Argentine Navy: National Navy Museum in Tigre

Museo Naval de la Nación

Tigre


Douglas A-4Q Skyhawk





Grumman F-9 Panther




Vought F-4U Corsair


North American T-6 Texan




AM-39 Exocet AShM

Argentine Naval Aviation Historical Pictures

Argentine Naval Aviation Historical Pictures

Argentina: The Italian Legions in Bahia Blanca

The Italian Legions in the Argentine Republic

José Luis Alonso and Juan Manuel Peña.
Published in Revista Superior de Guerra 553, Apr-Jun 2004




The long struggles that the Argentine Nation faced during the 19th century produced human actions that time has relegated to the punishment of oblivion or a brief mention in history books.

On February 5, 1856, three hundred and fifty-two Italian soldiers under the command of Colonel Silvino Olivien, arrived by sea to the current city of Bahía Blanca, in the south of the State of Buenos Aires. At that time the city was a poor hamlet that surrounded an old fort called "Argentino" that faced the immensity of the pampas and the danger of the Indians.

The enthusiastic reception given by the few residents forced Colonel Olivien to respond with a printed proclamation in which "he begged the inhabitants of Bahía Blanca to see in the legionaries only brothers who wanted to help them continue the great work of the population of that town." rich and extensive southern part of the State of Buenos Aires".

Who were these foreigners who presented themselves like this? Where they came from?. Who was Silvino Olivien?

The long siege of the city of Montevideo, which occurred between 1843 and 1851, had among its defenders numerous Italians with liberal and Masonic ideas. Defeated in the war of Italian Independence and the Roman Republic, fugitives influenced by Alexander Dumas' book "The New Troy", which had described the siege of Montevideo as another war against tyranny and in favor of freedom, these Italians They were mostly Ligurians, Piedmontese and Savoyans, who under the command of Giuseppe Garibaldi had extended the fights for their ideals to the banks of the River Plate, constituting a Legion.

The time shared, the dangers faced and the community of ideals had created strong ties between these European exiles and their Uruguayan and Argentine fellow fighters. These ties were reinforced by the close friendship established between General Garibaldi and Bartolomé Miter, then an Argentine military officer and later president of his country.

Once the siege is over and many of them have arrived in Buenos Aires, it will be Miter who will not only act as his best friend but also as a brother of causes and principles, a title that he himself gave to the Mazzians (named after the Italian thinker Giuseppe Mazzini) and to the garibaldinos.

On December 9, 1852, the government of the state of Buenos Aires faced the forces that, under the command of General Don Hilario Lagos and in rebellion against him, laid siege to the city. The authorities issue a decree authorizing foreigners to take up arms with "the exclusive purpose of maintaining public order."

The volunteers were numerous, thus giving rise to the German, Spanish and Swiss legions, with those of the Italians standing out not only for their greater number, but also for being the only ones who were not satisfied with fulfilling police functions, but who requested and obtained them due to their military background. the privilege of acting actively in the trenches that defended the city.

The organization of the force was in charge of two Italian officers present in Buenos Aires. One was Colonel Silvino Olivien, born in Bruscio in 1820 and a former student of the Military Academy of Naples, "la Nunziatella". He was from the Army of Engineers and due to his participation in the war for the independence of his country, he had been expelled from the Neapolitan army and forced into exile.

Major Eduardo Clerici was the other, this one of Milanese origin, born in 1826, and a former student of the Milan Military Academy, from which he graduated with the rank of lieutenant in the Austrian army. He intervened in the uprising of the city against the occupation forces of General Radetsky, and later with the bersaglien of Luciano Menana he fought in the defense of the city of Rome.

The defeat also led him to exile, heading first to Cuba and then to Argentina, in search of his friend Olivien.

Both soldiers, the first as commander and the second as major, gathered about three hundred compatriots who lived and worked in the city of Buenos Aires and organized them into a battalion that received the name of the Italian Legion.

This force shared the fate of the defenders of the State of Buenos Aires and fought brilliantly, honoring their military background. They suffered their first casualty on January 9, 1853 in the person of Lieutenant Erba, who was honored by the government of Buenos Aires by authorizing his burial in the city's Cathedral church.

During the course of the fight, the Italian legion stood out for its performances in the battles in Plaza Lorea, and those carried out in the English Cemetery (between Pasco and Pichincha streets), earning praiseful citations from the general in chief of the Don Manuel Hornos army.

