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60-609: Manuel Tomás Thomson Porto Mariño (3 November 1839  – 27 February 1880) was a Chilean Navy officer who served in the War of the Pacific . Thomson was given command of the ironclad vessel Huáscar following its capture by Chile during the Battle of Angamos . Thomson then took the ship to Arica in order to bombard and blockade the city. While at Arica, the Huáscar fought a duel with

120-597: A tender ship to support them, all based in Talcahuano. The navy also provides access to services for residents of Chile's Pacific and Southern island regions, thus integrating its disjointed geography. The transport of passengers, especially during the school year or in cases of emergency, together with the supply of provisions and fuel, are of key importance to the inhabitants of these insular zones. The institution regularly carries out civil operations whereby navy professionals provide social assistance and health care to

180-647: A beachhead that allowed an initial force of about 1,000 Chilean soldiers in two assault waves to disembark onto Peruvian territory at Pisagua in Tarapacá Department. This region was the principal territory in dispute. This action marked the beginning of the Tarapacá Campaign , the first stage of the terrestrial phase of the War of the Pacific, which ended with Chilean control of the Tarapacá and of

240-550: A captain in the British royal navy, was hired by Chileans to organize and command their Navy. Cochrane recruited an almost all- anglophone complement of officers and midshipmen and crews of British, Irish, and American seamen. He became a key figure in the war against loyalist forces in Peru, and was instrumental in taking control of the fortresses of Valdivia , though he failed in his attempt to conquer Chiloé Island . In March 1824,

300-493: A substantial part of southern Peru. Control of the sea and the coast would give a decisive logistic advantage in the forthcoming land battles. Hence, when Chile gained military control of the sea along the coast with the victory at Angamos ( Battle of Angamos ) on October 8, 1879, a landing operation became imminent as a beginning of the terrestrial campaign to secure the Tarapacá. At the time the Allies (Bolivia and Peru) had north of

360-662: The 1973 Chilean coup d'etat , together with the Army, the Air Force, and the Carabiniers, the navy, led by Admiral Jose Toribio Merino , became part of the government junta led by army commander in chief Augusto Pinochet . Upon the latter's resignation from the junta leadership in 1981, Adm. Merino became its chairman until March 1990, presiding over its sessions and those of the Legislative Commission. He

420-651: The MV ; Explorer in 1972 and 2007. The Navy's most recognizable sailing-school ship, the Esmeralda , began operations in 1952. It since has made various trips around the world with selected cadet officers and NCOs on board trained in ship handling and operations, as a requirement for graduation. Prior to the Esmeralda , another sailing ship, the General Baquedano , fulfilled the same functions. In

480-532: The Patagonian channels aimed to improve navigation, and explored the river basins of Patagonia. A German geographer, Hans Steffen , led navy explorations to western Patagonia, laying the groundwork for colonization of what would be Aisén Region years later. The navy occasionally collaborated with European naturalists such as Carl Skottsberg in their surveys of Chilean territory. In 1904, Brazil ordered two Minas Gerais -class dreadnoughts to be built by

540-633: The external debt by the "millionaires". The mutineers had their ships located at Coquimbo and Talcahuano 's naval base, which they controlled. Chilean government responded by sending the Chilean Air Force to bombard the ships in Coquimbo and charging Talcahuano's naval base. After the quelling of the rebellion, the navy was purged, although the mutiny had its origin among the lower ranks. These economic and political factors, along with Chile's neutrality for much of World War II , meant that

600-566: The naval battle of Iquique on 21 May 1879, during the War against Peru and Bolivia . The anniversary of this battle is celebrated every year as a public holiday called Día de las Glorias Navales . Prat is also considered to be one of the co-founders of the Naval Seaman Training School in 1868, which began operating a year later, and was one of the Naval Academy's finest graduate officers that in 1943 it became

