War of the Deserts (Triangles and Crosses)

War of the Deserts
Battle of Angamos, 1879.
Date April 5, 1877 – October 20, 1883 Place Pacific coast of South America, South Atlantic sea, Río de La Plata basin and Patagonia. Result Stalemate Treaty of Ancón Creation of the British dominion of Patagonia. Andine Confederation secures the Atacama. Argentine victory in the Chaco.
Belligerents
United Kingdom Peru-Bolivian Confederation Mapuches	Argentina Chile Military support: Brazil
Commanders and leaders
Victoria George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy Narciso Campero	Aníbal Pinto (until 1881) Adolfo Holley (1881–1883) Nicolás Avellaneda (until 1880) Julio Argentino Roca (1880–1883)

The War of the Deserts (Spanish: "Guerra de los Desiertos") was a war fought between a Chilean-Argentine alliance and a British-Andine alliance, being fought over Chilean claims in the Atacama Desert, over the sovereignty of the Patagonian territory, and the territory of Chaco. Although it ended with a stalemate, the results were more favourable to the British-Andine side, since the United Kingdom could establish the Dominion of Patagonia, while the Peru-Bolivian Confederation secured the Atacama Desert and its resources. As for the Chilean-Argentine side, Argentina conquered the Chaco region, while Chile had no territorial gains.

Battles were fought in the Pacific Ocean, the Atacama Desert, Patagonia, and the mountainous regions in the Andes. Chile's campaign in the north was disastrous, since the government struggled to establish a marine resupply corridor for its forces in the world's driest desert, as British forces were controlling the Pacific coast. In the Chaco and Río de La Plata regions, there was a Brazilian intervention in favour of the Chileans and Argentines. The Confederation forces occupied Santiago in January 1883, and some Chilean and Argentine remnants in the west waged a guerrilla war in Chile and the western parts of Argentina.