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The Battle of Angamos (Spanish: Combate de Angamos) was a naval encounter of the War of the Pacific fought between the navies of Chile and Perú at Punta Angamos, on 8 October, 1879. The battle was the culminant point of a naval campaign that lasted about five months, as the Chilean Navy steamed with the sole mission of eliminating its Peruvian counterpart. In the struggle, two armored frigates, led by Commodore Galvarino Riveros and Navy Captain Juan José Latorre battered and later captured the Peruvian monitor ''Huáscar'', under Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario. After the loss of the frigate ''Independencia'' at Punta Gruesa, Grau sought to challenge the outnumbering Chilean fleet adopting a harassing strategy, focused in inflicting as much damage as possible while avoiding a full scale engagement. As Grau evolved along the Pacific coast, he was chased by Admiral John Williams Rebolledo, who had been ordered to catch Grau no matter what. His failure cost him his commission, and was replaced by Riveros. With a different strategy, Riveros managed to encircle Grau at Punta Angamos, about 80 kilometers north of Antofagasta. Falling in a trap set by Riveros and Latorre, Grau was forced to present battle after ordered the corvette ''Unión'' to escape to Perú. Latorre, aboard ''Almirante Cochrane'', engaged first. Taking advantage of the powerful Armstrong type batteries, Latorre shelled ''Huáscar'' for almost two hours, and Grau was killed in action. However, his flagship continued the fight and allowed Riveros to engage her too with Blanco Encalada. After battered for almost three hours the Huáscar, unable to sustain combat, was boarded and captured, and the battle ended. The result was a complete success for the Chilean Navy, and secured its dominant position for the rest of the war. It allowed to prepare the invasion of the Tarapacá department, carried out on early November. Chilean Navy dominance off the Pacific coast contributed significantly to success in the following land campaigns across the Atacama Desert that ended with Lima's fall on January of 1881. The ''Huáscar'' was repaired and served under the Chilean flag until its decommission, and now sits as a floating museum in the port of Talcahuano. == Background == (詳細はnaval battle of Iquique of 21 May, the Peruvian fleet lost the armored frigate ''Independencia'' to a wooden schooner, ''Covadonga''. This obliged Rear Admiral Miguel Grau to renounce to attack and to adopt a harassing strategy, avoiding by all means a direct encounter with the bulk of the Chilean navy. Aboard the monitor ''Huáscar'', Grau made several incursions into Chilean waters, successfully challenging enemy's domination along the coast. Under his command, ''Huáscar'' sank or captured 14 transports, one of them carrying an entire cavalry regiment. This last setback was considered a humiliation by the Chilean public opinion, and sparked several protests against the government. Besides, the Commander of the Chilean fleet Juan Williams Rebolledo resigned on 5 August. His poor command left his ships incapable of sailing without important reparations. The Chileans lost almost a month putting the vessels in combat conditions again. Therefore, the newly appointed Commander of the Navy, Commodore Galvarino Riveros, couldn't sail until September. By 30 September, Riveros was notified that the corvette ''Unión'' was sailing to Panamá to escort five small ships with torpedoes bought to United States. The Chilean fleet sailed again on 1 October, now carrying War Minister Rafael Sotomayor. The preceding week, the government had ordered the fleet to hunt down the ''Huáscar'' at all cost.〔Cluny, pg. 227〕 In a council held aboard Riveros' flagship, the armored frigate ''Blanco Encalada'', it was decided to set course to Arica, hoping to find ''Huáscar'' there. But, on 7 October, Riveros was informed that Grau had been sighted sailing north at Coquimbo, half way between Arica and Valparaíso. Therefore, a new strategy was set up to capture the Peruvian monitor. Divided in two divisions, Riveros with the slower ships would move close to shore, while Latorre would sail about 35 km from shore with the faster ships. So, the fleet was divided as it follows: * 1st Division—Commodore Galvarino Riveros. * *Armored frigate ''Blanco Encalada'': Commodore Galvarino Riveros * *Wooden schooner ''Virgen de Covadonga'': Lt. Captain Manuel Orella * *Transport ''Matias Cousiño'' : Lt. Captain Augusto Castleton. * 2nd Division—Commander Juan Jose Latorre * *Armored frigate : Commander Juan Jose Latorre * *Corvette ''O'Higgins'' : Lt. Captain Jorge Montt Alvarez * *Transport ''Loa'' : Lt. Captain Javier Molinas Gacitua. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Angamos」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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