660-520: The 1890s, were totally outdated by the time the Great Depression forced their retirements without replacements. In 1931, the navy once more made headlines in Chilean politics when large portions of it (26 ships) began a mutiny that demanded the president to rescind a salary reduction. The demands were later expanded to include an agrarian reform, industrial "solidarity", and the payment of

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720-642: The 1950s, the Chilean Navy became involved in a series of incidents with the Argentine Navy and Argentine civilians in the disputed areas of the Beagle Channel and Cape Horn . These incidents took the form of incursions into Chilean waters by Argentine fishing ships, and provocations, such as the shelling of a Chilean lighthouse by the Argentine Navy during the Snipe incident of 1958. During

780-546: The Allied defenders fled from the battlefield, leaving it to the Chilean army. Because Pisagua was conquered, the second landing at Junín was made with little Peruvian resistance. Here were deployed the 3rd Line Regiment and the Navales and Valparaíso infantry battalions. The Chilean Army casualties were 56 men dead and 124 wounded. The Allies' (Bolivians and Peruvians) casualties were 200 dead and wounded. This victory provided

840-480: The Allied defenders. This second wave brought the rest of the Atacama Battalion plus three companies of the "Buin" 1st Line Regiment commanded by Lt. Colonel José María del Canto. The Chileans struck both Playa Blanca and Caleta Guatas, dislodging the defenders, who fled to Alto Hospicio under a constant barrage. The Allied troops had taken cover behind bags filled with saltpetre and coal, which, because of

900-831: The Atlantic zone: Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego : Punta Arenas , in the Beagle Channel, Cape Horn and Drake Passage : Puerto Williams , and in Antarctica : Captain Arturo Prat Base . These are now spread into five naval zones. The Chilean Marines or (Infanteria de Marina de Chile) are the land/amphibious attack force of the Chilean Navy. The 5,000 man force combines special training and tactics with state-of-the-art equipment. The Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile (SHOA, Spanish for Hydrological and Oceanographic Service of

960-1089: The British Royal Navy , the French Navy and the German Navy . Officers, WOs and NCOs of the Marines add the Infante de Marina (Marine Soldier) title to their ranks from Seaman onward, as the Marines are part of the Navy. All officers, active or reserve, study at the Arturo Prat Naval Academy and later in the Naval Polytechnic Academy and the Naval War Academy receive improved training and education to be promoted as well as training in his/her specialty field while all active and reserve NCOs (known in

1020-539: The Chilean Navy and Army undertook an expedition to expel the Spanish from Chiloé Archipelago . An expedition was dispatched to Chiloé Island , but it ended in failure when the Chilean Army led by Jorge Beauchef was defeated at the Battle of Mocopulli . Only after Ramón Freire 's Chiloé expedition in 1826 did the royalist forces at Chiloé, under the command of Antonio de Quintanilla , surrender and Chiloé joined

1080-498: The Chilean Navy) is an agency of the Chilean Navy managing situations dealing with hydrology and oceanography including tides and tsunamis . SHOA is also the official Chilean government timekeeper. Ranks and rates are shown on the sleeves of all Chilean Navy summer uniforms (and on the shoulder boards on winter or summer service uniforms as well for officers and WOs only). Shoulder and sleeve ranks are inspired by those in

1140-617: The Chilean armed forces, while the bulk of navy sided with the congress side, the majority of the Chilean Army remained loyal to José Manuel Balmaceda . When the majority of the national congress broke relations with the government, Jorge Montt took control of the fleet at Valparaíso and with notable politicians, such as Ramón Barros Luco , on board, the fleet sailed north to the nitrate-rich Tarapacá area, which Chile had seized from Peru 10 years earlier. Tarapacá was, by that time, Chile's richest region in terms of natural resources and

1200-504: The Chilean city of Antofagasta, three strongholds in the province, Tacna (today the southernmost Peruvian coastal city, on the Chilean border), Arica (a coastal town on the then Peruvian coast, and today the northernmost Chilean city, on the Peruvian border), the town of Pisagua (then the Peruvian coast on the Tarapacá department), and Iquique (south of Pisagua and originally on the Peruvian coast). The Chilean command deemed it obvious that

