The War of the Quadruple Alliance - Pacific Theatre
As the month of July began in the Pacific theatre of what was the largest, costliest and bloodiest war in South American history, the Chilean forces renewed their offensive on all fronts. High Command had no wish to become bogged down in a long war against Bolivia, and hoped for a speedy victory before the fall and winter weather made crossing the mountains into Bolivia proper a near impossibility. The Bolivians were determined to protect their heartland, and not give in to the Chilean aggressor, no matter the cost in blood.
The first move of the Chilean army was to finish securing the Bolivian coastline, in an effort to both force the surrender of the Bolivian Navy, secure their claimed land and isolate Bolivia from the sea, and any potential trade or supply from that route. On the 4th of July, the 88th year of American Independence, General Cortana ordered his men to break camp and head towards Arica, the only major town on the coast left under Bolivian control, and base of the remains of their navy.
1. Some of Arica's defenders. Militiamen photographed with a primitive camera.
Arriving on the 7th, his men arrived outside the town and began to dig siege lines around it, preparing for a lengthy and costly siege of the city. The garrison of 500 men declared that they would never surrender, and began to fortify the town as best they could. Meanwhile, the Bolivian Navy, still in port, turned its guns to support the ground forces, and the Marines began to turn their ships into small wooden fortresses, floating along side the docks. The Bolivian defenders felt confident in their defences, and indeed, every plausible route for an invasion had been covered, makeshift weaponry had been prepared and every man of fighting age had been given some form of a weapon, ranging from spare muskets to carving knives and pitchforks.
General Cortana may have been extremely aggressive, in many cases foolishly so, but this was not to be one of them. After the costly victory in the field, he was under pressure from his Presidente to keep losses to a minimum and conserve manpower. And so, he waited. The siege dragged on for several weeks, with nothing but the odd probing attack or artillery exchange to break the uneasy calm that settled over the area, as Cortana searched for a way through. The Mornings became lazy, many sentries slept at their posts, and many soldiers settled into their trenches, adding touches such as shelves and roofs to their temporary homes.
The Morning of the 1st of September started routinely. Colonel Jose Alterado, commander of the Garrison forces woke at 8am. He took his breakfast half an hour later, and was sitting at his desk eating when an unpleasant scent greeted him. Looking up from his meal, he turned to his servant and was heard to remark 'Good Lord Rodrigo, what is that scent? Have we now been invaded by rats as well?'. His query was answered moments later, as the door burst open to reveal a Chilean soldier, covered from head to toe in faeces and holding a musket. 'You could say that.' Were the only words he uttered before promptly shooting Colonel Alterado through the chest.
2. Chilean soldiers, ready for inspection and to receive medals from General Cortana, who would arrive shortly.
By nightfall, the town and both Bolivian ships were in the hands of the Chileans. Having discovered an old sewer culvert the day before, General Ortana had sent over 2,000 soldiers to infiltrate Arica through the sewer network using the cover of night. By morning, his men had infiltrated the city, and surprised the Bolivians, many of whom were in the process of eating breakfast. Within half an hour, the entire city had been seized by this lightning attack, and the Chileans had sustained only light losses. General Cortana, hungry as ever for glory, was keen to capitalise on his men's success, and sent several couriers back to Chile to spread the news of his victory. [-2 Small Ships from Bolivia, +2 Small Ships to Chile, -500 Regulars from Bolivia, Bolivian Coastline now fully under Chilean control]
Cortana was not content with just this victory though, and sought to add new feathers to his somewhat bare and downtrodden hat. Detaching 5000 men to establish a defensive position in the South and protect Chile from any Bolivian outflanking and another 1,000 for garrison duty in the newly conquered land, Cortana took 24,000 men straight towards the Bolivian capital of La Paz. He found his way blocked by the Bolivian army for the second time in this campaign. High in the Andes mountains, the Bolivian army of 5,500 men stood in his way.
3. A Chilean soldier on 'occupation' duty in the captured lands. Conditions were brutal for the local population.
When confronted with the spectacle, Cortana broke down into a fit of laughter. He outnumbered the Bolivians more than 4 to 1, and had an even greater advantage in cannon. In Cortana's opinion, this was clearly, an occasion which called for a simple brute force strategy. Calling his commanders together, he sketched out his plan to them, and ordered them quickly back to their men. With any luck, they could be through this meagre host within 2 hours and back on the route to La Paz.
