The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the
Military of Chile
The Chilean Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de Chile) is the unified military organization comprising the Chilean Army, Air Force, and Navy. The President of Chile is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy through the Mi ...
. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are
conscript
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
s)
is organized into six divisions, a
special operations
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
brigade and an air brigade.
In recent years, and after several major re-equipment programs, the Chilean Army has become the most technologically advanced and professional army in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
The Chilean Army is mostly supplied with equipment from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Switzerland,
Sweden, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
History
Colonial warfare
19th century
Independence War
The National Army of Chile was created on December 2, 1810, by order of the
First National Government Junta. The army was actively involved in the second Independence War, which was fought against
royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
troops in battles such as
Chacabuco
Chacabuco is one of the many abandoned nitrate or "saltpeter" towns ("oficinas salitreras" in Spanish) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Other nitrate towns of the Atacama Desert include Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. Unlik ...
and
Maipú or others. During this period, national figures such as
Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...
commanded the army and José de San Martín was allied with O’Higgins . The Army's first commander-in-chief was José Miguel Carrera.
After obtaining independence from Spain, the newly formed Republic reorganized its military structure by creating the Military Academy of Chile, which was founded by General O'Higgins in 1817.
Guardia Nacional
Diego Portales
Diego José Pedro Víctor Portales y Palazuelos (; June 16, 1793 – June 6, 1837) was a Chilean statesman and entrepreneur. As a minister of president José Joaquín Prieto's government, he played a pivotal role in shaping the state and po ...
set up a civil militia, the Guardia Nacional, to end one of the worst stages of militarism in Chilean history. The militia was created in 2005
. Portales developed this parallel army to compensate the army's might. The Chilean
Conscription Law of 1900 marked the beginning of the end of the Guardia Nacional.
War of the Confederation
Occupation of Araucanía
War of the Pacific
Military emulation 1885–1914
![Chile - Escuela de Suboficiales Ejército - 19-09-2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Chile_-_Escuela_de_Suboficiales_Ej%C3%A9rcito_-_19-09-2014.jpg)
During the War of the Pacific, many high-ranking officers won valuable insights into the state of the army and became aware that the army required rebuilding. Losses, material destruction, and organizational flaws regarding strategic planning and officer training, were noted by officers like
Emilio Sotomayor Emilio may refer to:
* Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio"
* Emilio Piazza Memorial School, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
* Emilio (given name)
* ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen
See also
* Emílio (dis ...
and
Patricio Lynch
Patricio Javier de los Dolores Lynch y Solo de Zaldívar (Valparaíso 18 December 1825 – 13 May 1886) was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and a rear admiral in the Chilean Navy, and one of the principal figures of the later stages of the War of ...
, who approached President
Santa María arguing the need of good schools and technical departments for the military. Other factor that supported the emulation, the deliberate systematic imitation of the military technology, organisation, and doctrine of one country by another
[Joao Resende-Santos in ''Neorealism, States, and the Modern Mass Army'' (page 3, 9-10) uses "emulation" instead of "prussianization" as a broader term. He says: "Crossnational emulation occurs in a wide variety of areas and by an equal variety of state and nonstate entities ... Emulation in all forms, by firms or states whether in economic or military areas is driven by the same pressures of competition and based in the same political criterion"] was the danger of war with Argentina. The emulation was backed by a broad coalition of civil and military leaders.
Chile hired a French military training mission in 1858,
and the Chilean legation in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
was instructed to find a training mission during the War of the Pacific in 1881. But large-scale
emulation
Emulation may refer to:
*Emulation (computing), imitation of behavior of a computer or other electronic system with the help of another type of system
:*Video game console emulator, software which emulates video game consoles
*Gaussian process em ...
of the
Prussian Army began in 1886 with the appointment of Captain
Emil Körner
Emil Körner Henze (10 October 1846 in Wegwitz – 25 March 1920 in Berlin), sometimes called Emilio Körner Henze in Spanish, was a German officer (Hauptmann) of the Prussian Army and Commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army with the rank of Ins ...
, a graduate of the renowned
Kriegsakademie in Berlin. Also appointed were 36 Prussian officers to train officer cadets in the Chilean Military Academy. The training occurred in three phases; the first took place from 1885 to 1891 during the presidency of
Domingo Santa María
Domingo Santa María González (; August 4, 1825 – July 18, 1889) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1881 and 1886.
