List of wars involving Chile

Last updated

This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Chile from its birth in the first decades of the 19th century to the present.

Contents

List

19th-century

ConfrontationCombatant 1Combatant 2Results
Spanish American wars of independence
(1808–1833)

Chilean participation on:

Patriots:
(States consolidated in war)

Amerindian allies of the Patriots

Royalists:

Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg Spanish Monarchy

Amerindian allies of the Royalists

Victory
  • End of all Spanish domains in Americas, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico
  • Formation of the new Hispanic American states
  • Subsequently, Spain recognizes each of the new Hispanic American states through the signing of international treaties [Note 3]
Chilean patriots conflict [4]
(1814)
Flag of Chile (1812-1814).svg Government Junta of Santiago under Jose Miguel Carrera Flag of Chile (1812-1814).svg Army in Talca under Bernardo O'Higgins Carrera victory
  • O'Higgins recognizes Carrera's authority and they unite to face the royalists again
  • Military weakening of the patriot cause in the face of the royalist threat
Uprising of the Prieto brothers [5]
(1819)
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chilean Government Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Montoneras of Prieto brothersGovernment victory
  • Destruction of the montoneras and death of its main leaders
War against Pincheira brothers
(1822–1832)
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile
Flag of Argentina (1818).svg United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (until 1831)
Flag of the Argentine Confederation.svg  Argentine Confederation (from 1831)
Mapuche groups:
(support increased since 1830)
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg Montoneras of Pincheira brothers
Flag of Argentina (1818).svg Mendoza Province (1829–1830)

Mapuche groups:
(support decreased since 1830)

  • Pehuenches
  • Ranqueles
  • Boroanos
Victory
  • End of the montoneras of Pincheira brothers and relocation in Chile of the families that lived in the Pincheira camps
  • The Chilean government pardoned José Antonio, the last leader of the Pincheira
  • Rural banditry in Chile persists for several years but to a lesser extent
  • Desert Campaign (1833–1834)
  • Sporadic conflicts in La Frontera (1834–1861)
Chilean Civil War of 1829–1830 Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Pelucones
Mapuche groups
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Pipiolos
Mapuche groups
Pelucones victory
Mapuche uprising of 1834–1837 Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile
Mapuche ally:
  • Abajinos
Mapuche groups: Victory
Freire's expedition of 1836 Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chilean Government Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Forces under Ramón Freire Government victory
War of the Confederation
(1836–1839)
United Restoration:
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile
Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg Peruvian Dissidents
  • Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg Government of La Fuente (1837)
  • Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg Government of Gamarra (1838–39)

Flag of the Argentine Confederation.svg  Argentine Confederation

Flag of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation.svg  Peru-Bolivian Confederation

Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg Orbegoso Government

Victory
  • Dissolution of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation
  • The government of the Luis José de Orbegoso is defeated during the course of the war
  • Restoration of the republics of Peru (unification of the North and South States of Peru) and Bolivia
  • Exile of Andrés de Santa Cruz
  • Chile obtains international prestige and the commercial hegemony of Valparaíso in the Pacific [6]
  • Military tension between Peru and Bolivia
  • Argentina, after the dissolution of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, negotiated with Bolivia the recovery of the territory it had lost during the war [7]
Uprising of Quillota
(1837)
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chilean Government Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Rebels of QuillotaGovernment victory
  • The rebels execute the Minister Diego Portales
  • Defeat of the rebels and execution of their leader, Colonel José Antonio Vidaurre
Iquicha War [Note 4]
(1839)
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile
Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg  Peru
Rebels of IquichaVictory
  • Signature of the Treaty of Yanallay in which the Iquichanos submit to the Republic of Peru
  • Isolation of the caudillo Antonio Huachaca
Chilean Revolution of 1851 Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chilean Government Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Liberal Rebels
Mapuche
Government victory
  • Survival of the conservative government
  • Repression and exile of intellectuals and liberal politicians
Chilean Revolution of 1859 Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chilean Government Flag of Atacama.svg Liberal Rebels
Mapuche
Government victory
Mapuche uprising of 1859–1861 Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile
Mapuche ally:
  • Abajinos
Mapuche groups: Victory
Occupation of Araucanía
(1861–1883)
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile Mapuche Victory
  • Incorporation of Araucanía into Chile
  • The Mapuche groups are concentrated in land reductions
  • Entry of Chileans and European immigrants into the territory
  • Infrastructure build-up in the territory
  • Violence and lawlessness in the areas for decades are generated
Chincha Islands War
(1865–1871)
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile
Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg  Peru
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg  Spain Indecisive, both sides claimed victory
  • Spanish withdrawal from the Chincha Islands
  • Decline of the Chilean merchant fleet and subsequent resurgence
  • The state of war is maintained between the belligerent parties until the signing of an indefinite armistice in 1871
  • Subsequently, Spain and the South American allies signed peace treaties separately: Peru (1879), Bolivia (1879), Chile (1883) and Ecuador (1885)
War of the Pacific
(1879–1883)
Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chile Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg  Peru
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia
Victory
Chilean Civil War of 1891 Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Chilean Government Flag of Chile (1818-1912).svg Congressist Junta Congressist victory

20th-century

ConfrontationCombatant 1Combatant 2Results
Chile Chico War [12]
(1918)
Flag of Chile.svg Businessman Carlos von Flack
Flag of Chile.svg Some contingents of the Army Carabineros Corps [Note 6]
Flag of Chile.svg Chilean settlers of Chile ChicoChilean settlers victory
  • Chilean government annulled the lease with Carlos Von Flack of the lands located on the south bank of the Buenos Aires Lake and recognized the right of Chilean settlers over them
  • Chilean government analyzes with greater rigor the contracts with exploitation companies
  • The position of the settlers was strengthened in front of the big exploiting companies during the colonization process of Aysén
  • The events attracted the interest of many Chileans to settle in these lands
Chilean naval mutiny of 1931 Flag of Chile.svg Chilean Government Flag of Chile.svg Rebels of the Chilean Navy Government victory
  • Capitulation of the navy and delivery of the ships to the government authorities
  • Court-martialed to the mutineers
World War II
(1939–1945)

Relevant milestones regarding Chile:

  • Covert operations against Nazi agents by the PDI through Department 50 (1939–1945) [15]
  • Cooperation with the United States before and after the official entry of Chile into the war [16]
  • Sinking of the steam Toltén (13 March 1942) [17]
  • Chile broke diplomatic relations with all the Axis powers (20 January 1943)
  • Nominal support of Allied forces in the Battle of the Caribbean
  • Surveillance, confinement and expulsion of Japanese accused of espionage, and to a lesser extent of Germans and Italians [18]
  • Chile declared war on Japan (13 April 1945)
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States
Flag of the Soviet Union (1936 - 1955).svg  Soviet Union
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  China
Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
British Raj Red Ensign.svg  India
Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa
Yugoslav Partisans flag 1945.svg  Yugoslavia
Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil
Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia
Flag of Ecuador (1900-2009).svg  Ecuador
Flag of Paraguay (1842-1954).svg  Paraguay
Flag of Peru (1825-1884).svg  Peru
Flag of Venezuela (1930-1954).svg  Venezuela
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Germany
Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg  Japan
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Italy
Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946).svg  Hungary
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria
Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Flag of First Slovak Republic 1939-1945.svg  Slovakia
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Flag of Manchukuo.svg  Manchukuo
Flag of the Mengjiang.svg  Mengjiang
Victory

With respect to Chile:

