Book Review of
The Naval War of the Pacific 1879-1884
Saltpeter War
Maritime Series No. 3111
Author: Piotr Olender
MMP (Mushroom Model Publications) – Stratus
ISBN: 978-83-65958-77-8
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $41.00
ISBN: 978-83-65958-77-8
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $41.00
HISTORY:
The War of the Pacific, in Spanish, Guerra del Pacifico, also known as the Saltpeter War (Guerra del Salitre), was a war between Chile and a Bolivian-Peruvian alliance that lasted from 1879 to 1884.
It was fought over Chilian claims on coastal Bolivian territory in the Macama Desert. The war ended with victory for Chili, which gained a significant amount of resource-rich territory from Peru and Bolivia.
Chile’s army took Bolivia’s nitrate-rich coastal region and Peru was defeated by Chilean navy.
THE BOOK:
MMP – Mushroom Models Publication is based in the UK. All their books are printed by their associate Stratus in Sandomierz, Poland in the English language. Stratus also does their own line of books in both English and Polish.
This book is soft cover of 160 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a iron-clad steam-powered ship with sails blowing up.
The book contains 179 black and white illustrations. Some are photos and others are illustrations.
Thirty-eight people are illustrated in portraits:
A Bolivian soldier, Mariano Prado Ochoa, the president of Peru.
Anibal Pinto, the president of Chile.
And a Chilean soldier.
Rear Admiral Juan Williams Rebolledo, the Commander in Chief of the Chilean Navy.
Emilio Solomayer, the commander of the unit which captured Antofagasta in February 1879.
Commander Juan Jose Latorre, the commanding officer of the gunboat Magallanes during the battle of the mouth of the Loa River.
Captain Aurelio Garcia y Garcia, the commanding officer of the corvette Union during the battle of the mouth of the Loa River.
Commander Arturo Prat, the commanding officer of the corvette Esmeralda.
Lieutenant Carlos Condell, the commanding officer of the gunboat Covadonga during the battle of Iquique.
Captain Juan Guillermo, the commanding officer of the ironclad Independencia during the battle of Iquique.
Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, Captain Galvarino Riveros, the new commander of the Chilean Navy, who replaced Rear Admiral Williams in August 1879. The victory at Angamos granted him the promotion to rear admiral, Commander Juan Jose Latorre, who distinguished himself as the commander of the gunboat Magalianes.
Rear Admiral Miguel Grau, Commander Manuel Meliton Carvajal, Rear Admiral Grau’s Chief of Staff, wounded during the battle of Angamos, he was taken prisoner with the ship.
Lieutenant Commander Elias Aguirre Romero, second in command of the Huascar. He died in the battle.
General Erasmo Escala, commander of the Chilean army which captured Pisagua.
Lieutenant Isaac Recavarren of the Peruvian garrison at Pisagua.
General Juan Buendia Noriega, the victorious Peruvian commander of the battle of Tarapaca.
Vice President Luis de la Puerta, to whom President Prado handed over the authority before fleeing the country.
Nicolas Pierola, the new President of Peru.
General Narciso Campero, who became the President of Bolivia after Daza’s removal from power.
Chilean Minister of War and the Navy, Rafael Sotomayor Baeza, he died of natural causes during the campaign, shortly before the battle of Tacna.
General Manuel Baquedano, the Chilean Army commander at the battle of Tacna.
Admiral Lizardo Montero, the commander of Peruvian forces at the battle of Tacna, the supreme command was in the hands of the Bolivian President Narciso Campero.
Captain Jose Sanchez Lagomarsino, the commanding officer of the monitor Manco Capac.
Coronel Francisco Bolognesi, the commander of the Arica garrison in 1860.
Commander Manuel Thompson, the commanding officer of the monitor Huascar. He was killed on February 27, 1880, during the engagement off Arica.
Captain Manuel Villavicencio, the command officer of the corvette Union, who managed to rupture the blockade of Arica.
Colonel Pedro Legos, the commander of the Chilean troops assigned to capture Arica.
Commander Patricio Lynch, the commander of the expedition which wreaked havoc on the northern coast of Peru.
Francisco Garcia Calderon, anointed by the Chileans to serve as the president of Peru. He refused to sign the peace treaty in September 1881, in which he would cede the southern provinces of Chile, and therefore, he was imprisoned.
Andres Avelino Caceres, the commander of the Peruvian troops operating east of Lima. Appointed second Vice President by Calderon, was initially reluctant to take the post, but later began cooperation with Montero. The most active of the Peruvian commanders in the second phase of the conflict.
Domingo Santa Maria, elected the new President of Chile in September 1881.
Miguel Iglesias, the Minister of War in Pirola’s government. He rebelled against him in November 1881, and began cooperation with Montero and Caceres. In August 1882, he announced his allegiance to the government at Arequipa, calling for making peace, which won him support of the Chileans, thus paving the way for the position of the Peruvian president. In December 1885 he was removed from office by Caceres.
The background, naval operations and outcomes are described in detail in the book.
There are line-drawings at the end of the book of:
The Chilean ship Almirante Cochrane
The Chilean ship Huascar
The Chilean ship Esmeralda
The Chilean ship Covadonga
The Chilean ship Pilcomayo
The Chilean ship Union
The Peruvian ship Indepencia
The Peruvian ship Atahualpa
There is an index and bibliography at the end of the book.
