina, but fearing Chilean retribution the elderly President Tomás Frías Ametller joined the Chilean side.
But first the war had to be fought. Chile was a difficult to defend nation being a long strip of land down the Pacific coast of South America. Thus, her armies were split into 3 forces:
In the north, General Manuel Baquedano would lead the Chilean Army's northern division "Ejército del Norte" into Peru to destroy the Peruvian Army and capture Lima to knock the Peruvians out of the war. The Northern Squadron of the Chilean Navy, complete with reliable armoured frigates, was to blockade the Peruvian coast. The goal was to destroy Peru's war capacity, and possibly incorporate them as a member of Chile's sphere of influence assuming Peruvian politicians remained malleable.
In the capital region of Chile, General Erasmo Escala's Ejército de Santiago was charged with protecting key cities like Santiago, Valparaiso, and La Serena from Argentine raiders. While it was still too early to tell Argentine strategy, General Escala may very well be the one to defeat the primary Argentine Army in battle, hopefully one as glorious and decisive as the Battle of Puente Alto in the War of the Bankers.
In Patagonia, General Cornelio Saavedra's Ejército del Sur was to occupy Patagonia before pushing north to occupy Buenos Aires. A veteran of the Occupation of Araucania, Saavedra had experience in dealing with the Mapuche Indians who would hopefully provide him with assistance. Saavedra was also entrusted with the successors of the famous Indian artillerymen. The Indian artillery, saviors of Santiago and heroes of the War of the Bankers, were still largely made up of Aimara men from the north, though many Quechua and Mapuche now swelled their ranks. [1] Assisting him was the main squadron of the Chilean Navy, equipped with a variety of ironclad frigates.
All three men played equal roles in the Chilean Army, but what of the allied troops? It was hoped that the Colombian and Venezuelan armies would provide extra assistance in the occupation of Peru, as they would hopefully arrive too late to see any real fighting. Bolivia would be there to occupy the remote areas in Peruvian Amazonia. Paraguay was to crush inexperienced conscript units before they could join up with the main army, as well as to occupy the north of Argentina. The Brazilian forces were to play much a similar role, though they were to occupy the key Argentine provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes.
Immediately the Chilean troops under General Saavedra struck into Patagonia. With his skills in dealing with Indian chiefs, he managed to have easy passage through the still untamed lands and even a bit of extra backup. There was no Argentine response aside from disorganised militia bands who couldn't stand up to an elite unit of the Chilean Army like Saavedra's men.
But there was no Argentine response anywhere--General Escala saw no Argentine troops, and General Baquedano was too busy engaging the Peruvians. Where could the foe be?
The Peruvians proved to be a thorn in the Chilean war effort. Peru mobilised a total of 30,000 soldiers--a fair effort, but not nearly enough to defeat a force as mobilised and skilled as Baquedano's Ejército del Norte. The Peruvians slipped through Chilean defense and managed to capture Puno and the surrounding region. Baquedano ignored the Peruvian occupation and continued his mission to advance to Lima. The important port of Ica fell in the first month, and Baquedano marched north to Cusco, the old Inca capital.
At the town of Acomayo outside of Cusco on September 26, 1881, Baquedano surprised the Peruvian Army marching to defend Lima. Using the new bolt action rifles and machine guns issued to all Chilean forces, Baquedano surprised the Peruvians with advanced weaponry, killing thousands of Peruvians and capturing thousands of others at a small cost. Acomayo was only the first victory.
While South Americans used the new machine gun to fight over Patagonia, Europeans came up with perhaps a better idea for it--civilising Darkest Africa. With the Berlin Conference, Africa was to be divided up amongst the European powers. While technically the Chileans were invited to assist, President Mackenna and other Chilean politicians felt no need to interfere in Africa. The French took the first initiative, and conquered the Ashanti and several other minor states along the coast of West Africa.
However, that wasn't to say colonialism was completely out of the picture for Chile. The Pacific always held an appeal to Chile, and building a great Pacific Empire became a dream of many Chilean presidents ever since the nation had become a Great Power. Despite the war, several hundred Chilean soldiers landed in the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotus, demanding the allegiance of the native chiefs. With minimal bloodshed, the Chileans were able to successfully occupy them. The Pitcairn Islands were also purchased from Britain for a small sum--it was hoped a treaty with France could be hammered out and Tahiti could be obtained, completing the Chilean colonisation of Eastern Polynesia. In time, Chileans would use the islands as tax havens, vacation homes, or just homes in general.
The Peruvian campaign was always the first goal of the Chilean Army in the War of the South, as Peru's defeat was needed to protect the north of Chile from attack. On a hot summer day in November of 1880, Baquedano was marching to Lima and met the Peruvian Army at the town of Castrovirreyna. With Chilean men everywhere, artillery and machine guns pounding, and no time to prepare a defense, the Peruvians were quickly routed, and the way to Lima was open.
