The Second Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, usually called simply the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, and known locally as the War of '41 (Spanish: Guerra del 41), was a South American war fought between 5 July to 2 October of 1941. It was the first of three military conflicts between Ecuador and Peru during the 20th century.
During the war, Peru occupied the western Ecuadorian province of El Oro, parts of the Andean province of Loja and all the Amazon disputed territory. Although the war took place during World War II, it is unrelated to that conflict, as neither country was supported by either the Allies or the Axis.
A ceasefire agreement between the two countries came into effect on 31 July 1941, but Peru soon broke it. A new ceasefire agreement came into effect on 2 October ending the clashes. Both countries signed the Rio Protocol on 29 January 1942, and Peruvian forces subsequently withdrew. Enmity over the territorial dispute continued after 1942, and the border disputes were not entirely resolved until the Cenepa War of 1995 and the signing of the Brasilia Presidential Act agreement in October 1998.
Background
The territorial dispute between Ecuador and Peru dated from before Ecuador's independence, as part of a broader dispute between what was then Gran Colombia and Peru. It revolved around whether Ecuador's territory extended beyond the Andes mountain range to the Marañon (Amazon) river, including the Amazonian basin.
The lack of resolution of the dispute, despite several attempts by both parties, led to several conflicting treaties being signed between different parties to the conflict, including Colombia and Brazil, and led to war on several occasions. The first of these armed conflicts took place in 1828, when Peru fought against Gran Colombia in the Gran Colombia–Peru War. After the dissolution of Gran Colombia, the conflict resumed with Ecuador, with skirmishes taking place often and the first Ecuadorian–Peruvian War taking place between Ecuador and Peru from 1857 to 1860.
The dispute was again brought into the spotlight after the signing of the Salomón–Lozano Treaty in March 1922 by the governments of Colombia and Peru, which at that time was ruled by Augusto B. Leguía. The treaty, which was kept secret, set the boundary between Peru and Colombia as the Putumayo River, with the exception of a small strip of land controlled by the city of Leticia that would connect Colombia to the main flow of the Amazon River. With that, Colombia effectively recognized Peruvian control of the rest of the disputed region south of the Putumayo River.
Following the coup d'état against Leguía by troops under the command of Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro, the treaty was made public and caused much anger among the Peruvian population, which perceived that the treaty awarded Colombia a section of Peruvian territory. This dispute over the Amazon region controlled by Leticia would eventually lead to a short war between Colombia and Peru from 1932 to 1933. The conflict over Leticia, which was populated by both Peruvian and Colombian colonists, was resolved after Sanchez Cerro was assassinated and the new Peruvian president Óscar R. Benavides accepted the 1934 Rio Protocol which upheld the Salomón–Lozano Treaty and finally put an end to the border disputes between Colombia and Peru.
The Salomón–Lozano Treaty was unpopular in Ecuador as well, which found itself surrounded on the east by Peru, which claimed the territory as an integral part of its republic. Further adding to Ecuador's problems, the Colombian government now also recognized Peru's territorial aspirations as legitimate, and had nominally granted to Peru an area in Sucumbíos which had been claimed by Ecuador.
An agreement was signed in 1936 which recognized territories in de facto possession by each country. The resulting border was known as the 1936 status quo border line.
However, by 1938 both nations were again initiating minor border skirmishes. That same year, the entire Ecuadorian Cabinet, which was composed of high-ranking army officers who served as advisors for General Alberto Enríquez Gallo (who had taken charge of government after a military coup d'état), resigned from government in order to take command of the Ecuadorian Army. Meanwhile, in Quito, there were public demonstrations of people chanting "Down With Peru! Long Live Ecuador!".
