The War of the Pacific resulted from a dispute between Chile and his British ally versus Peru and his American ally over control of the nitrate-rich coastal area of the Atacama Desert. The Atacama was a rough terrain to conquer and occupy for long. It was nearly waterless and had few roads and railroads. From the beginning of the war it became clear that, to seize or defend the local nitrate resources in a difficult desert terrain, control of the sea would be the deciding factor. In the campaign of November 1879 the Peruvian Navy had lost their two most important warships. Peruvians collected money to buy new warships, guns, torpedo boats and other weapons. To maintain its naval superiority, Chileans were forced to rearm their warships with new long-barreled breech-loading rifle guns. The war goes on…