  • Department 50 managed to interrupt the activities of German or pro-Nazi agents in Chile and help in other parts of Latin America [15]
  • Chilean authorities thwart Nazi plots to attack the Panama Canal and mines in northern Chile [19]
  • Chile becomes a founding member of the United Nations when it was established in 1945. [20]
  • Chile, as part of the allies, participated in the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951, which regularized the situation with Japan
Cold War
(1947–1991)
Flag of Chile.svg Chilean Government Chilean far-left guerrilla groups:
Government victory
  • The armed groups of the extreme left fail to overthrow the military government
  • With the national plebiscite of 1988, on 11 March 1990, the end of the military government and the beginning of the transition to democracy took place
  • The levels of violence carried out by armed groups of the extreme left diminished considerably with the return of democracy, since this fact led to the demobilization of most of them
  • Several isolated attacks continued, executed by dissident groups

Notes

  1. The Chilean privateer Los Andes attacked the royalist garrisons in different points of the western coast of present-day Colombia between 1819 and 1820, with the aim of supporting General Simón Bolívar's forces that were fighting in the interior. [1]
  2. From 1817, Chilean privateers began to harass Spanish-flagged ships at sea, even reaching the western coasts of Mexico. The same happened with the First Chilean Navy Squadron, commanded by Admiral Thomas Cochrane, who was present circumstantially between 1821 and 1822. [2]
  3. On 25 April 1844, Spain officially recognized the independence of Chile through a Treaty of Peace and Friendship. [3]
  4. After the dissolution of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, the iquichano leader Antonio Huachaca provoked an armed uprising against the Chilean-Peruvian victors. Chilean troops fought against these rebels until peace was achieved. [8]
  5. During the course of the War of the Pacific, the United States intervened diplomatically in favor of Peru and Bolivia, trying to avoid the territorial cession in favor of Chile. This generated an atmosphere of tension or rivalry between both countries, especially because Chile emerged as a regional power after the war. The greatest example of this struggle between Chile and the United States was the Panama crisis of 1885. [10]
  6. In 1903, the Army Carabineros Corps was created, in charge of exercising internal security functions. [13] This unit belonged to the cavalry branch of the Chilean Army. [14] On 27 April 1927, the Army Carabineros Corps merged with the Fiscal Police, thus forming the current institution known as Carabiniers of Chile. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro de Valdivia</span> Spanish conquistador

Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served as lieutenant under Francisco Pizarro in Peru, acting as his second in command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Director of Chile</span>

The Supreme Director of Chile was the Head of State and of Government of Chile in the periods of 1814 and 1817-1826.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arauco War</span> Conflict between Spanish settlers of Chile and indigenous peoples (16th–17th centuries)

The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía region of Chile. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuches into servitude. It subsequently evolved over time into phases comprising drawn-out sieges, slave-hunting expeditions, pillaging raids, punitive expeditions, and renewed Spanish attempts to secure lost territories. Abduction of women and war rape was common on both sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War of the Confederation</span> 1836-39 conflict of Chile and Argentina against the Peru-Bolivian Confederation

The War of the Confederation was a military confrontation waged by the United Restoration Army, the alliance of the land and naval forces of Chile and the Restoration Army of Peru, formed in 1836 by Peruvian soldiers opposed to the confederation, and the Argentine Confederation against the Peru–Bolivian Confederation between 1836 and 1839. As a result of the Salaverry-Santa Cruz War, the Peru-Bolivia Confederation was created by General Andrés de Santa Cruz, which caused a power struggle in southern South America, with Chile and the Argentine Confederation, as both distrusted this new and powerful political entity, seeing their geopolitical interests threatened. After some incidents, Chile and the Argentine Confederation declared war on the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, although both waged war separately.

Operación Soberanía was a planned Argentine military invasion of Chile due to the Beagle conflict. The invasion was initiated on 22 December 1978 but was halted after a few hours and Argentine forces retreated from the conflict zone without a fight. Whether the Argentine infantry actually crossed the border into Chile has not been established. Argentine sources insist that they crossed the border.

Lebian (Lebiantu) was toqui from 1769 to 1774, who led the Pehuenche against the Spanish Empire in Chile following the Mapuche Uprising of 1766 during the Arauco War.