Peru's response to the events taking place in Ecuador was provided by foreign minister Carlos Concha Cárdenas, who stated, "In Peru we have not yet lost our heads. Our country is in a process of prosperous development and the Government heads would have to be completely mad to think of war." Peru at that time was undergoing major changes, with the social reforms begun by president Augusto B. Leguia (which he claimed were aimed at improving roads, sanitation, and industrial development, and promoting the general welfare of Peru's indigenous population) being continued by President General Oscar Benavides. Peru's government claimed to be attempting to run on a balanced budget, but Peru still held a large debt in spite of its positive foreign trade. However, despite this, Peru began to mobilize its troops to the Ecuador border in response to deployment of Ecuadorian troops in the disputed zone.
On 11 January 1941, alleging that Ecuador had been carrying out incursions into, and even occupations of, the Peruvian territory of Zarumilla, the Peruvian president, Manuel Prado, ordered the formation of the Northern Army Detachment (Spanish: Agrupamiento del Norte), a military unit in charge of the Northern Operational Theatre.
Forces involved
Ecuador
According to the testimony of Col. Luis Rodríguez, the Ecuadorian forces at the disposal of the Army Border Command in El Oro (Lieutenant Colonel Octavio A. Ochoa) after the incidents of 5 and 6 July were as follows:
- Forces deployed along the Zarumilla river: 3 superior officers, 33 officers, and 743 men, organized as follows:
- "Cayambe" Battalion: 2 superior officers, 22 Officers, 490 soldiers.
- "Montecristi" Battalion: 1 superior officer, 11 Officers, 253 soldiers.
- Forces deployed in the immediate rear: 4 superior officers, 40 officers, 28 soldiers, 93 volunteers, 500 carabineros (a paramilitary Government force), organized as follows:
- At Arenillas: 2 superior officers, 3 Officers, 14 soldiers.
- At Santa Rosa: 2 superior officers, 1 Officer, 18 soldiers, plus the 93 volunteers, and the 500 carabineros.
Peru
As a result of the rising tensions on the border during 1939 and 1940, the Peruvian President Manuel Prado authorised in December 1940 the creation of the Agrupamiento del Norte (Northern Army Detachment). By July 1941, this unit was ready to begin active military operations.
Order of Battle, Agrupamiento del Norte, July 1941
- Group Headquarters (Commander in Chief: Gen. Eloy G. Ureta; Chief of Staff: Lieut. Col. Miguel Monteza)
- 5th and 7th Cavalry Regiments
- 6th Artillery Group (8 105 mm guns)
- Army Tank Detachment (12 Czechoslovak LTP tanks)
- 1st Light Infantry Division (Col. Luis Vinatea)
- 1st, 5th, 19th Infantry Battalions
- 1st Artillery Group (8 guns)
- 1st Engineer Company
- 1st Antiaircraft Section
- 8th Light infantry Division (Col. César Salazar)
- 20th Infantry Battalion
- 8th Artillery Group (8 guns)
- 8th Engineer Company
- Army Detachment "Chinchipe" (Lieut. Col. Victor Rodríguez)
- 33rd Infantry Battalion (2 Light Infantry companies)
- Army Jungle Division (Northeast) (Gen. Antonio Silva)
Figures for total strength of the Agrupamiento del Norte at the beginning of offensive operations have been put at 11,500 to 13,000 men.
War
July 5 incident
The first shots of the conflict were fired on July 5 1941; the parties disagree about who fired the first shot. According to Ecuadorian Colonel Luis A. Rodríguez (the commander of the Ecuadorian forces defending the province of El Oro during the war), a group of Peruvian civilians, including policemen, crossed the Zarumilla River onto Ecuadorian soil. Rodríguez claimed that the Peruvian policemen opened fire on an Ecuadorian border patrol they spotted, killing one soldier. This was followed by the widespread exchange of fire between troops on the opposing banks of the Zarumilla, while two Ecuadorian officers sent to Aguas Verdes to speak with the Peruvian local commanding officer were rebuffed by the Peruvian authorities. According to Peruvian accounts, Ecuadorian Army soldiers from the garrison of Huaquillas (a town on the bank of the Zarumilla River, which then served as the status quo line at the western end of the Ecuadorian-Peruvian border), crossed into the Peruvian border post at Aguas Verdes, a town directly in front of Huaquillas, and opened fire on a Peruvian Civil Guard patrol. These troops were then followed by some 200 Ecuadorian armed men, which attacked the police station at Aguas Verdes for 30 minutes, to which the Peruvians reacted by sending an infantry company to Aguas Verdes and driving the Ecuadorians back across the Zarumilla. In any event, fighting then spread to the entire border area along the Zarumilla River. By 6 July, Peru was conducting airstrikes against the Ecuadorian border posts along the river. After the 5th, hostilities along the border continued. As a result, on the night of July 6, the senior commander of the Ecuadorian Army ordered the formation of the 5th Infantry Brigade in El Oro, under the command of Colonel Luis Rodríguez.
