Adolfo Holley Urzúa was a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an general who served in the War of the Pacific

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...

 and in the Chilean Civil War

Chilean Civil War

The Chilean Civil War of 1891 was an armed conflict between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the sitting President, José Manuel Balmaceda. The war saw a confrontation between the Chilean Army and the Chilean Navy, which had sided with the president and the congress, respectively...

 and held posts in the resulting government.

Holley embarked upon his military career in the Occupation of the Araucanía

Occupation of the Araucanía

The Occupation of Araucanía was a series of military campaigns, agreements and penetrations by the Chilean army and settlers which led to the incorporation of Araucanía into Chilean national territory...

 in the Arauco War

Arauco War

The Arauco War was a conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people in what is now the Araucanía and Biobío regions of modern Chile...

. At the start of the War of the Pacific, he was commissioned as second in command of the regiment Esmeralda when it was created after the division of the older Carampangue in May 1879. Serving in this position, Holley fought in the Battle of Tacna

Battle of Tacna

The Battle of Tacna, also known as the Battle of Alliance Heights , effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian alliance against Chile, forged by a secret treaty between both countries signed on 1873...

. He was promoted to commander of the regiment when its prior commander, Santiago Amengual, was named chief of the First Division in the Lima Campaign. Holley fought in the Battle of Chorrillos

Battle of Chorrillos

The Battle of Chorrillos, also known as the Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos, was the first of the two battles of the Lima Campaign during the War of the Pacific, and was fought on January 13, 1881. This battle is really a group of a smaller, yet fierce confrontations at the defensive strongholds...

 (Battle of San Juan) and the Battle of Miraflores

Battle of Miraflores

The Battle of Miraflores occurred on January 15, 1881 in the Miraflores District of Lima, Peru. It was an important battle during the War of the Pacific that was fought between Chile and the forces of Peru. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel Baquedano defeated the army commanded by Nicolás de...

, where his regiment suffered heavy losses. After the capture of Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

 and the Chilean occupation of Lima, he remained in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 with the Esmeralda regiment, taking part in the Breña Campaign (Campaign of the Sierra).

On 27 May 1891, Holley was named Minister of War and Navy

Ministry of National Defense (Chile)

The Ministry of National Defense is the cabinet-level administrative office in charge of "maintaining the independence and sovereignty" of Chile. It is also charged with planning, directing, coordinating, executing, controlling and informing the defense policies formulated by the President of...

 by the Revolutionary Junta

Military dictatorship

A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....

 loyal to Congress established in Iquique

Iquique

Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...

. He defended the post, defeating the presidential government's forces loyal to José Manuel Balmaceda

José Manuel Balmaceda

José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile...

. Meanwhile, Jorge Montt

Jorge Montt

Jorge Montt Álvarez was vice-admiral of the Chilean Navy and president of Chile from 1891 to 1896.-Early life:...

, a Congressional supporter, took over control of the Santiago Government Junta on September 20. Holley left the government upon Montt's assumption of the constitutional office of President and the start of the new government on 26 December 1891, ending the transitional wartime regime in which he had served.

Holley served as the Senior General and Inspector General of the Army, the commander-in-chief, from 1894-1900. Adolfo Holley died in Tacna

Tacna

- Rail :Tacna is served by a cross-border standard gauge railway to Arica, Chile.It is also the location of the National Railway Museum of Peru.-Air:Tacna is served by the Crnl. FAP...

on 11 November 1914.