Naval campaign of the War of the Pacific

Naval campaign of the War of the Pacific
	Part of the War of the Pacific
	; Capture of the ironclad Huáscar, oil painting by Thomas Somerscales.
Date	1879 – 1881
Location	Coast of Chile, Bolivia and Peru; Pacific Ocean, South America
Result	Chilean victory Chile gains naval superiority against the allies.;
Belligerents
Chile	Peru
Commanders and leaders
Juan Rebolledo; Galvarino Cárdenas; Juan Latorre; Arturo Prat †; Carlos Condell; Erasmo Escala; Manuel Baquedano; Luis Castillo; Justo Cuevas; Manuel Thomson †; Enrique Simpson; Aureliano Sánchez †; Ignacio Gana ;	Miguel Grau †; Juan Guillermo; Carlos de los Heros †; Aurelio García; Germán Astete; Nicolás Portal; Carlos Ferreyros ; Manuel Villavicencio; Camilo Carrillo; José Lagomarsino; José García; José Becerra;
Strength
1879:(prewar); 2 ironclads; 9 wooden ships; 4 torpedo boats 1880:; 3 ironclads; 8 wooden ships; 10 torpedo boats	1879:(prewar); 4 ironclads; 7 wooden ships; 2 torpedo boats 1880:; 3 ironclads; 7 wooden ships; 2 torpedo boats
Casualties and losses
Total: 891 casualties; 219 killed; 257 wounded; 408 captured; 1 cannon captured; 4 ships sunk; 1 ship captured; 1 ship damaged	Total: 421 casualties; 46 killed; 33 wounded; 329 captured; 4 missing; 6 ships sunk; 2 ships captured; 1 submarine destroyed
	At least 15 Peruvian civilian casualties

The Naval campaign of the War of the Pacific or Saltpeter war, was a naval campaign that took place from 1879 to 1884, involving Peru (as well as Bolivia), and Chile, undertaken in order to support land forces in the Atacama Desert. Although the conflict lasted until 1884, the primary naval engagements occurred in 1879 and 1880. Due to the rough terrain and few transport methods it was imperative to have control of the ports in order to have a good supply source in the region. It resulted in a successful campaign by Chile, and the success of their land campaigns eventually led to a Chilean victory, which cut off Bolivia's access to the coast.