The Chilean expeditions to the Andes had proven to be disastrous, leaving hundreds of casualties and serious military defeats, such as Marcavalle, Pucara and Concepción. During the next months, the Chileans decided to keep away from the mountains and push for a peace treaty in Lima, this time entering into negotiations with General Miguel Iglesias.
However, as it happen during the negotiations with President García Calderon, it became extremely difficult to reach a treaty with the presence of an army strongly opposed to territorial cessions, so Rear Admiral Lynch was forced to send a new military expedition against General Caceres with orders to find his forces and annihilate them once and for all. “Even if you must search in hell, do it, but find him” Lynch told his officers. In April 1883, three Chilean divisions departed from Lima under orders of Colonels García, del Canto and Arrigada, who was appointed Commander in Chief of the expedition.
Caceres, aware of this situation, moved his army towards the town of Canta, North of Lima, leaving there a garrison under Colonel Santa María. He then advanced towards Matucana, with the objective of taking the city of Chosica, actually occupied by hundreds of Chilean Troops. Caceres was forced to change his strategy after being informed that a big Chilean division was moving into Canta and that another division was approaching part of his forces in the “quebrada”. So, to avoid the destruction of his divided army, he ordered all the battalions to concentrate in the city of Tarma.
The Chileans, who were very close, occupied the city of Jauja, few miles next to Tarma. On May 30, Caceres arrived into Cerro de Pasco, followed very closely by the divisions under del Canto and García. After celebrating a War Council, Caceres decided to withdraw his army to the North. It became a very difficult and hostile march, between snow peaks, dangerous mountains and very low temperatures.
On July 5th, 1883, his tired troops arrived to “Tres Cruces” in the Department of Ayacucho. There, Caceres, who was marching ahead of his soldiers, saw an enemy column of 700 hundred men moving towards the city of Huamacucho. He soon realized that those soldiers belonged to the column recently sent from Lima to reinforce the forces under Colonel Alejandro Gorostiaga. Tired as he was, Caceres thought he could organize an attack.
During the night his troops reached the slopes of Tres Cruces in order to assault by dawn the Chilean column that was supposed to stop for a rest at Tres Rios, about 10 miles from Huamachuco. The Chilean commander however, aware of the presence of Peruvian cavalry, order his troops to continue the march toward Huamachuco to avoid combat.
After a new War Council, Caceres and his officers decided that the time had arrived to put an end to their persecution. It was the moment to turn the hunt on a fight and a decision was made to attack the enemy at Huamachuco. For this, the Peruvians had 1,440 men and officers. However, they had no artillery, had very scarce cavalry and few ammunition. Worst, the infantry had no bayonets, which during the war proved to be a decisive weapon in hand to hand combat. Even under these difficult conditions, on the eight of July, the Army of the Breña moved to the South of Ayacucho to pursuit its objective. It was an admirable maneuver, for the Chileans thought for a moment that Caceres was planing to return to the Center of the country.
The Chileans, under Colonel Gorostiaga, including the reinforcements, had a total of 2,000 men, a well-equipped cavalry and infantry and some pieces of artillery.
Caceres divided his forces into three positions. Colonel Secada was placed at command of the central position, at the slopes of the majestic Cuyurgo Hill. Colonel Recavarren took command of the left and Caceres of the right. On July 9th, there was a brief exchange of fire, but the real fight started in the morning of July 10th. The Chilean troops advanced down the slopes of the Cuyurgo, but were stopped by Colonel´s Secada men. Some Chileans were forced to return to their initial positions, while others remained in the heights of the Sazon Hill. The battle become decisive. In fact, the brave Peruvians almost reached the heights of the Chilean hill.
Suddenly the Peruvian fire start to diminish because of the lack of ammunition. The Chileans, aware of this situation, started a counter-attack. Caceres, ahead of the Tarma Battalion leaded several charges, but the empty rifles of the Peruvians were no match against bayonets and cavalry. The Peruvians fought to the last.
Peruvians lost almost half their men, including most of their officers. Those who were captured alive were executed later by orders of Colonel Gorostiaga under allegations that they were guerrillas, not regular soldiers. Among the death were Colonels Juan Gasto, commander of the Peruvian column that defeated the Chileans at Concepcion and Leoncio Prado, son of the former Peruvian President.
General Caceres was seriously wounded, but he avoided to be captured by the enemy.
Huamachuco was the last battle of the war and marked the end of a long conflict that lasted for more than four years.
