Chilean Attack Tactics
After the Commander of the Chilean Forces, General Erasmo Escala resigned as a result of his continued discrepancies with the War Minister; the later promoted General Manuel Baquedano, a veteran from the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy war, who enjoyed the sympathies and respect of the soldiers.
The units under the command of General Baquedano were cohesive. An example of this happened during the Battle of Tacna. The criticized frontal attack tactics exposed the Chilean formations to the effects of fires from allied artillery and machine guns, but Chile was able to overcome the allies’ counter attack by the use of combined arms. A concentric and precise attack by the Chilean artillery killed about eighty percent of the counter-attacking soldiers …show more content…
The importance of capturing Arica, and particularly its cape, was clear to all as the port was a key enabler for future expeditionary operations, and to release the Navy from the blockage function it had executed until then.
Subordinate commanders were aware of the scheme of maneuver and their particular role in it. The 4th Line Regiment had the Eastern Fort as their objective, and the Commanders of the 3rd and 1st Regiment even raffled which unit was to attack Fort Ciudadela.
In order to ensure surprise, Lagos gave strict orders regarding the discipline required during the movement to the enemy battle positions, and ordered a deception by setting fires in the unoccupied base camp.
All these measures led to the Chilean Forces lying down ready to attack as close as one thousand meters away from the enemy battle positions, without being spotted, waiting for the order to begin the assault. The movement began nearly at 5 a.m., and it was not until around 6 a.m. that the first security element could provide with alert, starting the defense, but it was too late as the massive Chilean formations were too
The units under the command of General Baquedano were cohesive. An example of this happened during the Battle of Tacna. The criticized frontal attack tactics exposed the Chilean formations to the effects of fires from allied artillery and machine guns, but Chile was able to overcome the allies’ counter attack by the use of combined arms. A concentric and precise attack by the Chilean artillery killed about eighty percent of the counter-attacking soldiers …show more content…
The importance of capturing Arica, and particularly its cape, was clear to all as the port was a key enabler for future expeditionary operations, and to release the Navy from the blockage function it had executed until then.
Subordinate commanders were aware of the scheme of maneuver and their particular role in it. The 4th Line Regiment had the Eastern Fort as their objective, and the Commanders of the 3rd and 1st Regiment even raffled which unit was to attack Fort Ciudadela.
In order to ensure surprise, Lagos gave strict orders regarding the discipline required during the movement to the enemy battle positions, and ordered a deception by setting fires in the unoccupied base camp.
All these measures led to the Chilean Forces lying down ready to attack as close as one thousand meters away from the enemy battle positions, without being spotted, waiting for the order to begin the assault. The movement began nearly at 5 a.m., and it was not until around 6 a.m. that the first security element could provide with alert, starting the defense, but it was too late as the massive Chilean formations were too