Early life
He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of Luis José Santa María G ...
, the second was the post-civil-war phase, and the third was the 1906 reorganization.
The emulation was focused in armaments, conscription, officer recruitment and instruction, and general staff organization as well as military doctrine (adopted 1906). It was extended also into military logistics and medical services, promotions, retirement, salary regulation and even uniforms (adopted 1904), marching styles, helmets, parades, and military music.
Armaments: Prior to 1883, the army was equipped with a variety of rifles, mostly French and Belgian origin. From 1892 to 1902, the Chilean-Argentine Arms Race, marked the peak of Chilean arms purchase. 100,000
Mauser rifles and new
Krupp artillery was bought for 3,000,000
DM in 1893, 2,000,000 DM in 1895 and 15,000,000 DM in 1898. Ammunition factories and small arms manufacturing plants were established.
Conscription: Like others armies in South America, Chile had had a small army of long-term service officers and soldiers. In 1900 Chile became the first country in Latin America to enforce a system of compulsory military service, whereby training, initially five to eighteen months (Germany: three years), took place in zones of divisional organization in order to create a solid military structure that could be easily doubled with well-trained and combat-ready reserve forces. Budgetary restrictions prevented the full impact of the law: the service fell disproportionately on the lower classes, no more than 20% of the contingent was incorporated annually, and former conscripts were not retrained periodically.
Officer education and training: The beginning of the German mission was dedicated almost exclusively to the organization and implementation of a standardized, technically oriented military education with the essence of
Moltke
The House of Moltke is the name of an old German noble family. The family was originally from Mecklenburg, but apart from Germany, some of the family branches also resided throughout Scandinavia. Members of the family have been noted as pigfarme ...
's German military system of continuous study of artillery, infantry, cartography, history, topography, logistics, tactics, etc., for a modern, professional and technically trained officer corps. In 1886, the "Academia de Guerra" (War Academy) was founded ''"to elevate the level of technical and scientific instruction of army officers, in order that they be able, in case of war, to utilize the advantages of new methods of combat and new armaments."'' The best alumni were candidates for general staff service. By the mid-1890s Körner organized the courses for a Noncommissioned Officers' School (''Escuela de Suboficiales y Clases'').
During the
1891 Chilean Civil War Körner was removed from duty by
José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While he was ...
. He and his followers set sail north to join the Congressional forces in
Iquique
Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...
. He became chief architect of the new army and, though
Estanislao del Canto
Estanislao del Canto Arteaga (1840 – June 23, 1923) was a Chilean military figure who played a major role in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) and the Chilean Civil War (1891). He also participated in the Occupation of the Araucanía (1861-1 ...
formally was commander-in-chief, Körner led the rebel forces in the major clashes of the civil war.
Chile had had a General Staff during the War of the Pacific.
Körner turned his attention to a permanent institution in 1893-94 that should replace the old "Inspector General del Ejército", but with control over military affairs in peacetime and wartime. It had four sections: Instruction and Discipline, Military Schools, Scientific Works (strategic and operational planning), and Administration.
20th century
Milicia Republicana
The ''Guardia Republicana'' or ''Milicia Republicana'' was created after the fall of the
Socialist Republic of Chile
The Socialist Republic of Chile ( es, República Socialista de Chile) was a short-lived (4 June 1932 – 13 September 1932) political entity in Chile, that was proclaimed by the Government Junta that took over that year.
Background
In July, 1 ...
in order to prevent another
Coup d'Etat. On May 7, 20,000 militiamen marched past President
Arturo Alessandri
Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to ...
in the streets of Santiago. In
Las Mercedes' plot, 1933, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Pedro Vignola called "to resist the Milicia Republicana by any means" and he was forced to retire from his post.
In 1936, the militia was disbanded.
[Luis Vitale, ''Intervenciones militares y poder fáctico en la política chilena, de 1830 al 2.000'', Santiago, 2000]
U.S. Influence
During the decades previous to the coup, the Chilean Army became influenced by the United States'
anti-communist ideology in the context of various cooperation programs including the
US Army School of the Americas
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, renamed in the 2001 National Defens ...
.