The brave military performance of the Italian Legion earned it a flag from the State of Buenos Aires, on April 21, 1853. It was blue and white, measuring 0.64 x 0.86 with the arms of the Shield of the city of Buenos Aires, embroidered in silver and gold. He had a blue silk tie that had the Theme in gold letters; "Con questa bandiera vincemi" -"Buenos Aires April 16, 1853."

The flag was accompanied by a card signed "una porteñas", for the legionary chief, which said "we offer this undefeated flag to the Italian Legion. This glorious flag is preserved as a relic in the National Historical Museum of the City they helped defend .

By the way, this was not the only recognition of the courage that the Italian corps would receive, but also on May 30, 1853, by decree of the government of the State of Buenos Aires, the name of "Brave Legion" was granted to it from then on. In addition, the use of honor cords is given to its members, from the officers to the troops, according to the custom of the time.

In July 1853, after the fratricidal fight, the Italian force was discharged at the request of Commander Glivieri, who returned the flag of the Legion to the government and left for Italy.

In his country, this officer will intervene in new revolutionary activities, being arrested and sentenced to death. The authorities of the Buenos Aires government will successfully intervene to obtain the commutation of his sentence and finally Olivien will return to Buenos Aires on October 31, 1855, "as an exile for life from the Papal States.

The forced return of Silvino Oivieri coincided with new government plans to protect its internal borders from the danger that Indian attacks represented for the populations in the south of the province. With this objective he planned the creation of militarized colonies that, in exchange for land for their members, would act by populating and defending present and future settlements.

Bahía Blanca, founded in 1828 and whose characteristics have already been noted, was the site chosen to experiment with the project.



Italian Legionar


On November 18, 1855, the establishment of an agricultural-military colony was decreed, composed of six hundred men subject to the ordinances of the Army of the government of Buenos Aires. They were initially established in Bahia Blanca, and could be assigned to any other point in the country. south.

Due to his military background and engineering studies, Colonel Silvino Olivien was appointed head of the force, and Major Clerici was appointed second head. One hundred and fifty former combatants of the Italian Legion were grouped together with their former officers.

One of them, Juan Bautista Cúneo, who also had a military and journalist background, edited a newspaper. This was the first Italian-language newspaper published in Argentina that received the same name as the military force created: "The Military Agricultural Legion" and of which thirteen issues were published.

The "Military Agricultural Legion" adopted as its uniform the one worn by the French Swabians during the Crimean War. They wore a French-style kepi as a head covering, but unlike the blue one worn by the Buenos Aires army, it was red to remember the Garibaldian origin of its members.

Given that this Legion was the continuation of the old one called Valiente, the governor of the State of Buenos Aires Dr. Pastor Obligado and the Minister of War and Navy Bartolomé Mitre, delivered the old flag to the new Italian formation on January 11, 1856.

On February 5 of that year, 1856, the Military Agricultural Legion arrived in Bahía Blanca with around three hundred men, not all with military background but who had been chosen for their knowledge of agricultural tasks. In Buenos Aires, Captain Felipe Cavanti was in charge of organizing the remaining force, who having been condemned, pardoned and expelled by the Pontifical Stadiums, had accompanied Commander Olivien on his return to Buenos Aires.

From February to July 1856, and after enduring an outbreak of yellow fever, the Legion explored the territory and was divided into three arms: the infantry, which had six companies, and the field artillery battery, which was under the command of Captain Juan Penna. , of Milanese origin, born in 1830 with a prolonged performance in the Italian struggles of 1848 and 1849 and who would have a long and renowned military career in Argentina. Finally there was the cavalry, led by an officer of the Royal Guard, a revolutionary and also an exile: Captain Mariano Barilan, a native of Rimini.

On July 1, 1856, the foundations of the Nueva Roma colony were laid 25 km west of Bahía Blanca on the Sauce Chico River, to meet the objectives for which the Agricultural Legion had been created.

Two notable events accompanied the development of the Nueva Roma colony.

The elder Clerici had to leave due to illness and died in October 1856, after having established cordial relations with the most feared and powerful of the indigenous chiefs, the chief Calfucurá.



On September 28 of the same year, Colonel Olivien was murdered by some of his mutinous men due to the harsh punishments to which they were subjected. The rebels deserted and his crime will go unpunished.