<i>Guerra a muerte</i>

Guerra a muerte is a term coined by Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna and used in Chilean historiography to describe the irregular, no-quarter warfare that broke out in 1819 during the Chilean War of Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomás Álvarez de Acevedo</span>

Tomás Antonio Álvarez de Acevedo Ordaz was a Spanish colonial administrator who twice served as interim Royal Governor of Chile, first in 1780 and again between 1787 and 1788.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambrosio de Benavides</span> Spanish colonial governor

Ambrosio de Benavides Medina Liñán y Torres was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Puerto Rico, Royal Governor of Charcas and Royal Governor of Chile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna</span> Chilean historian and politician

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna was a Chilean writer, journalist, historian and politician. Vicuña Mackenna was of Irish and Basque descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Olaguer Feliú</span> Spanish military engineer

Manuel Olaguer Feliú, was a Spanish military engineer known for his role in constructing and overhauling fortifications in Colonial Chile as well as his later participation in the Chilean and Peruvian wars of independence. Upon his return to metropolitan Spain he was promoted to the rank Field Marshal and became Captain General of Galicia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Manuel Zozaya</span> Mexican politician

José Manuel Zozaya y Bermúdez was the first Mexican diplomat to ever represent his country in the United States, serving as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from 12 December 1822 to 20 May 1823.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expulsion of Chileans from Bolivia and Peru in 1879</span>

The Expulsion of Chileans from Bolivia and Peru in 1879 was an ethnic cleansing ordered by of the governments of Bolivia and Peru. The expulsion took place at the beginning of the War of the Pacific (1879–1883) between Chile and Peruvian-Bolivian alliance. Chilean citizens in both nations were ordered to leave within eight days or face internment and confiscation of their property. They were expelled on poorly-built rafts and pontoons at Peruvian ports, or forced to wander through the desert to reach the northernmost positions occupied by the Chilean Army in Antofagasta. The edict was widely popular in Peru and met with little resistance, allowing it to occur quickly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Río Grande</span>

The Battle of Río Grande was a minor military engagement that took place on 10 September 1879, during the War of the Pacific. A picket of Chilean soldiers and a Bolivian montonera clashed in Rio Grande, around San Pedro de Atacama. Bolivians are defeated, which eliminates local resistance to Chilean occupation in the Litoral Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sofanor Parra</span> Chilean military (1850–1925)

Sofanor Parra Hermosilla, was a Chilean military officer who served in the Chilean Army, in the cavalry branch, and who reached the rank of divisional general.

The Army of the North of Peru or Restoration Army of Peru was the army of the Northern Peruvian Republic that was made up of Peruvians opposed to the establishment of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, who accused Bolivian President Andrés de Santa Cruz of having invaded and divided Peru with the support of Peruvian President Luis José de Orbegoso whom his opponents did not recognize as legitimate. It later merged with the Chilean Army to form the United Restoration Army. The goal of the army was to restore the united Peruvian state prior to the establishment of the Confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Restoration Army</span> Chilean–Peruvian Army

The United Restoration Army, also called simply as the Restoration Army, was a land military force that operated between the years 1837 and 1839, which had the objective of ending the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, led by General Andrés de Santa Cruz, and restore the independence of Peru to its situation prior to the Salaverry-Santa Cruz War.

Mario Barros van Buren (1928–2004) was a Chilean historian, lawyer and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Liberating Army of Peru</span> Military unit of Peru

The United Liberating Army of Peru, known during the last years of the war as the United Peruvian–Colombian Liberating Army of Peru, was an army during the Peruvian War of Independence that had its origin in the Liberating Expedition of Peru, under the command of José de San Martín in 1820.