The Army under General Pinochet
![Chile quema libros 1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Chile_quema_libros_1973.JPG)
On 11 September 1973, in a watershed event of the Cold War and the history of Chile, president
Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...
was overthrown in a coup d’état by the Armed Forces. Paul W. Drake and Ivan Jaksic state in ''The Struggle for Democracy in Chile'':
:''The armed forces killed, imprisoned, tortured, and exiled thousands of Chileans. The military suppressed, dismantled, and purged not only political parties but also publication, unions, schools, and other bastions of the democratic opposition. Even such privileged constituencies as university professors and students encountered serious limitations on their traditional ability to voice opinions of national, or even institutional relevance. ... The military regime viewed such activities
f the Catholic Churchwith distrust, if not hostility. It launched a campaign of harassment against the Catholic Church ...''
:''Once the military had demobilized the polity and society, the regime began implanting its vision of a new order. It set out to replace not only democratic with authoritarian politics but also statist with market-driven economics.''
The Army, with now Captain General Augusto Pinochet, leader of the coup, as Commander-in-chief of both the Army and the Armed Forces, led the national mobilization effort in 1978 as the
Beagle conflict
The Beagle conflict was a border dispute between Chile and Argentina over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands that brought the countries to the brink of war i ...
began to hit the country. The Army was on full alert status during the duration of the crisis.
Patricio Aylwin
Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the first president of Chile after dictator Augusto Pinochet, a ...
became
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
President of the Republic on December 14, 1989. Although Chile had officially become a democracy, the Chilean military remained highly powerful during the presidency of Aylwin, and the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
, amended by Pinochet's regime, ensured the continued influence of Pinochet and his commanders.
21st century
As a result of tensions with neighbors during the conflict-prone 1970s and early 1980s, the Chilean Army refined existing strategic concepts and eventually formulated a plan to restructure its forces. Though wars were avoided, the threats from the 1970s and 1980s encouraged the army to address more effectively its major defense disadvantage: lack of
strategic depth. Thus in the early 1980s it looked outward for a model of army organization that would best advance defensive capabilities by restructuring forces into smaller, more mobile units instead of traditional divisions. The resulting Plan Alcázar envisions three military zones in Chile, with the bulk of forces concentrated in the north, and reinforces the center and south. The plan was implemented in stages, starting in 1994. Thus Alcázar, based on threat scenarios of the past, is one of the most durable "lessons" of the past. Even with the resolution of almost all remaining territorial disputes, the restructuring agenda continued, reinforcing a conflict-based mindset in the army.
Peacekeeping
*1964-2013
UNFICYP
*1969 El Salvador-Honduras conflict (
OAS
OAS or Oas may refer to:
Chemistry
* O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis
Computers
* Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards
* OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...
mission).
*1978-2013
UNIFIL
*1989-1992
ONUCA
*1991-1992
UNIKOM
*1992-1993
UNTAC
*1992-1995
ONUSAL
*1995-1999
MOMEP (Military observer mission in the
Cenepa War
The Cenepa War (26 January – 28 February 1995), also known as the Alto Cenepa War, was a brief and localized military conflict between Ecuador and Peru, fought over control of an area in Peruvian territory (i.e. in the eastern side of the Cord ...
)
*1996-1998
UNSCOM
United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War. Between 1991 and 19 ...
*1997-2002
UNMIBH
The United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) was an international organization formed under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1035 on 21 December 1995. It completed its mandate on 31 December 2002, when it was succeed ...
*2000-2002
UNTAET
The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), ( pt, Administração Transitória das Nações Unidas em Timor Leste), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades long East Timorese cri ...
*2000-2003
UNMOVIC
The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) was created through the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1284 of 17 December 1999 and its mission lasted until June 2007.
UNMOVIC was meant to ...
*2000-(2013)
UNMIK
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...
*2001-(2013)
UNFICYP
*2002-2003
UNMISET
The United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor (UNMISET) lasted from 20 May 2002 to 20 May 2005, when it was replaced by United Nations Office in Timor Leste (UNOTIL). It was established when East Timor became an internationally recognised ind ...
*2003-2006
DPKO
*2003-(2013)
MONUC
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...
*2003-2004
UNAMA
*2004-(2013)
EUFOR -
ALTHEA
*2004-(2013)
MIFH (Multinational Interim Force for
Haiti)
*2004-(2013)
MINUSTAH
The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (french: Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti), also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti that was in operation from 2004 ...
*2007-(2013)
UNLOG (UN Logistics Base in
Brindisi, Italy
Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Histo ...
