Qualla: Battle of Pisagua https://qualla.com/battle-of-pisagua en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:08 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Battle of Pisagua https://qualla.com/battle-of-pisagua Battle of Pisagua: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-pisagua/ Photo credit La Ilustración Espanola y Americana, CC BY-SA 4.0. Only 450 men were supposed to be in those boats. The original plan called for 900 in the first wave, but on the morning of November 2, 1879, as landing craft rowed toward the guns of Pisagua, half the assault force was simply missing from the boats. The Chilean soldiers who did reach the beach found themselves pinned beneath cliffs held by Bolivian and Peruvian defenders, with no reinforcements in sight and saltpeter bags burning around them. What happened next became a founding story of the Chilean Marine Corps and marked the beginning of modern amphibious warfare in South America.

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Image: La Ilustración Espanola y Americana | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/k/w/0/battle-of-pisagua-wp/6kw0-battle-of-pisagua-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Pisagua: A War Over White Gold https://qualla.com/battle-of-pisagua/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The War of the Pacific began in April 1879 over control of the Atacama Desert's saltpeter deposits, a mineral wealth that had made the arid borderlands between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru some of the most economically contested territory on the continent. Bolivia lost not only its m...

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]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/k/w/0/battle-of-pisagua-wp/6kw0-battle-of-pisagua-a-war-over-white-gold.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Pisagua: The Bay Between Two Cannons https://qualla.com/battle-of-pisagua/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Pisagua's defenders had geography on their side. A narrow bay flanked by two fortified positions, each armed with a 100-pounder cannon, created a crossfire that could rake any ship attempting to enter the harbor. Steep hillsides rose directly behind the beach, giving the roughly ...

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]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/k/w/0/battle-of-pisagua-wp/6kw0-battle-of-pisagua-the-bay-between-two-cannons.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Pisagua: Climbing Under Fire https://qualla.com/battle-of-pisagua/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. At 10:15, the navy ceased its barrage and the first boats pushed toward shore. The 450 soldiers who landed belonged to the Atacama Battalion and the Zapadores Regiment. They came under immediate fire from the heights above Playa Blanca, where Bolivian troops poured rounds down on...

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]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/k/w/0/battle-of-pisagua-wp/6kw0-battle-of-pisagua-climbing-under-fire.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Pisagua: The Cost and the Consequence https://qualla.com/battle-of-pisagua/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Chile lost 56 dead and 124 wounded. The Bolivian-Peruvian alliance suffered roughly 200 casualties. The numbers were modest, but the strategic result was decisive. Pisagua gave Chile a functioning port through which to land the troops, weapons, and supplies needed for the Tarapac...

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]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/k/w/0/battle-of-pisagua-wp/6kw0-battle-of-pisagua-the-cost-and-the-consequence.mp3 0:06 5 full