The arrival of Captain Caronti, months later, will calm spirits and ensure the continuation of the work undertaken.

The government will finally appoint Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Susini, a Milanese and sailor who had sailed and fought alongside Garibadli in the rivers of Argentina and had been founder of the Italian Legion, during the siege of Montevideo, as head of the Agricultural Legion.

In 1853 Susini arrived in Bahía Blanca carrying as 2nd. Chief to Major Juan Bautista Charlone, for his brave and sacrificial performance in the War against Paraguay that would take place a few years later. and the captains Sagani, Zonza and Valerga along with forty soldiers.

All these officers and troops were veterans in the fights of the Italian and Brave legions. In order to transform the Military Agricultural Legion into an Army corps, the new chief will carry out a profound reorganization: the force will in the future be called the Military Legion, he will discharge the least fit and through his leadership it will recover its glorious prestige .

His actions against the Indians in the Salinas Grandes campaigns and in the battle of Pigüe, in February 1859, facing the forces of the chief Calfucurá, will deserve his praise. General. Wenceslao Paunero who was in command of the Bahía Blanca Division. In May 1859, the Legion went to the defense of Bahía Blanca, attacked by two thousand five hundred Indians, whom it defeated and from whom it rescued part of the stolen loot and freed Gran. number of captives. Lieutenant Colonel Susini's performance will be recognized with his promotion to the rank of colonel in July 1859 by the State of Buenos Aires.

The performance of the Military Legion transcended the military level because one of its officers, Captain Felipe Caronti, was in charge of the development of important projects in the Bahia region: he built the first dock in the port, the first two schools, the first church , manufactured ammunition and repaired weapons, created topographical plans and carried out meteorological studies. It can well be said that Caronti, who could not finish his engineering studies in Italy due to his political ideals, saw his dreams more than achieved in the country that adopted him.

After four years of fighting against the tribes of the south, the Superior Government of the State orders the return of the Military Legion to combat the army of General Urquiza in a new contest between the city of Buenos Aires and the rest of the country.

The legionnaires will fight in the battle of Pavón with the bravery and gallantry that were characteristic of them and where the legendary prestige and courage of the then Colonel Charlone will continue to grow, rewarded with his promotion and a sword of honor.

The performance of the Military Legion will come to the attention of Garibaldi, who, from Caprera, on November 15, 1861, will send a letter to his former colleagues. It said:

"Alía Legione Italiana de Buenos Aires Be bravely fighting for the freedom of the Argentine Republic, who is an expensive, honest and generous man."

"I sent you a parola de omaggio, cl'affette di gratitudeine, in nome della Italia intera e del tustro vecchio compagno d¨armi G. Garibaldi."

An emotional ceremony took place in the city of Rosario, in the Province of Santa Fe, which was the new destination of the Military Legion. In that city, on February 4, 1864, the legionaries received a new Argentine flag, since the old one was almost completely destroyed after so many campaigns and combats.

At the beginning of 1865 the Legion returned to Buenos Aires where it would complete its ranks with Argentine officers and troops, to finally merge with the 8th Line Infantry Regiment in April of that same year. Framed in this way, he would march towards the war against Paraguay, which began on May 25, 1865.

On that date, the Paraguayan army under the command of Marshal Francisco Solano López, already at war against the Empire of Brazil, will surprisingly invade the territory of the Argentine Republic, giving rise to the so-called War of the Triple Alliance, where the armies of Brazil, the Uruguay and Argentina faced the Paraguayan in the bloodiest of all the wars that have taken place in South America.

Huge masses of men were sacrificed against the Paraguayan fortresses defended with superhuman courage in the middle of dense jungles.

Both sides showed evidence of courage bordering on insanity. Suffice it to mention that, having exhausted its men in prolonged battles, the Paraguayan government formed battalions of children and women, continuing the fight until the destruction of the last 1,000 men of Francisco Solano López's army, itself perishing along with them.

In this bloody and prolonged war, the men of the Military Legion gave proof of their bravery, standing out in all the combats in which they participated. Thus they fought in the city of Corrientes and in the battles of Yatay, Uruguayana and in the cruel carnage of Curupayti, where along with thousands Colonel Charlone left his life, trying unsuccessfully to reach the enemy trenches in infantry charges similar to those most They would later scare the world during the development of the First World War.
The loss of Charlone led to the command of the Italian forces being taken over by Colonel Baldomero Sotelo, an Argentine officer, with whom they were present in the battles of Lomas Valentinas and Paso Hondo where on October 21, 1869 they took a battery of eight cannons.