This book will be of interest to modelers and naval historians alike. I don’t know what kits might exist of any of the ships shown?
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All MMP book titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The War of the Pacific, in Spanish, Guerra del Pacifico, also known as the Saltpeter War (Guerra del Salitre), was a war between Chile and a Bolivian-Peruvian alliance that lasted from 1879 to 1884.
It was fought over Chilian claims on coastal Bolivian territory in the Macama Desert. The war ended with victory for Chili, which gained a significant amount of resource-rich territory from Peru and Bolivia.
Chile’s army took Bolivia’s nitrate-rich coastal region and Peru was defeated by Chilean navy.
THE BOOK:
MMP – Mushroom Models Publication is based in the UK. All their books are printed by their associate Stratus in Sandomierz, Poland in the English language. Stratus also does their own line of books in both English and Polish.
This book is soft cover of 160 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a iron-clad steam-powered ship with sails blowing up.
The book contains 179 black and white illustrations. Some are photos and others are illustrations.
Thirty-eight people are illustrated in portraits:
A Bolivian soldier, Mariano Prado Ochoa, the president of Peru.
Anibal Pinto, the president of Chile.
And a Chilean soldier.
Rear Admiral Juan Williams Rebolledo, the Commander in Chief of the Chilean Navy.
Emilio Solomayer, the commander of the unit which captured Antofagasta in February 1879.
Commander Juan Jose Latorre, the commanding officer of the gunboat Magallanes during the battle of the mouth of the Loa River.
Captain Aurelio Garcia y Garcia, the commanding officer of the corvette Union during the battle of the mouth of the Loa River.
Commander Arturo Prat, the commanding officer of the corvette Esmeralda.
Lieutenant Carlos Condell, the commanding officer of the gunboat Covadonga during the battle of Iquique.
Captain Juan Guillermo, the commanding officer of the ironclad Independencia during the battle of Iquique.
Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, Captain Galvarino Riveros, the new commander of the Chilean Navy, who replaced Rear Admiral Williams in August 1879. The victory at Angamos granted him the promotion to rear admiral, Commander Juan Jose Latorre, who distinguished himself as the commander of the gunboat Magalianes.
Rear Admiral Miguel Grau, Commander Manuel Meliton Carvajal, Rear Admiral Grau’s Chief of Staff, wounded during the battle of Angamos, he was taken prisoner with the ship.
Lieutenant Commander Elias Aguirre Romero, second in command of the Huascar. He died in the battle.
General Erasmo Escala, commander of the Chilean army which captured Pisagua.
Lieutenant Isaac Recavarren of the Peruvian garrison at Pisagua.
General Juan Buendia Noriega, the victorious Peruvian commander of the battle of Tarapaca.
Vice President Luis de la Puerta, to whom President Prado handed over the authority before fleeing the country.
Nicolas Pierola, the new President of Peru.
General Narciso Campero, who became the President of Bolivia after Daza’s removal from power.
Chilean Minister of War and the Navy, Rafael Sotomayor Baeza, he died of natural causes during the campaign, shortly before the battle of Tacna.
General Manuel Baquedano, the Chilean Army commander at the battle of Tacna.
Admiral Lizardo Montero, the commander of Peruvian forces at the battle of Tacna, the supreme command was in the hands of the Bolivian President Narciso Campero.
Captain Jose Sanchez Lagomarsino, the commanding officer of the monitor Manco Capac.
Coronel Francisco Bolognesi, the commander of the Arica garrison in 1860.
Commander Manuel Thompson, the commanding officer of the monitor Huascar. He was killed on February 27, 1880, during the engagement off Arica.
Captain Manuel Villavicencio, the command officer of the corvette Union, who managed to rupture the blockade of Arica.
Colonel Pedro Legos, the commander of the Chilean troops assigned to capture Arica.
Commander Patricio Lynch, the commander of the expedition which wreaked havoc on the northern coast of Peru.
Francisco Garcia Calderon, anointed by the Chileans to serve as the president of Peru. He refused to sign the peace treaty in September 1881, in which he would cede the southern provinces of Chile, and therefore, he was imprisoned.
Andres Avelino Caceres, the commander of the Peruvian troops operating east of Lima. Appointed second Vice President by Calderon, was initially reluctant to take the post, but later began cooperation with Montero. The most active of the Peruvian commanders in the second phase of the conflict.
Domingo Santa Maria, elected the new President of Chile in September 1881.
Miguel Iglesias, the Minister of War in Pirola’s government. He rebelled against him in November 1881, and began cooperation with Montero and Caceres. In August 1882, he announced his allegiance to the government at Arequipa, calling for making peace, which won him support of the Chileans, thus paving the way for the position of the Peruvian president. In December 1885 he was removed from office by Caceres.
The background, naval operations and outcomes are described in detail in the book.
There are line-drawings at the end of the book of:
The Chilean ship Almirante Cochrane
The Chilean ship Huascar
The Chilean ship Esmeralda
The Chilean ship Covadonga
The Chilean ship Pilcomayo
The Chilean ship Union
The Peruvian ship Indepencia
The Peruvian ship Atahualpa
There is an index and bibliography at the end of the book.
This book will be of interest to modelers and naval historians alike. I don’t know what kits might exist of any of the ships shown?
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All MMP book titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.