Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos 1881
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 13 January 1881 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1881 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Peru | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Pacific | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -12.1756, -76.9564 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos was the first of two main battles in the Lima campaign during the War of the Pacific, and was fought on 13 January 1881. This battle is really a group of smaller, yet fierce confrontations at the defensive strongholds of Villa, Chorrillos, Santiago de Surco, San Juan de Miraflores, Santa Teresa and Morro Solar. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel Baquedano inflicted a harsh defeat on the Peruvian army commanded by the Supreme Chief Nicolás de Piérola. The Chilean triumph eliminated the first defensive line guarding Lima, and almost obliterated the Peruvian army defending it.
At the end of the battle, the town of Chorrillos was burnt to the ground by the Chilean army trying to eradicate the Peruvian defenders garrisoned there. During the night, civilian abuses were committed by drunk soldiers.
Despite this result, another battle had to be fought, at Miraflores two days later, before the Chilean army could enter the Peruvian capital city of Lima and occupied it.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos (revision 1370588363), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Portada de Guías 1838 · 16 km
- Third siege of Callao 1838 · 25 km
- First siege of Callao 1821 · 25 km
- Second siege of Callao 1824 · 25 km
- Battle of Callao 1866 · 26 km
- Battle of Junín 1824 · 151 km
Other battles of the War of the Pacific
- Blockade of Iquique 1879
- Battle of Buenavista 1880
- Battle of Locumba 1880
- Battle of Los Ángeles 1880
- Battle of Tacna 1880
- Battle of La Concepción 1882
- First Battle of Pucará 1882
All 16 battles of the War of the Pacific →
Browse more: battles in Peru · South America · 19th century battles