Alternative History
Alternative History
War of the Deserts
Battle of Angamos, 1879.
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
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Flag of the Andine Confederation (Triangles and Crosses) Peru-Bolivian Confederation
Mapuches
Flag of Argentina (Triangles and Crosses) Argentina
Flag of Chile (Triangles and Crosses) Chile

Military support:
Flag of Brazil (Triangles and Crosses) Brazil

Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United Kingdom Victoria
Flag of the United Kingdom George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy
Flag of the Andine Confederation (Triangles and Crosses) Narciso Campero
Flag of Chile (Triangles and Crosses) Aníbal Pinto (until 1881)
Flag of Chile (Triangles and Crosses) Adolfo Holley (1881–1883)
Flag of Argentina (Triangles and Crosses) Nicolás Avellaneda (until 1880)
Flag of Argentina (Triangles and Crosses) 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.