)
Organization
Order Of Battle
Army General Headquarters, in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
.
Land Operations Command, headquartered in
Concepcion.
* 1st Army Division: Regions II and III, with headquarters in
Antofagasta
Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669.
After the Spanish American wars ...
.
* 2nd Motorized Division: Regions IV, V, VI, VII and
Santiago Metropolitan Region
Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...
with headquarters in
Santiago de Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
.
* 3rd Mountain Division: Serving Regions VIII, IX, XIV, and X with headquarters in
Valdivia
Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...
.
* 4th Army Division: Region XI with headquarters in
Coyhaique
Coyhaique (), also spelled Coihaique in Patagonia, is the capital city of both the Coyhaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentieth century, Chile showed little interest in ex ...
.
* 5th Army Division: Serving Region XII with headquarters in
Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Are ...
.
* 6th Army Division: Serving Regions I and XV, with headquarters in
Iquique
Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...
.
* Army Aviation Brigade: with headquarters in
Rancagua
Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago.
It was originally named Sant ...
(''Brigada de Aviación del Ejército''). It is the Army's aviation force, composed of 4 battalions and a logistics company.
*
Lautaro Special Operations Brigade
The Lautaro Special Operations Brigade (''Brigada de Operaciones Especiales "Lautaro," BOE'') is a Special operations formation of the Chilean Army. It is made up of units of special forces, land, mountain and paratroopers, commandos, tactical dive ...
: with headquarters in
Peldehue. It is the Army's special forces brigade, named after one of Chile's national heroes.
Training and Doctrine Command (''Comando de Institutos y Doctrina'')
* Army Schools' Division (''División Escuelas'')
* Army Education Division (''División de Educación'')
* Army Doctrine Division (''División de Doctrina'')
Force's Support Command (''Comando de Apoyo de la Fuerza'')
* Logistics Division, with headquarters in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
(''División Logística del Ejército'')
* Engineers Command
* Telecommunications Command
* Infrastructure Command
* Military Industry and Engineering Command
Army Independent Commands
* General Garrison Command in Santiago, serving the Santiago Metropolitan Region, reports directly to Army Headquarters
* Medical Command in Santiago
* Administration Command
Army General Staff (Estado Mayor General del Ejército)
* Chilean Military Mission to Washington
* Directorate of Intelligence
* Directorate of Operations
* Finance Directorate
* Logistics Directorate
Military equipment
The Chilean Army has acquired a number of new systems with the goal of having a completely modernized, and largely mechanized army by 2015. The military has also modified the operational structure, creating armoured brigades throughout the entire territory and a new special operations brigade, while preserving the current divisional scheme.
Personnel
In 2013, there were 3,900 officers, 17,300 NCOs, 3,600 professional soldiers, and 9,200 conscript soldiers. In military schools, 2,400 students. Civilian employees, 8,400.
Military ranks
;Officers
;Enlisted
Drill and traditions
![19-08-2012 - Chile Natalicio O'Higgins](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/19-08-2012_-_Chile_Natalicio_O%27Higgins.jpg)
The Chilean Army is famous for its elaborate drill, exhibited in large scale during the
Día de las Glorias Navales on 21 May and the
Parada Militar de Chile (
Great Military Parade of Chile
For more than a century the Military Parade of Chile or Great Military Parade of Chile (Spanish: ''Gran Parada Militar de Chile'' or ''Parada Militar de Chile'') has been a tradition within the Independence Day holidays in Chile. It is held in Sa ...
) on 19 September. The early armed forces adopted many Prussian military traditions, and it was during this period that the Chilean military had many of its most famous victories. As a result, the drill features many 19th and early 20th century Prussian and German patterns.
Participating soldiers wear
stahlhelm and
pickelhaube helmets and march in unaltered
stechschritt. Marching music consists of Central European marches, alongside several local compositions. Each ''Parada Militar'' on 19 September ends with a playing of
Preussischer Präsentiermarsch The ''Preußischer Präsentiermarsch'' (''Prussian Inspection March''), also known as the ''Präsentiermarsch "Friedrich Wilhelms III."'', is a German military march composed by Frederick William III of Prussia sometime around 1820. A traditional i ...
(first played in 2018) and
Los viejos estandartes by a mounted band playing in the German tradition.
Pickelhaubes have been worn by the Military School and since recently by the 1st Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Artillery Regiment, and the stahlhelm only by the NCO School.
