Battle of Tarapacá (1933)

Before the skirmish took place, the Colombian high command discussed the strategy to take in the Amazonian conflict, choosing to take Tarapacá under General Efraín Rojas' suggestion, instead of Leticia, preferred by General Alfredo Vásquez Cobo.[2]

After concentrating the ships that would make up the Amazonas Detachment in Belén de Pará, they proceeded to sail to the Brazilian town of Santo Antônio do Içá and from there divide the fleet into two: the warships Boyacá and Mosquera continued towards Leticia, while the ships Barranquilla, Córdova and Pichincha continue along the Putumayo River followed by the Nariño as a hospital ship; This maneuver sought to mislead the Peruvian commanders about the true intentions of the attack. Six seaplanes had joined the group under the command of Major Herbert Boy, while General Vásquez Cobo went aboard the Córdova to request a meeting with the gunboats Cartagena and Santa Marta, which could not happen because the Putumayo Detachment was carrying out operations in the Güeppí area.[3]

On February 11, 1933, General Alfredo Vásquez Cobo sent a speedboat to Tarapacá with an ultimatum in the hands of Lieutenant Jorge Hernández addressed to Lieutenant Gonzalo Díaz, commander of the Peruvian detachment. The Colombian emissary returned without a written response, but with a verbal response: Lieutenant Gonzalo Díaz stated that he would reject by force any attempted military occupation of Tarapacá.

In the morning hours of February 14, the Córdova suffered an attack by a Peruvian air squadron, which provoked the response of the Colombian air squadron that was anchored nearby, without direct combat.[3]

In the afternoon hours of February 14, Colombian forces advanced near Tarapacá to undertake the armed operation the following day. At six o'clock in the morning of February 15, the Colombian fleet began a bombardment as did the air force on the Peruvian garrisons, and three hours later the troops disembarked, which upon reaching the fort found fierce resistance in their Peruvian counterpart.[3] After the bombardment and long hours of combat, Lieutenant Díaz, seeing his ammunition exhausted, decides to withdraw at night, leaving 17 casualties of the Colombian army, which despite its tremendous numerical superiority and having subjected the Peruvians to intense bombing,[4] failed to inflict a single casualty on them. Realizing the Peruvian withdrawal, Vásquez Cobo located a battalion of 300 men in Tarapacá and installed a support base there for subsequent operations.[2]