Zarumilla Offensive
The Peruvian offensive against Ecuador began on July 23, being carried out by the newly formed Northern Army Detachment, headed by General Eloy G. Ureta with the purpose of pushing north into El Oro Province with the stated purpose of preventing more skirmishes along the disputed border. On that day, the 41st Peruvian Squadron took off from Tumbes to fulfill a mission, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Antonio Alberti and made up of Lieutenants Fernando Paraud, José A. Quiñones and Manuel Rivera, aboard their North American NA-50 or Toritos fighter planes. The mission consisted of bombing the Ecuadorian post of Quebrada Seca, where they had concentrated the bulk of their anti-aircraft artillery and placed machine guns.
According to Peruvian accounts, instead of parachuting to safety, Quiñones chose to sacrifice himself by crashing his damaged aircraft onto the Ecuadorian position, rendering the battery out of action. This version of events has been subsequently called into question by Ecuadorian military authorities, who have stated that there were no anti-aircraft guns in the area. The other planes that made up Squadron 41 continued with their mission and carried out a subsequent attack, returning to Tumbes.
On July 24, a battle between Peruvian and Ecuadorian troops took place in Chacras, where the latter set up a resistance against the Peruvians. Due to constant Peruvian attacks, the defensive position eventually gave way and the post was overrun.
On July 23, Peruvian aircraft carried out strategic bombing of the port city. On the next day, aircraft returned to attack the Aviso Atahualpa patrol boat, located at the docks of the city. This patrol boat drew bomb targeting away from valuable explosives located nearby which could have been attacked and ignited.
On July 28, Peruvian submarines BAP Islay (R-1) and BAP Casma (R-2) carried out a reconnaissance mission at the mouth of the Jambelí Strait to search for the presence of artillery. The following day, cruisers Coronel Bolognesi and Almirante Guise, during a patrol in front of the Jambelí Strait, bombed Punta Jambelí and Puerto Bolívar in preparation for the Peruvian advance on El Oro.
La Tina–Macará Front
The La Tina–Macará Front, extending from the Quebrada de Pilares to La Tina and Chinchipe, was the responsibility of the Peruvian 8th Light Division, under the command of Colonel EP César A. Salazar Cartagena.
Battle of Macará
According to Peruvian accounts, Macará had a large number of Peruvians, who saw themselves targeted by the Ecuadorian population. On July 25, news reached Peru that the Peruvian Consulate had been stoned and the Peruvian coat of arms dragged away. The Peruvian military authorities of La Tina protested and asked for an explanation, sending a sergeant and two soldiers to receive an answer after a two-hour ultimatum. They were greeted with a burst of machine-gun fire which killed the sergeant and wounded the other two soldiers. According to Ecuador, the coat of arms fell off on its own and was moved by the consul himself. Following the event, news did reach Peru on the alleged events, but Ecuadorian authorities managed to communicate with the Peruvian consul, who offered to explain the events to the Peruvian side. However, hours later the consul instead abandoned the city along with his family. The Ecuadorians also disputed the reasoning behind the provocations by the Ecuadorian side, as it was well known that Peruvian troops had organized themselves near the city, and news had reached the area of the events taking place in El Oro province.