This is also the cases on parades held on 18 September, Independence Day, in the local level, whenever Army units take part.
Given the long list of battles fought by the Army, the following wear on parade historical dress uniforms from these times, but not march in the German manner:
* 1st Infantry Regiment "Buin" - Grenadier uniform of the 1st Infantry Battalion "Chilean Grenadiers"
* 6th Reinforced Regimient "Chacabuco" - War of the Pacific French-styled uniform worn by the 4th Company, in recognition of its heroic final stand in the
Battle of La Concepcion
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
* 4th Motorized Infantry Brigade "Rancagua" - War of the Pacific French-styled uniform worn by the Historical Company, similar to those worn by the regiment during the 1880
Battle of Arica
The Battle of Arica, also known as ''Assault and Capture of Cape Arica'', was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru.
After the Battle of Tacna and the following Bolivian withdr ...
* 3rd Cavalry Regiment "Hussars" - black dress uniform with shako worn only by the Demonstration Troop "Cuadro Negro", similar to those worn by its predecessors during the
Chilean War of Independence
Military bands
![El_batallón_de_Granaderos_del_Ejército_de_Chile](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/El_batall%C3%B3n_de_Granaderos_del_Ej%C3%A9rcito_de_Chile.jpg)
The Army Band Service is the
military band
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...
department of the army, operating through the Welfare Command. The massed bands of the capital are known as the ''Gran Banda de la Guarnición de Santiago'' (Grand Band of the Santiago Garrison), which is involved every 19 September with the
Great Military Parade of Chile
For more than a century the Military Parade of Chile or Great Military Parade of Chile (Spanish: ''Gran Parada Militar de Chile'' or ''Parada Militar de Chile'') has been a tradition within the Independence Day holidays in Chile. It is held in Sa ...
. Since its formation up until 1980, it was organized up to 550 musicians. At present, it is made up of approximately 295 musicians, with an attached
corps of drums
A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...
. The main
military band
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...
in the army is the Concert Band of the Chilean Army. It was founded in 1963, and is the seniormost band in the army, but is more of a
concert band, part of its musicians being seconded to the Military Academy. It reports to the current Chief of the Bands Service, Major Jorge Fernando Castro Castro. In 2000, it appeared in Rome on the occasion of the Military Music Jubilee. In 2004 and 2012, it participated in the
Quebec City International Festival of Military Bands
The Quebec City International Festival of Military Bands (FIMMQ) was a major cultural event in Quebec City that notably included a military tattoo by Canadian and foreign military bands as well as display teams. It has taken place annually in Au ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It has also visited
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
The Chilean Army has two main
mounted band
A mounted band is a military or civilian musical ensemble composed of musician playing their instruments while being mounted on an animal. The instrumentation of these bands are limited, with the musician having to play his/her instrument, as well ...
s:
* Mounted Band and Bugles of the
1st Cavalry Regiment "Grenadiers" - It is the seniormost band of the cavalry and armoured regiments of the army
* Band and Bugles of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment "Hussars"
Other bands include the band of the Army NCO School and the Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy. Military bands in Chile have a
Corps of Drums
A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...
and the
Turkish crescent
A Turkish crescent, (a smaller version is called a çevgen or ''çağana'' (Tr.), Turkish jingle, Jingling Johnny, ' (Ger.), ' or ''pavillon chinois'' (Fr.)), is a percussion instrument traditionally used by military bands internationally. In some ...
, similarly to German military bands. A distinguishing feature from the German tradition is the presence of the an added Bugle section behind the Corps of Drums, a tradition inherited from France and in the buglers of Imperial Germany, with the band's conductor being assisted by a bugle major who is placed either in front of the bugle section or if in a massed corps of drums behind the buglers.
Commanders-in-chief
See also
*
Chilean Navy
The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso.
History
Origins and the War ...
*
Chilean Air Force
"With full speed to the stars"
, colours = Indigo White
, colours_label =
, march = Alte Kameraden
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 21 March ...
*
Lautaro Special Operations Brigade
The Lautaro Special Operations Brigade (''Brigada de Operaciones Especiales "Lautaro," BOE'') is a Special operations formation of the Chilean Army. It is made up of units of special forces, land, mountain and paratroopers, commandos, tactical dive ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Official Chilean Army site
*
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