1260-482: The Chilean forces a port where they could land troops, weapons, and supplies. The Campaign of Tarapacá had begun. The Pisagua landing marked the start of a new era in amphibious warfare in the world, an era that would be pioneered by what is now the Chilean Marine Corps , which alongside the Army, celebrate the date as a military holiday to mark this historic moment in international military history as

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1320-461: The Chilean government decided to modernize its navy. The modernization plan included the ordering of two cruisers and two torpedo boat destroyers , and the modernization of two armoured ships in English docks. A new predreadnought battleship, Capitán Prat , was ordered under the new construction program in 1889. The advent of the 1891 Chilean Civil War had a breach between the two branches of

1380-592: The Chilean military map accompanying this article to be heldby the Bolivians), the landing force started to return fire. Their situation was very difficult due to the lack of reinforcements and strong position of the defenders, but the Zapadores led by Ricardo Santa Cruz assailed the Allied positions on the hill slope. From the higher position, the Chileans would then be able to fire on the Allied positions lower down

1440-749: The Las Salinas Naval Base in Viña del Mar . One of its schools, the Naval Seaman Training School, became the Seamen's School of the Navy "Captain Alejandro Navarrete Cisterna" in the same year as its centenary, in honor of the first naval seaman to rise through the ranks to become a naval officer. The NSSS soon became the Naval Polytechnic Academy in 1995, through a merger of all its component schools, with some of these schools staying as independent constituent academies. After

1500-663: The National Naval School "Arturo Prat" in his honor. The navy further distinguished itself during the Battle of Pisagua in 1879, led by both the Navy and the Marine Artillery Groups and Marine Infantry, the world's first modern military landing operation, that resulted in Chilean victories in other parts of Peru's Tarapacá region, and resulted to its annexation by Chile. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of

1560-623: The Navy through the general term Men of the Sea ) study at the Seamen's School of the Navy "Alejandro Navarette Cisnerna" and later in the Naval Polytechnic Academy and its attached and independent colleges for later specialty training. Battle of Pisagua Loa Line and Altiplano campaign Tarapacá campaign Tacna and Arica campaign Lynch Expedition Lima campaign Chilean occupation of Peru Breña campaign 1881 1882 1883 Arequipa-Puno Line The Battle of Pisagua ("Desembarco y combate de Pisagua"),

1620-519: The Peruvian monitor Manco Cápac which is known as the Naval Battle of Arica . During this action Thomson was killed. The Chilean submarine Thomson (SS-20) is named after him. Chilean Navy The origins of the Chilean Navy date back to 1817, when General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared after the Chilean victory at the Battle of Chacabuco that a hundred such victories would count for nothing if Chile did not gain control of

1680-534: The South Atlantic. Both countries were distracted in the next few years by Argentina's internal military operations against natives and Chile's War of the Pacific against Bolivia and Peru, but by 1890, a full-fledged naval arms race was underway between the two. The Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina had been a major success in laying the groundwork for nearly all of Chile and Argentina's 5,600 kilometres (3,500 mi) of shared borders, but

1740-818: The United Kingdom. In response, Argentina ordered two Rivadavia -class dreadnoughts with an option for a third from the United States. They also ordered 12 destroyers from three nations in Europe. With its major rival acquiring so many modern vessels, Chile was forced to respond, although this was delayed by a financial depression brought on by a major earthquake and a drastic fall in the nitrate market in 1906 and 1907, respectively. Eventually, Chile ordered two Almirante Latorre -class super-dreadnoughts and six Almirante Lynch -class destroyers from British shipyards, but received only two destroyers before