Without even bothering for the usual preliminary bombardment, the Chilean infantry began their advance up the hillside towards the Bolivian army. Under fire all the way from the Bolivian guns, they were under orders to conserve ammunition where possible, due to the difficulty of supplying such a large force through the Andes. Soon, the Bolivian fire began to take its toll on their ranks, not just through shot and shell, but with unconventional weapons as well. Boulders were rolled downhill through the Chilean ranks, gauging great troughs from the formations and crushing screaming men with their bulk. Piles of logs, brought from the Bolivian rainforest especially for the purpose were covered in tar and set alight, then rolled down the hill, bouncing off rocks and crashing into the Chilean ranks. Their formation already disorganised from the firepower and terrifying weaponry being hurled down at them, the Chileans were still able to maintain some semblance of order and continue to push towards the Bolivian lines. This changed however, when the Bolivians
deployed one of the most terrifying weapons available to an army. Loading specially made quicklime shells into their Howitzers, the Bolivians unleashed a storm of quicklime onto the advancing Chileans. Many of the conscript soldiers had never seen this substance used in warfare before, and were terrified by the white clouds descending around them. Their terror grew all the stronger when they realised the caustic effect of the clouds. Screaming in terror and agony as their flesh and eyes felt the effect of the quicklime, they turned and stumbled back down the hill. The officers could not have rallied them if they tried, as it was, many of the officers were fleeing as well, hurrying to escape the cloud of death pursuing them down the hill. Amongst the chaos, the few Chilean soldiers that had reached the Bolivian lines were quickly set upon and butchered with bayonets. None were spared by the Bolivians. It had already become clear that in this war, no quarter would be given.
4. Painting of the last stand of those who reached the Bolivian lines. Note the quicklime and smoke in the background.
Watching over his lunch, General Cortana quickly became furious when he realised that his men were beginning to retreat under this new threat. Banging his fist repeatedly on the table, he ordered that a new attack be prepared to take the Bolivian positions or die trying. The Chilean officers were reluctant to comply, as were the men. Many even went so far as to refuse orders, simply unwilling to advance into the hell that awaited them. Cortana, seething with rage and threatening death to those who defied him ordered that his artillery pound the Bolivian position into dust. They promptly replied, opening up with a storm of explosive and solid rounds.
The Bolivian army had other ideas however, and refused to be drawn into a shooting match. The positions of their artillery thus disguised, and their men dispersed on the reverse slope or behind cover, the Bolivians weathered the storm for several hours with few losses, until withdrawing under the cover of night. They retreated to La Paz, where they began to prepare defensive positions in an attempt to halt any further Chilean advance towards the capital. They waited, first for days, then weeks and then months, but the advance never came. With Fall and Winter closing in, even Cortana was unwilling to stretch his supply lines so badly, and withdrew out of the mountains, leaving a 2,000 man garrison in a recently constructed fort near the site of the battle. [-1,000 Regulars from Chile, -5,000 Conscripts from Chile, - 500 Regulars from Bolivia, Chile has a small wooden fort in the Andes]
Meanwhile, the Chilean Government was nowhere near done with their efforts on the Bolivian homefront. Again, they attempted to destroy their foe from the inside, and again, they meet very little success. Attempting to paint a horrifying picture of a South America dominated by the Brazilian Empire and enslaved to the Emperor, the Chilean Government end up making themselves the laughing stock of Bolivia. Many jokes are made about the Chilean Government and its alarmist views. A few slaves, escaped from Brazil and terrified of the prospect of a Brazilian South America do escape to Chile and join their forces, but the Chilean Government meets with no other success. Furthermore, the Chilean public begins to grow angry with the Government for wasting so much money on propaganda, when crippled soldiers, many blinded by the effects of quicklime return home and are left for the most part to wander the streets of the capital, looking for their families or somewhere to stay. [-75 Gold from Chile, +500 Conscripts to Chile, Chilean public want better care for ex-soldiers]
OOC: I got bored waiting for orders, so I wrote about Chile.