Battle of Sangra The Battle of Sangra was fought on June 26 , 1881 in the Peruvian central Andes , during the Letelier expedition , the first of its type during the sierra campaign of the War of the Pacific , sent to eliminate the Peruvian resistance growing over there after the fall of Lima and conducted by Andrés Cáceres . An 80 men Chilean detachment led by Cpt . Jose Araneda successfully held off an outnumbering attacking force commanded by Col . Manuel Encarnación Vento at Sangrar . Background . After defeating the Peruvian army at Chorrillos and Miraflores and entering into Lima on early 1881 , the Chileans are busy trying to restore order in the Peruvian capital city , at that time under the command of Gen . Pedro Lagos . Since signing a treaty ceding territory was rejected , Chile is obliged to eliminate all resistance in order to force peace under its terms . Therefore , an expedition directed by Lt . Col . Ambrosio Letelier is sent to the mountains in order to destroy the resistance organized by Gen . Andrés Cáceres . Preliminary moves . On April , the Letelier expedition is sent by train to Chicla , from where it ' s planned to move onto Cerro de Huasco and Huancayo seeking to seize control of the Junín Department . Letelier ' s expedition force has been scattered in small garrisons through every town across the Peruvian mountains . Taking advantage of this strategy , these garrisons are surrounded by thousands of Indian " montoneras " which are risen against the Chilean Army after suffering several abuses by Letelier ' s forces . It became essential to the Chileans to reorganize the troops , gather them up and withdraw as soon as possible to north in order to fall back from the mountains , avoiding a possible defeat . The chosen rendezvous point for the retreat is the mountain pass of Las Cuevas , which needs to be guarded until the division arrival to ease the crossing to Casapalca . This pass is between the towns of Quillacanca y Quillacocha , above 3 , 500 over the sea level . A company of 80 men led by Cpt . José Araneda of the " Buin " 1st Line Battalion is ordered to hold the position until Letelier could pass through . This detachment consists on one captain , three corporals , 78 soldiers and one child who plays the company ' s horn adding up 83 effectives . After a perilous march , the Chileans reach destination , establishing on a nearby farm called " Hacienda Sangrar " in order to secure shelter from the wind chill and the snow . The farm is property of Norberto Vento , who manages to make Caceres send officers with their Indian " montoneras " to eliminate the trespassers . 730 men between professional and irregular soldiers and 1 , 000 guerrillas are sent under orders of Col . Manuel Vento , son of the farm owner . Araneda decides to leave only 14 men at Las Cuevas as sentries , and sends Sgnt . Bisivinger , a corporal and 5 soldiers for food to Capillayoj , and Cpl . Oyarce and 4 men to west as sentries . The rest are posted at " Sangrar " . Meanwhile , Letelier has to retreat due to extremely bad weather conditions to Oroya , passing through Piedra Parada to Casapalca , leaving Araneda isolated and waiting for troops that will never arrive . After many hardships , Vento ' s forces begin to come down from Colac ' s Throat , encountering with Bisivinger ' s patrol , killing all of them after a short but fierce fight before giving any signal of the attack . However , the gunshots have been heard by the Chileans at Sangrar , allowing them to reunite and assume defensive positions . Battle . On the afternoon of June 26 the attack over the Chilean garrison begins . Araneda has already divided his men as it follows : 15 men at Las Cuevas under Sgt . Blanco , 4 officers and 50 soldiers distributed between the chapel and the farm main house . Several hundreds of Indians climb the hills trying to assail the soldiers at Las Cuevas , but are repelled by Blanco , who waits for the proper time to rendezvous with the rest of the detachment at the farm , but the attacker ' s flow is steady , cutting any escape routes . The same thing happens at Sangrar , but the soldiers are behind stone walls , shooting from a safe position and inflicting several casualties to his enemies . After more than three hours of combat , Guzmán ' s group has to fall back to the chapel , with four dead and seven wounded . Similar thing occurred at Sangrar , where the combat is very harsh , until the Peruvians withdraw to regroup , giving the Chileans a rest for a while . At this point , an honourable surrender is offered Araneda , promising all kinds of guaranties . But Araneda knows that the Indians would dismember them if doing so . Also , they don ’ t feel defeated , because having a good amount of ammunition . Hence , Araneda refuses the offer . The montoneras attack again forcing the Chileans to retreat . Since taking the position is taking so much time , Vento begins to wonder if the division will arrive in any time . His troops and montoneras are exhausted because of the fighting and the extensive march across the mountains . They could not get anything to eat or drink because of the fighting more than expected . So , orders his troops to attack continuously , ordering to set the chapel on fire to force its defenders out . The Chileans bayonet their way out from their burning shelter , attempting to reunite with Araneda . Since being outnumbered , Guzman don ’ t reach his objective , so deviates his soldiers to Las Cuevas to join Blanco ' s men . Blanco takes a horse and rides to Casapalca seeking reinforcements . After informing the situation , two companies of the 3rd Line and Esmeralda battalions are dispatched to the area . Inside the farm , the Chileans believe that they have been left alone and would have to resist to the death . The Peruvians believe that in any time Letelier will arrive with the bulk of his forces . Deception . Araneda realized that his only hope is to deceive the Peruvians , if not , it would be his end . They should convince their enemy that many soldiers are standing yet , so resolved to shout his orders as loud as he could so they could be heard by the Peruvians . Simultaneously , Araneda ' s men began an intense shelling against the Peruvians . The soldiers ran to the windows to shoot from there . Trying not to waste precious time , the wounded reloaded the rifles , leaving them ready for being fired . This process was repeated over and over again . Also , he though in another plan to mislead Vento . Araneda writes a letter to himself , signed by Letelier , saying that the latter with his division will arrive at Sangrar that day , and throws it near to the Peruvian position , whom hopefully would believe it . Luckily for him , his plan works and the Peruvian become desperate to end this extenuating fight as soon as possible . A final attack is launched to the farm main house , but the attackers are once more repelled counting 38 casualties . After this final attempt , Vento whithdrews from the battlefield after learning about incoming Chilean reinforcements . Aftermath . Araneda manages to survive along with less than fifteen soldiers but held his position , allowing a safe retreat from the mountains . Peruvian casualties are 42 according later reports , with four dead and 38 wounded . After this encounter , the Chilean division abandons the Peruvian sierra through Chicla and returns to Lima , where Patricio Lynch is in charge now of the occupation . Also , Letelier has to face charges for abuses against population . A consequence of his acts was the rise of the Andes against Chile , making harder to achieve a total capitulation . This would be consummated only two years later on the fields of Huamachuco . Historic Divergences . For Peruvian historians , this is a Peruvian victory , killing almost the entire garrison , but letting go one soldier after cutting his ear . Also , in their version have only 4 dead and 38 wounded .