Safeguarding Cliffs. Miraflores, Lima, Peru
Jetlag took me out into misty early morning and I walked both above (see inset) and below the cliffs on which the suburb of Miraflores, Lima, is built. Hard as I tried I couldn't really imagine the Battle of Miraflores, January 15, 1881. Peru and Chile had been at war since 1879 and one of the decisive battles that led finally to a peace treaty in 1884 was this one. Peruvian and Chilean forces were more or less evenly matched; both numbered about 12000 men; and casualties were similar, too.
The narrow beach comes to a full stop at the edge of these cliffs. If you look at paintings of the Battle, it's surprising how the artists have invariably painted a rather broad battlefield. Perhaps the beach was wider a century and a half ago. Regardless, escape appeared to have been impossible. About 30% of the soldiers died.
Safeguarding Cliffs. Miraflores, Lima, Peru
Jetlag took me out into misty early morning and I walked both above (see inset) and below the cliffs on which the suburb of Miraflores, Lima, is built. Hard as I tried I couldn't really imagine the Battle of Miraflores, January 15, 1881. Peru and Chile had been at war since 1879 and one of the decisive battles that led finally to a peace treaty in 1884 was this one. Peruvian and Chilean forces were more or less evenly matched; both numbered about 12000 men; and casualties were similar, too.
The narrow beach comes to a full stop at the edge of these cliffs. If you look at paintings of the Battle, it's surprising how the artists have invariably painted a rather broad battlefield. Perhaps the beach was wider a century and a half ago. Regardless, escape appeared to have been impossible. About 30% of the soldiers died.