The Argentine Army occupied in the north fighting Brazil, Venezuela, and Paraguay, Saavedra had an open path to Buenos Aires. The March to Buenos Aires was finally complete after its failure in the War of the Bankers, and on March 18, 1882, Buenos Aires fell with only minimal street fighting. Argentinian President Julio Argentino Roca had long since fled, and his whereabouts were unknown. As such, Saavedra named politician, lawyer, and Roca's rival Carlos Tejedor as President of Argentina in his stead.
Meanwhile, on the exact same day, Chilean troops entered Lima once again. President Nicolás de Piérola was promptly taken into custody and forced to resign in favour of Chilean figurehead Francisco García Calderón. While the Peruvians would organise a token resistance, it would do nothing to help with their nation under attack in the north from Colombia and in the south from Chile, and a year later on February 5, 1883, Peru surrendered and joined the Chilean sphere.
Back in Santiago, General Escala was ordered to begin the occupation of western Argentina, as no Argentine soldiers had been sighted headed towards the capital, unlike the War of the Bankers. Escala's men seized control of Mendoza, Catamarca, and other regions of the distant west.
But communications between Chile and her allies was poor. Little did Escala know the skill of the Argentine commanders and their soldiers, who had repeatedly crushed Paraguayan, Brazilian, and Venezuelan armies, and even occupied Asunción for a time. On October 24 at the Battle of Orán in the remote north of Salta Province, General Escala too was defeated after attacking the fortified Argentine Army. Despite outnumbering the initial Argentinian forces, his machine guns failed in the rain. Combined with inexperienced soldiers (mostly poor men from Santiago and Valparaiso as opposed to battle-hardened War of the Pacific and Occupation of Araucania veterans) and unreliable weapons, Escala was soundly defeated. Orán would become legendary amongst Argentinians for their successful victory over a more powerful foe. [2]
Despite temporary successes, the government of Argentina was forced to declare bankruptcy in January of 1883. Chile was not exactly doing much better--they had spent millions of pesos on the war, and were making huge losses every day. Bailing out President Tejedor's puppet government was an even greater cost for the Chileans, and President Mackenna was forced to raise a large amount of war taxes to preserve Chilean economic independence, sparking riots in the major cities. [3]
Escala's troops had retreated through Bolivia and back into Chile, where another army was raised in Valparaiso and Santiago. Following several months of eager preparation (and more Argentine victories against Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia), Escala marched back into Argentina, reoccupying the regions taken by the Argentine counterattack before marching towards Santiago del Estero to fight the Argentinians again. On August 22, 1883, Escala once again engaged the Argentine Army, this time at the village of Río Hondo. With less fortifications and less defensible terrain, it was hoped for an easy victory, despite more foes. But it was a record cold August day, with temperatures below freezing. With troops suffering from cold and hunger, as well as jamming, unreliable machine guns and soldiers with little training in both battle and how to use a machine gun, Argentina claimed yet another victory, routing Escala even worse this time. Over 15,000 Chileans died with thousands more wounded or captured, and General Escala lost almost 3/4 of his army. Despite the occupation of most of Argentina, the Argentines were clearly in control of the field. [4]
FINALLY!
Following this, Argentina defeated several more Bolivian armies, but their power was waning--despite Escala's horrible defeat, he had still disabled over half the enemy army. With little pay and the brutal summers of Northern Argentina fast approaching, the Argentinian Army began melting away. But with Escala's Army nearly defeated and the general himself in disgrace, the arrival of General Baquedano from Peru proved a godsend to Chile. In December of 1883, Baquedano's men advanced through Northern Argentina in hunt of the Argentine Army. Abandoning his heavy artillery, he was able to catch up to his enemy and surprise them outside the town of Rivadavia in Salta Province. Attacking at night, Baquedano's men were everywhere, and with the machine guns working reliably for once, the Argentine Army unconditionally surrendered around midnight of December 16 after suffering over 4,000 casualties.
On Christmas Day, 1883, Argentina officially signed over Patagonia as well as much of its sovereignity to Chile in the Treaty of Tucumán. Chile was to have final say in Argentine affairs in return for developing the country. The two nations were to have permanent partnership. Signed by President Mackenna of Chile, President Tejedor of Argentina, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, and the presidents of Peru, Colombia, Paraguay, and Venezuela, the treaty ensured no more warfare between nations in South America as well as committment to the development of the region. Chile was to carry the main burden of helping her neighbours achieve prosperity and success. With this, the bloody War of the South came to an end.
[1] - A good use for non-accepted soldier pops like Aimara and Mapuche is to use them to man mobile artillery brigades in armies that need extra speed. They also make decent hussars, too.
[2] - They weren't even that fortified, either! Freaking Argies!
[3] - Notice my money decreasing in every screenshot--I probably lost over 1.25 million in this war!
[4] - At this point I was swearing like crazy at my computer. I have every military tech they do, plus machine guns, and I still lose? Is Alexander the Great their commander or something?
Chile lacks strategic depth though. Perhaps it's time to get some land in the east.
