Another feeding of my penchant for obscure military conflicts. The situation started with the Chincha Islands War of 1864-1865, even more obscure; a Spanish fleet, on what was ostensibly a “goodwill visit”, demanded an apology from Peru over the murder of a Spanish citizen. Peru insisted it was an internal matter; the Spanish responded by seizing the offshore Chincha Islands, whose guano exports made up 40% of Peruvian revenue. Other South American countries – Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile – declared war on Spain in solidarity with Peru. It was a stalemate; the Spanish didn’t have enough troops to invade, settled for blockades and bombardments, and eventually gave up and continued on their “goodwill” tour. However, the ease with which a relatively small Spanish squadron had been able to raise havoc inspired the South American countries – especially Chile, who had lost almost her entire merchant fleet when the Spanish bombarded Valparaiso – to increase their navies.

Forward to 1879. Chile had a more or less democratic government – by South American standards, at least – while both Peru and Bolivia were military dictatorships. (Bolivia had a particular brutal one under General Hilarión Daza Groselle). The southernmost province of Peru – Tarapacá – and the coastal province of Bolivia – Antofagasta – were mostly occupied by Chileans, who were busy mining mineral resources – mostly nitrates – in the Atacama Desert. Chile and Bolivia had signed a treaty defining the border and guaranteeing that Bolivia would not raise taxes on Chilean companies for 25 years. However, Bolivia and Peru had also signed a secret mutual defense treaty aimed at Chile. In 1878 Bolivia – in violation of the tax treaty with Chile – raised taxes on nitrate extraction by ten cents. The mining companies refused to pay, Bolivia threatened seizure, Chile landed a force in Antofagasta to defend the mines, Bolivia invoked the secret treaty with Peru, and Chile was at war with Peru and Bolivia.

Peru and Bolivia must have counted on the Atacama Desert as defense; it was impassable to land-based military forces. Naval actions dominated the early part of the war, with the Chileans hunting down the British-made Peruvian turret ship Huáscar. The Huáscar was able to run rampant for a while, bombarding Chilean positions and capturing Chilean merchant ships; after a long and bitter battle she was captured at the battle of Angamos and incorporated into the Chilean navy (she’s still on display as a museum ship, one of the few from the early ironclad era).Once free of the threat from Huáscar, Chile was able to use her superior navy to outflank the Peruvian and Bolivian forces, capturing Lima in 1881. The war dragged on for two more years as Peruvian guerillas retreated to the Andes, but eventually Tarapacá and Antofagasta were ceded to Chile (Chile agreed to build a railroad from La Paz to Antofagasta, and Bolivia was allowed free transit through the territory).

Like most Osprey books, this is primarily intended for military miniature modelers, with full color plates illustrating uniforms of the various armies (the Bolivian grenadier is particularly impressive). However, the coverage of the outbreak of the war, campaigns, and battles is also well done. Lots of illustrations and maps, and a bibliography. Recommended if you are in to this sort of thing. To this day, things are a little tense between Bolivia and Chile; they do not have diplomatic relations beyond the consular level. ( )