1800-516: The bay and opened fire on the south-most fort at Pichalo Point, while the Magallanes and the Covadonga attacked the other fort on the north side of the bay. The gunships' accurate fire silenced the defenses almost immediately; the northern fort was able to fire only one shot before being temporarily disabled. An hour later, both forts were silent. The landing operation was delayed, however, and

1860-512: The civilian population, and provide support in cases of natural catastrophe. It also undertakes preventive education campaigns for Chile's population on issues that include security on beaches and seaside resorts, and measures to be taken in the case of a tsunami . The most important naval bases and supply depots are (from north to south) in the Pacific Ocean: Iquique , Easter Island, Valparaíso, Talcahuano, Puerto Montt ; in

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1920-410: The drawing of boundaries in the largely unexplored inland Patagonia soon became a major source of territorial disputes. Over the 1880s and 1890s, Chile and Argentina engaged in an arms race fueled by nationalistic rhetoric and tax income from their blooming economies. Both countries signed a treaty in 1902 to end the arms race. During the 1890s, the Chilean Navy carried out many hydrographic surveys in

1980-403: The elections of October 1891, Jorge Montt was elected president. Not all navy officers sided with the congress. Some like Juan Williams Rebolledo , Juan José Latorre and Policarpo Toro remained on the presidential side and Francisco Vidal Gormaz declared his neutrality. After the war these officers were removed from their offices. In contrast to these officers whose career or influence in

2040-631: The exportation of saltpetre . This vast territory has never been returned to Bolivia and Peru; it was annexed in perpetuity to Chile by the Treaty of Ancon , signed in 1884. War was declared in April 1879, among the nations of Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The War resulted in the loss of not only valuable mining areas in Bolivia, but the loss of Bolivia's access to the Pacific. Peru also lost a large piece of her southern mining region. The three nations recognized

2100-433: The final preparations were made for the Chilean expeditionary force's departure. The war vessels forming this convoy were the Magallanes, O’Higgins, Covadonga, Amazonas, Angamos , and Loa , and the steam transports Itata, Lamar, Limarí, Matías Cousiño, Santa Lucía, Copiapó, Toltén, Huanay , and Paquete del Maule . Under supervision of Sotomayor and General Escala 9,405 soldiers and 853 horses and mules were embarked. Aboard

2160-549: The firing, began to burn. The resulting dense smoke covered the landing of the Chilean third wave. When the Bolivian troops began retiring toward the train station at Alto Hospicio, their comrades on the beach also were forced to retreat. When the Chilean commander of the Second Division, Luis José Ortíz, arrived on shore, the main assault on the high plateau began. It required two hours for the Chilean infantry to climb

2220-674: The flagship Angamos were Sotomayor and Escala, plus Fleet Commander Manuel Thompson, the Chief of Staff, and the General Headquarters personnel. On November 1, the convoy was at the rendezvous point. Only Sotomayor and Captain Carlos Condell were aware of the convoy's destination. In two war meetings held with the Army and Navy officers, the Chilean War Minister revealed that the designated invasion point

2280-491: The island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations. With the Peruvian Navy destroyed, Bolivia becoming a landlocked country , and Argentina having only a brown-water navy , the Chilean Navy had a regional hegemony in the years following the War of the Pacific. To secure this advantage and not let new Argentine acquisitions challenge Chilean naval power,

2340-493: The landing had to isolate and interrupt communications between these two important Allied emplacements. After a reconnaissance made by a commission formed by General Luis Arteaga, Baldomero Dublé Almeyda, José Velásquez and Emilio Gana, the port of Pisagua, located 500 km north of Antofagasta , and was selected as the site for an amphibious landing operation, because its bay was suitable for landing troops and supplies. Chilean War Minister Rafael Sotomayor planned and organized

2400-461: The late 1970s, the Chilean Navy played an important role in defending Chilean sovereignty over the Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands that the Argentine Navy planned to seize. The birth of the modern Chilean Marine Corps of today began in 1964. Naval educational institutions were reformed in 1968, when president Eduardo Frei Montalva created the "Naval Specialities Schools System" with headquarters at

