Battle of San Francisco

Date	November 19, 1879
Location	South America
Result	Chilean victory

Belligerents

Chile

Peru

Bolivia

Commanders and leaders

Col. Emilio Sotomayor

Gen. Juan Buendía

Strength

6,500 soldiers:
3 regiments
4 battalions
2 artillery batteries

9,063 soldiers:
17 battalions
1 artillery battery
2 cavalry squadrons

Casualties and losses

60 killed
148 wounded

220 killed
76 wounded
3,200 missing
18 smoothbore

The Battle of San Francisco, also known as the Battle of Dolores, was a major battle in the Tarapacá Campaign of the War of the Pacific, fought on November 19, 1879, in the Peruvian department of Tarapacá. A Chilean army under Colonel Emilio Sotomayor had moved via Dolores rail road deep into the desert and was encamped at San Francisco Saltpeter Office, about 30 kilometers south east of the port of Pisagua. Allied forces under General Juan Buendía launched an attack on Sotomayor's army. At the beginning, Bolivian General Carlos Villegas pressed the attack over a poorly defended battery right in the Chilean centre and almost succeeded. Only the arrival of infantry support allowed Colonel José Domingo Amunátegui to hold the position.

Also, the Allies struck with the intention of driving the Chilean defenders away from Dolores well. Buendía hoped to defeat Sotomayor's army before the anticipated arrival of Gen. Erasmo Escala with reinforcements from Hospicio. The allied columns became confused during the fierce fighting, and Sotomayor's men rejected the attacks over its flanks and centre. Colonel Ladislao Espinar was mortally wounded at San Francisco, while Villegas was wounded and captured, among other allied officers.

The Allies were forced to retreat from the battlefield, ending their hopes of sending the Chileans back to the sea. Also, Buendía lost a huge amount of war such as cannons, ammunition and weapons.

The catastrophe for the Allies was the result of poor logistics, inefficient leadership and the unexpected desertion of the Bolivian Army under the half-hearted command of President Hilarión Daza, known as the Camarones betrayal.

After the Chilean navy obtained a decisive victory at Angamos (October 8, 1879), the Chilean preparations for the invasion of the Tarapacá department begun. On November 2, the Chileans launched an amphibious operation at Pisagua and pushed the Allies offshore, and established a beach head to transport equipment and soldiers. Also, the loss of Pisagua deprived Gen. Buendía of the only available escape route he had left, because Iquique was under blockade since the war broke out.

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Wikipedia