Andrés Avelino Cáceres

Biography

The 'Wizard of the Andes' was the soul of Peru's refusal to accept defeat. After the fall of Lima, Cáceres withdrew into the high sierra and for two years waged a brilliant guerrilla campaign — the resistance of the Breñeros — recruiting Quechua-speaking Indian communities, using the altitude and terrain against the invaders, and repeatedly ambushing and exhausting the Chilean columns sent to destroy him. He came within a hair of victory at Huamachuco in 1883 before running out of ammunition and being routed. Embittered by the peace Peru was forced to sign, Cáceres led a revolt against the government that made it and twice became President of Peru. He is remembered as the great national hero of resistance, the general who kept the war alive in the mountains long after the cities had fallen.

Key Battles