2460-493: The marines strengthened and the navy's special forces unit raised. The 25,000-person navy, including 5,200 marines, is directed by Admiral Julio Leiva Molina Martin as of 2017. Of the fleet of 66 surface vessels (soon to be increased to 74), 21 are major combatant ships based in Valparaíso. The navy operates its own aircraft for transport, patrol, and surface and antisubmarine attack. The navy also operates four submarines and

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2520-484: The navy ceased its barrage and the boats began to move. But instead of 900 men, only 450 soldiers were embarked - two companies of the Atacama Battalion and another two of the Zapadores Regiment. Upon entering the northern side of Pisagua beach these Chilean infantry came within firing range of the Allied defenders' on the heights at Playa Blanca (White Beach). Despite the heavy fire from the heights (shown on

2580-478: The navy did not acquire any warships until after the war. Chile formulated its Antarctic claim in 1940. In 1947, the navy established the first Chilean base, the Captain Arturo Prat Base , on the continent before the Chilean Army or Air Force established their own bases. Since then, the navy has played a major role in supplying Chilean bases and performing numerous rescue missions, among them,

2640-536: The navy was truncated by the war, the 1891 Chilean Civil War served as a starting point of a successful career in the navy for a generation of young officers like Francisco Nef and others who sided with the Congressionals who won the war. After incidents with Chile in 1872, 1877, and 1878, Argentina had decided that a brown-water navy, even if modern, was not enough to back up its ambitions in Patagonia and

2700-689: The new Chilean nation. After the wars of independence, a series of conflicts demonstrated the importance of the navy to the nation. First of these conflicts were the War of the Confederation (1836–1839), the Chincha Islands War (1864–1866), and the War of the Pacific (1879–1883). The founding of Fuerte Bulnes in the Strait of Magellan marked the starting point of a series of Chilean Navy explorations, led by navy hydrographers, such as Francisco Vidal Gormaz and Francisco Hudson , in

2760-494: The northern edge was an emplacement with a similar cannon. The narrow bay between could be covered by a crossfire from these two guns, making entrance into the port by sea more difficult. The steep hill that reached the plateau permitted the occupying troops to fire from a higher position, although the beach was surrounded by rocks that might provide safe positions for Chilean infantry. The Chilean Navy initiated bombardment at 07:00 on November 2. The Cochrane and O'Higgins entered

2820-525: The northern fort's cannon resumed firing. The Cochrane , Captain Latorre, answered immediately, and by 09:00 the northern cannon was silenced and the Chilean troop transports then entered the bay. At the same time the Amazonas was firing over Alto Hospicio , north of the bay. At two kilometres from the shore, the landing boats were ready for disembarking troops who were to establish a beachhead. At 10:15,

2880-532: The operation in secrecy to avoid further arguments with the military and to avoid possible indiscretions that might reach the enemy's ears. Hence, on October 9, the day after the Angamos victory, Sotomayor ordered that the transports carrying the Atacama, Lautaro and Coquimbo civic battalions sail to Antofagasta. The next days were of feverish activities, transporting troops to Antofagasta, from where on October 19,

2940-606: The rest were purchased by the Royal Navy during World War I ; of these, Chile would finally receive three destroyers and one battleship, the Almirante Latorre , after the War. Chile also received six British H-class submarines from the Royal Navy in 1917, and purchased three Capitan O'Brien -class submarines and six Serrano -class destroyers in the late 1920s. Its fleet of cruisers, though, all built in

3000-671: The sea. This led to the development of the Chilean Navy, and the first legal resolutions outlining the organization of the institution were created. Chile's First National Fleet and the Academy for Young Midshipmen, which was the predecessor of the current Naval Academy, were founded, as well as the Marine Corps and the Supply Commissary. The first commander of the Chilean Navy was Manuel Blanco Encalada . Famous British naval commander Lord Cochrane , who formerly had been