References

  1. Uribe Orrego, Luis (1891). Los Oríjenes de nuestra marina militar, 1817-1819 (in Spanish). Vol. I. Santiago, Chile: Imprenta Nacional. pp. 93–98.
  2. López Urrutia, Carlos (2007). Historia de la Marina de Chile (in Spanish) (2 ed.). Santiago, Chile: El Ciprés Editores. pp. 35–49, 170–207. ISBN   978-0-6151-8574-3.
  3. Barros Van Buren, Mario (1970). Historia diplomática de Chile (1541-1938) (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Editorial Andrés Bello. p. 174.
  4. Barros Arana, Diego (1888). Historia jeneral de Chile (in Spanish). Vol. IX. Santiago, Chile: Imprenta Cervantes. pp. 479–495, 502–512, 531–535.
  5. Barros Arana, Diego (1892). Historia jeneral de Chile (in Spanish). Vol. XII. Santiago, Chile: Imprenta Cervantes. pp. 128–132, 137–146.
  6. Collier, Simon; Sater, William (1996). A History of Chile, 1808-1994. Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 68. ISBN   0-521-56827-7.
  7. Musicó Aschiero, Ana María (June 2013). "Guerra de la Confederación Argentina con la Confederación Perú-Boliviana 1835-1839". Revista Digital Universitaria del Colegio Militar de la Nación (in Spanish) (33). Buenos Aires, Argentina: 5–6. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  8. Galdo Gutiérrez, Virgilio (1992). Ayacucho: Conflictos y pobreza, historia regional (siglos XVI-XIX) (in Spanish). Ayacucho, Perú: San Cristóbal of Huamanga University. pp. 179–180.
  9. 1 2 Tapia Figueroa, Claudio (2016). "La política chilena en la postguerra del Pacífico: Poder, influencia y relaciones con Ecuador" (PDF). FONDECYT, Federico Santa María Technical University (in Spanish). Valparaíso, Chile: 129. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  10. Rubilar Luengo, Mauricio (2012). La política exterior de Chile durante la guerra y postguerra del Pacífico (1879-1891): Las relaciones con Estados Unidos y Colombia: Diplomacia, opinión pública y poder naval (Thesis) (in Spanish). Valladolid, España: University of Valladolid. pp. 471–472.
  11. Varela Münchmeyer, Eugenio (January–February 1992). "Manejo de crisis. Situación Chile-Estados Unidos en 1891-1892" (PDF). Revista de Marina (in Spanish). 109 (806). Viña del Mar, Chile: 2–3. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  12. Ivanoff Wellmann, Danka (1999). La guerra de Chile Chico o los sucesos del lago Buenos Aires (in Spanish). Chile. pp. 1–118.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. Gazmuri, Cristián (2014). Historia de Chile 1891-1994: Política, economía, sociedad, cultura, vida privada, episodios (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: RIL Editores. p. 51.
  14. 1 2 Estado Mayor General del Ejército (1980). Historia del Ejército de Chile: La Primera Guerra Mundial y su influencia en el ejército (1914–1940) (in Spanish). Vol. VIII. Santiago, Chile: Impresos Vicuña. p. 257.
  15. 1 2 Flores, Jonathan (June 23, 2017). "Departamento 50: La unidad de inteligencia de la PDI que combatió a los nazis en Chile". BiobioChile.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  16. Nocera, Raffaele (July–December 2005). "Ruptura con el eje y alineamiento con Estados Unidos. Chile durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial". Historia Journal, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (in Spanish). 2 (38). Santiago, Chile: 442. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  17. Pugh Gillmore, Kenneth (January–February 2004). "¿Quién hundió al Toltén?" (PDF). Revista de Marina (in Spanish). 121 (878). Viña del Mar, Chile: 1–9. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  18. Paredes Venegas, Mauricio (2012). Nacionalismo, seguridad y presión internacional. La relegación de japoneses en Chile durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial (Thesis) (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Universidad de Chile. pp. 1–742.
  19. Daley, Jason (27 June 2017). "Documents Show Chile Foiled Nazi Plot to Attack Panama Canal". smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  20. Barros Van Buren, Mario (1998). Diplomacia chilena en la II Guerra Mundial (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Ediciones Arquen. p. 105.