After these actions the Military Legion became part of the Army of Occupation, remaining in Asunción, the Paraguayan capital, until January 1871. Throughout the War of the Triple Alliance the Legion used its distinctive uniform, which obviously became less complete. with its adaptation to the needs and shortcomings of the campaign. The remains of the glorious Legion returned to the city of Corrientes and remained as part of the 1st. Battalion of Regiment N0. 8 Infantry.
The Military Legion was not the only force of Italian origin created to serve alongside the Argentine Army. Two other Italian groups were added to the aforementioned.

1st Legion Volunteers or Freedom Volunteers: This force was organized by Commander Joseph Giribone, born in 1823 in the city of Genoa and also emigrated for political reasons. He arrived in Montevideo in 1843, fighting prominently alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi and Francisco Anzani in the siege of the Uruguayan capital. With great musical ability and with his example of bravery and sacrifice, demonstrated in the battle of El Tala, He left the Argentine Army a military march: "The March of Tala".



Cnel. Antonio Sussini

On August 10, 1861, he was appointed commander of a force that he had to organize and that would bear the name of Freedom Volunteers.
It was intended to protect the city of Rosario, Argentina, but a few months later it was dissolved so that its members could organize a so-called Foreign Legion, which was joined by volunteers of different nationalities but with Italians always being the majority.

This force was committed to serve under contract for three years and was intended to reinforce the Third Line Infantry Regiment that protected the population of Azul, in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires, from the attacks of the Indians. .

Its name is modified to the First Legion of Volunteers and under this name it fought in the War of the Triple Alliance, forming part of the allied Operations Army.
On February 17, 1868, Commander Gribone would fall victim to eighteen wounds, "all from the front", as the military report of that time refers, when facing superior forces. The second heroic figure of the Italians in this war disappeared with him.

2nd. Volunteer Legion:

The aforementioned Colonel Antonio Sussini, reorganizer of the Military Agricultural Legion, had delegated command of this force to the then Lieutenant Colonel Charlone, for having been appointed Chief of the Squadron of the Government of the State of Buenos Aires, in the year 1857.
But Sussini could not be oblivious to the fighting that was taking place in Paraguay, so he resumed service on land and organized another body that received the name 2 da. Legion of Volunteers, with which he marched with the Operations Army throughout the campaign.



Juan Bautista Charlone


From the first moment Antonio Sussini was appointed to command a brigade of which his Legion was a part and finally he held the high position of Commander of the 1st. Argentine Army Corps.
When the war against Paraguay ended, remnants of the Italian forces intervened in some actions of new civil wars in Argentina, to be later discharged after their extensive campaigns.
There would no longer be any more Italian Legions in the Argentine Army, but many of its men, both soldiers and officers, requested and were incorporated into the national Army and came to hold high and important positions, collaborating in the final fights against the Indians and in the organization definitive. of an army to which they had always belonged by the right of shed blood.

Bibliography:

• Álbum de la Guerra del Paraguay. Imprenta Jacobo Peuser, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1893-1894.
•  De Marco, Miguel Angel - La Guerra del Paraguay. Editorial Planeta, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1995
•  Granienigo, Gaio Italiano entre Rosas y Mitre. Ediciones. Sediliba, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1987.
•  Comando en Jefe del Ejército - Reseña histórica y orgánica del Ejército Argentino. Ediciones-Círculo Militar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1972.
•  Best Félix - Historia de las Guerras Argentinas. Torno II. Editorial Peuser, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1960
•  Caronti, C. Luis -. Legiones Italianas. Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1907.
•  Ferracutti, Enrique - Las expediciones militares en los orígenes de Bahía Blanca. Ediciones Círculo Militar, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1962
• Walther, Juan Carlos, La conquista del Desierto Ediciones Círculo Militar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1964.