3060-409: The slope and make the disembarking of their reinforcements less risky. In support of the Zapadores attack the fleet opened fire again, this time over the train station at Alto Hospicio. Meanwhile, the Chilean first-wave troops endured 45 minutes of heavy fire until the second wave landed at 11:00. The first two of three Chilean landing units were now disembarked, and the fight became less favorable for

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3120-447: The slope, since the ascent of steep terrain was very difficult with the strong Allied defense in this sector. However, in the end, the vehemence of the Chilean attack made it possible to reach the summit and engage the Allies, vanquishing all resistance and forcing them to abandon their positions and withdraw northward toward Alto Hospicio. Lt. Rafael Torreblanca of the Atacama Battalion raised the Chilean flag over Alto Hospicio at 15:00, as

3180-449: The strategic importance of the sea for access to the contested territory. Control of the coast and adjacent seas was the principal objective from the beginning of hostilities, and the war first developed almost entirely on the sea. The land operations theatre was an arid desert along the coast and the adjacent saltpeter-mining areas inland. The mining region comprised the westernmost part of Bolivia, including that nation's entire seacoast, and

3240-420: The unknown zone between the Strait of Magellan and Chiloé. To deal with this new area of activity, the navy founded in 1874 the Hydrographic Office , whose first director was Francisco Vidal Gormaz . Chilean war hero and martyr Arturo Prat is regarded as the ultimate example of the commitment of the navy to its country, after his death while leading a boarding party onto the enemy ironclad Huáscar at

3300-434: Was Pisagua. A main surprise attack at Pisagua was agreed upon, while a secondary attack would take place at Junín. The Northern assault force of 4,890 men of infantry and artillery would disembark at Pisagua, establish a beach head, and begin climbing up to the higher plateau; the Southern assault force of 2,175 men would take Junín, and 2,500 men would be held in reserve. Col. Emilio Sotomayor, brother of War Minister Sotomayor,

3360-409: Was a landing operation of the War of the Pacific , fought on November 2, 1879, between Chile and the combined forces of Bolivia and Peru . The Chilean army commanded by Erasmo Escala , supported by the Chilean Fleet, launched an amphibious assault on the port of Pisagua and successfully drove the defending Bolivian-Peruvian forces, led by Gen. Juan Buendia , back from the shore. They established

3420-450: Was also, concurrently, the national defense minister. The training ship Esmeralda functioned as a floating prison and torture chamber for political prisoners during the 1973–1980 period of the military dictatorship. It is claimed that probably over a hundred persons were kept there at times and subjected to hideous treatment. It was also an unprecedented period of growth and expansion of the naval service, as more vessels became part of it,

3480-404: Was entrusted with directing the landing operations. Commander Thompson was in command of the naval stage of the disembarking and directing the landing boats. Two miles beyond the shore, the Cochrane, Magallanes, Covadonga and O’Higgins would enter the bay and attack the forts guarding the port. Once the forts' guns were silenced the landing operations would begin. The Allied garrison at Pisagua

3540-442: Was formed by Bolivian artillery and infantry soldiers, totaling about 1,000 troops in two battalions: Independencia , commanded by Pedro Vargas, and Victoria , commanded by Juan Granier. In addition there were 200 Peruvian soldiers commanded by Isaac Recavarren, who left the command over Gen. Juan Buendía. Pisagua had been fortified on its southern edge. At Pichalo Point there was a fortified emplacement with one 100-pounder cannon; at

3600-431: Was without the fleet practically out of reach for the Chilean Army. From here, the navy organized an army made of nitrate miners, whom they armed and trained to face the 40,000-men-strong Army of Chile. In August 1891, the new army was disembarked in Quintero and defeated the Chilean Army at the Battle of Concón and the Battle of Placilla before the presidential faction disbanded and the Congressional side took power. On

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