The Battle at Tacna was an engagement during 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...

 (1879–1883) between 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...

 and the Allied Forces of 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....

 and Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

. It was fought on May 20, 1880, with the forces aligned as follows:

Chilean North Operations Army

The Chilean Army was under the command of General Manuel Baquedano Gonzalez, with Colonel Velasquez as his Chief of Staff. The army was divided into five infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 divisions, with three cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 regiments and thirty seven artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 pieces as it follows:

I Division (Col. Santiago Amengual)

Strength: 2,700 men

• • Esmeralda Infantry Regimient (Col. Santiago Amengual)(8 companies)
  • Navales Infantry Battalion (Col. Martiniano Urriola) (4 companies)
  • Chillan Infantry Battalion (Juan Vargas Pinochet) (4 companies)
  • Valparaiso Infantry Battalion (Jacinto Niño) (3 companies)

II Division (Lt. Colonel Francisco Barcelo)

Strength: 1,858 men

• • 2nd Line Infantry Regiment (Colonel Estanislao del Canto)
  • Santiago Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col Francisco Barcelo)
  • Atacama Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Juan Martinez)

III Division (Col. Jose Domingo Amunategui)

Strength: 1,858 men

• • Artillería de Marina Infantry Regiment
  • Coquimbo Infantry Battalion
  • Chacabuco Infantry Battalion

IV Division (Col. Orozimbo Barbosa)

Strength: 2,285 men

• • Lautaro Infantry Battalion
  • Cazadores del Desierto Infantry Battalion
  • Zapadores Infantry Battalion (Lt. Col. Ricardo Santa Cruz)

Reserve (Col. Mauricio Muñoz)

Strength: 2,335 men

• • "Buin" 1st Line Infantry Regiment (Col. Juan Leon Garcia)
  • 3rd Line Infantry Regiment (Col. Ricardo Castro)
  • 4th Line Infantry Regiment (Col. Luis Solo de Zaldívar)

Cavalry

• • Granaderos Regiment (Horse Grenadiers)
  • Cazadores Regiment (Light Cavalry)
  • Carabineros de Yungay Regiment (Light Cavalry-Carabiners)

I Southern Peruvian Army

• I Division (Col. Justo Pastor Davila)
  • Lima Nº 11 Battalion
  • Cazadores de Cuzco Battalion

• II Division (Col. Andres Avelino Caceres)
  • Zepita Battalion
  • Cazadores de Misti Battalion

• III Division (Col. Belisario Suarez)
  • Arica Battalion
  • Pisagua Battalion

• IV Division (Col. Jacinto Mendoza)
  • Victoria Battalion
  • Huascar Battalion

• V Division (Col. Alejandro Herrera)
  • Ayacucho Battalion
  • Arequipa Battalion

• VI Division (Cesar Canevaro)
  • Lima Nº 21 Battalion
  • Cazadores del Rimac Battalion

• Nacionales Division (Col. del Solar)
  • Formed by civilians and policemen of Tacna (the latter from the Peruvian Civil Guard)

• Cavalry
  • Husares de Junin Squadron
  • Gendarmes de Tacna Squadron
  • Guias Squadron
  • Flanqueadores de Tacna Squadron

• Artillery
  • 10 cannons and 3 machine guns

Bolivian Army

• I Division (Col. Severino Zapata)
  • Viedma Battalion
  • Padilla Battalion
  • Sucre Battalion

• II Division (Col. Claudio Acosta)
  • Tarija Battalion
  • Chorolque Battalion
  • Grau Battalion
  • Loa Battalion

• III Division (Col. Idelfonso Murgia)
  • Murillo Battalion
  • Alianza Battalion (known as the "Bolivian Colorados") (See also: Bolivian Colorados Regiment
    Bolivian Colorados Regiment
    The 1st Regiment of Foot Infantry "Bolivian Colorados" National Presidential Escort Regiment of the Bolivian Army, formerly the 39th Line Infantry Battalion "Colorados" is one of the Army's oldest and most prestigious infantry regiments...
    
    )

• IV Division (Col. Alfonso Gonzalez)
  • Aroma Battalion

• Cavalry
  • Husares Squadron
  • Coraceros Squadron

• Artillery

6 cannons and 4 machine guns