Anti-subversive War: The Death of Tamagnini (1973)

Terrorist revenge

Senior Inspector Hugo Tamagnini was murdered on August 5, 1973. The inspector specialized in action against terrorism, and was key in the investigation that made possible the discovery of a group of the terrorist organization FAR, in Taco Ralo. Revenge would not be long in coming: that August 5, Tamagnini was traveling in his car through the City of Tucumán, along with a companion, when a car in which four or five terrorists were traveling approached him, and they began to attack him. shoot him with automatic weapons.
Inspector Tamagnini told his companion to get on the floor and tried to defend herself. However, he was seriously injured by 12 bullets and lost control of the car he was driving. Before dying, Hugo Tamagnini managed to recognize the terrorist Carlos Santillán – from the ERP – as one of his attackers. Santillán had been imprisoned but had escaped in 1971, leaving 5 prison guards dead, and although he had been recaptured, Cámpora's amnesty law had left him free to murder again. Indeed, the ERP took credit for the murder.


CELTYV

Argentina: Relations with Chile around 1880

Argentine and Chilean perceptions regarding the border conflict

Argentine public opinion became increasingly polarized around the border dispute. Chile was perceived as an aggressor state by the expanding "internationalist" faction. The "internationalists" included in their ranks distinguished personalities such as Roque Sáenz Peña, who had served in the Peruvian army during the Pacific War, Indalecio Gómez and Estanislao Zeballos. The last two advocated the adoption of a hard line towards Chile (1). Another faction, opposed to the previous one, was made up of former president Bartolomé Mitre, Carlos Pellegrini and other sectors closely linked to the export-import economy. These men perceived that a war against Chile could slow Argentina's economic progress and affect its foreign trade (2). For these men, Argentina's path to greatness was written in an economic key. As the years passed, Argentina would grow and become richer and more powerful each year, until the trans-Andean nation would no longer be a problem.

On the other side of the Andes, Chileans perceived their neighbor with varied emotions, which ran the entire possible spectrum, from envy to contempt and from smug complacency to fear (3). According to Encina, the majority of Chilean intellectuals - with the express exception of Miguel Amunátegui, Adolfo Ibáñez, Vicente Pérez Rosales and a few others - openly or covertly fought the Chilean government's efforts to defend their rights in Patagonia. In this sense, the cases of José Victorino Lastarria or Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna are evident. The latter developed a tenacious campaign against Chilean titles in the Patagonian region for more than ten years, which culminated with his great speech in the Senate, and with his book titled precisely "La Patagonia." Among bankers, capitalists and landowners, the idea of a break with Argentina for Patagonia was perceived as irrational. As for public opinion, initially it was indifferent to the issue, only to years later be captured by the arguments in favor of confrontation between the two countries (4).
In Rauch's opinion, Chile's victory over the Andean nations in the Pacific War inflamed the nationalist spirit of Chilean public opinion. If before 1879, Chile's economic progress led its inhabitants to perceive themselves as "the England of South America," their victory over the Andean nations led Chileans to believe that they had earned the nickname "the Prussia of South America" (5). Many of those who visualized their nation in the role of Prussia in 1870, in turn perceived Argentina in the role of South American France, corrupt and motivated by commercial greed, and that could be overwhelmed by Chilean power. There were also those Chileans who believed their country was superior to Argentina in virtue and power and who wanted to go to war to prove it (6). The results obtained in the Pacific War had certainly accentuated the perception of self-importance. Thus, Chilean diplomats adopted positions characterized by their rudeness, rooted in the idea that their army, the best after that of Prussia, and their navy, the second after the British, could easily defeat the Argentine forces (7).
For their part, Argentines reviewed their own perceptions regarding Chile. His admiration for the neighboring nation's past progress was replaced by a feeling of growing suspicion, particularly after the incidents with the Jeanne Amélie and Devonshire ships. By 1890, Argentina had achieved institutional stability, a prerequisite for economic development (8). According to Rauch, Argentina did not fear Chile's military power, as Chilean historians suggest (9). As the most basic rules of prudence advised vigilance over the aggressive neighbor to the west, the Argentine government began to be governed by an old proverb, si vix pacem para bellum.

NOTES

1. Gustavo Ferrari, Conflicto y paz con Chile: 1898-1903, Buenos Aires, Eudeba, 1968, pp. 29-30, 46-47, citado en George Victor Rauch, The Argentine-Chilean Boundary Dispute and the Development of the Argentine Armed Forces: 1870-1902, Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1989, p. 323.
2. G. Ferrari, op. cit., pp. 65-66, cit. en ibid., pp. 323-324.
3. Ibid., p. 324.
4. Francisco A. Encina, La cuestión de límites entre Chile y la Argentina desde la Independencia hasta el tratado de 1881, Santiago de Chile, Nascimento, 1959, p. 104.
5. Frederick B. Pike, Chile and the United States, 1880-1962: The Emergence of Chile's Social Crisis and the Challenge to United States Diplomacy, University of Notre Dame Press, 1963, p. 34, cit. en G.V. Rauch, op. cit., p. 326.
6. Arthur P. Whitaker, The United States and the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, Cambridge and London, Harvard University Press, 1976, p. 137, cit. en ibid., p. 326.
7. Vicente Quesada, La política chilena en El Plata, Bueno Aires, Moen, 1895, pp. 72-73, cit. en ibid., p. 327.
8. Oscar E. Cornblitt, Ezequiel Gallo y Alfredo A. O'Connell, "La generación del 80 y su proyecto: antecedentes y consecuencias", en Torcuato S. Di Tella (ed.), Argentina, sociedad de masas, Buenos Aires, Eudeba, 1965, pp. 48-49, cit. en ibid., p. 328.
9. Ver, por ejemplo, los casos de Mario Barros, Historia diplomática de Chile, Barcelona, Ariel, 1971, 322-323, 353-355; Oscar Espinosa Moraga, La postguerra del Pacífico y la Puna de Atacama, Santiago, Andrés Bello, 1958, p. 180, cit. en ibid., p. 329.

The convention of 1888 and the Zeballos-Matta declaration of 1889. The divergence between the criteria of the "high peaks" and the "divortium aquarum"

As a consequence of mutual fears (both countries curiously perceived that the 1881 treaty implied territorial losses), until 1888 a convention on demarcation and experts was not reached to delimit on the ground what was agreed in the treaty. This convention was signed on August 20, 1888 in Santiago de Chile by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Demetrio Lastarria, and the Argentine extraordinary envoy and plenipotentiary minister, José Evaristo Uriburu (1).
It established the procedure for the appointment of the two experts referred to in articles 1 and 4 of the boundary treaty of 1881. Each of these experts could have an advisory commission with the same number of members, and they had to execute in the ground the demarcation of the lines indicated in articles 1, 2 and 3 of the boundary treaty. If they did not reach an agreement, they had to communicate it to their respective governments, so that they could proceed to appoint the third expert, who would have to resolve the controversy.
The Lastarria-Uriburu convention was ratified by law No. 2488, and the exchange of its ratifications became effective on January 11, 1890. Consequently, the Argentine government appointed engineer Octavio Pico as an expert and the Chilean government appointed Diego Barros. Spider.
However, each small advance in the bilateral relationship had to be faced with new obstacles. By virtue of the offer of shares by a company in London for the acquisition of twenty-four leagues of land on the railway from Chubut to Bahía Blanca, the Chilean government ordered its representative in Buenos Aires, Guillermo Matta, to claim for what it perceived as a Argentine advance in contentious territory. To overcome this obstacle, the Argentine chancellor Estanislao Zeballos and the Chilean minister Matta formulated a reciprocal declaration in 1889, which established that any act of one or another government that extended its jurisdiction to the part of the mountain range of dubious ownership, because it had not been drawn its limit, would not affect the results of the demarcation that was going to be carried out. This declaration was general in nature, applicable to the entire border in dispute with Chile from Bolivia to Navarino Island. According to Carrasco Domínguez, it was intended "to establish a status quo in the undefined border region, detracting from the acts of the parties executed prior to the definitive demarcation, but after the corresponding boundary arrangements" (2).
In accordance with the provisions of the 1881 treaty and the 1888 convention, in 1892 the Argentine and Chilean experts met, but they were unable to reach an agreement. The Chilean expert, Diego Barros Arana, formulated, in January 1892, the theory of divortium aquarum, that is, the separation between the rivers that go to the Atlantic and those that flow into the Pacific, and sought to impose it on his Argentine colleague, Octavio Pico. , as a criterion prior to beginning the demarcation task. For his part, Pico remained firm in his position of defending the line of the highest peaks as a criterion, regardless of its continuity as a watershed. Pico maintained that the Andes mountain range was the natural barrier between the two countries. The essential divergence regarding the criteria to be used in the demarcation work caused the suspension of negotiations between both experts.
On the other hand, the tension between Buenos Aires and Santiago had been stimulated by the media. A report from the Chilean minister in Buenos Aires, at the end of 1887, detailed the support of the Argentine press for an expedition sent to Patagonia, which had supposedly discovered three rivers, whose origin was in Argentine territory and which flowed into the Pacific, and which therefore granted Argentina ports on said ocean. Although he did not believe in the existence of these rivers, the Chilean representative was convinced that the Argentine media supported the idea of ports in the Pacific, to pressure the Casa Rosada authorities to make a decision in that regard (3 ). This pressure paid off, as the Argentine authorities rejected the Chilean criterion of divortium aquarum, in order not to give up potential access to the Pacific (4).

NOTES

1. The text of the convention is the following:
        The governments of the Republic of Chile and the Argentine Republic, animated by the common desire to implement what was established in the treaty signed by both on July 23, 1881, in accordance with the demarcation of the territorial limits between one country and the other , have appointed their respective plenipotentiaries, namely:
   
        His Excellency the President of the Republic of Chile, Mr. Demetrio Lastarria, Minister of Foreign Affairs. And His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic, Dr. José E. Uriburu, his extraordinary envoy and plenipotentiary minister in Chile.
        Those who, duly authorized for this purpose, have agreed to the stipulations contained in the following clauses:
        I. The appointment of the two experts referred to in articles 1 and 4 of the boundary treaty of 1881 will be made by the signatory governments within a period of two months, counted from the exchange of the ratifications of this agreement.
        II. To assist the experts in the performance of their functions, each of the governments will also appoint five assistants within the same period.
        The number of these may be increased in identical proportion by both parties, provided that the experts request it by mutual agreement.
        III. The experts MUST carry out, on the FIELD, the demarcation of the lines indicated in articles 1, 2 and 3 of the boundary treaty.
        IV. However, experts may entrust the execution of the work to commissions of assistants.
        These assistants will be appointed in equal numbers for each party.
        The commissions will adjust their procedures to the instructions that the experts will give them, by common agreement and in writing.
        V. The experts must meet in the city of Concepción, Chile, forty days after their appointment, to appoint themselves in agreement on the starting point or points of their work, and on any others that may be necessary.
        They will prepare duplicate minutes of all the agreements and determinations they make at that meeting, and in the course of their operations.
        SAW. Whenever the experts do not reach agreement on any point of the establishment of limits or on any other issue, they will respectively communicate this to their governments, so that they can proceed to designate the third party that must resolve the controversy, according to the boundary treaty. 1881.
        VII. The experts may have, at the will of the respective government, the necessary personnel for their particular service, such as healthcare or any other; and when they deem it convenient for their safety, they may request a troop party from each of the two governments, or only from that of the nation in whose territory they are located; In the first case, the escort must consist of an equal number of seats for each party.
        VIII. The experts will set the times of work in the field, and will set up their office in the city they determine, being able, however, by common agreement, to move it from one point to another, whenever the needs of the service so advise.
        Each government will provide the expert it appoints and its assistants with the necessary elements and resources for their work; Both will jointly pay the expenses incurred by the offices and the marking of the boundaries.
        IX. Whenever any of the positions of expert or assistant become vacant, the respective government must appoint the replacement within a period of two months.
        X. This convention will be ratified, and the exchange of ratifications will be made in the city of Santiago or Buenos Aires, in the shortest possible time. (...).
        Text of the Lastarria-Uriburu convention, Santiago de Chile, August 20, 1888, in Ernesto Quesada, Chilean politics in El Plata, Buenos Aires, Arnoldo Moen, 1895, pp. 348-349.

1. Germán Carrasco Domínguez, El arbitraje británico de 1899-1903. Sus aspectos procesales, Santiago, Andrés Bello, 1968, p. 168, n. 43; Isidoro Ruiz Moreno, Historia de las relaciones exteriores argentinas (1810-1955), Buenos Aires, Perrot, 1961, p. 231.
2. Guillermo Matta al ministro de relaciones exteriores de Chile, Buenos Aires, 11 de octubre de 1887, Legación de Chile en el Plata, 1887-1888, cit. en Robert N. Burr, By Reason or Force. Chile and the Balance of Power in South America, 1830-1905, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1967, p. 185.
3. Memorándum quoted in Luis Vicente Varela, La República Argentina y Chile: historia de la demarcación de sus fronteras (desde 1843 hasta 1899). Obra escrita con motivo del arbitraje pendiente ante su majestad británica, apoyada en los documentos inéditos del Archivo del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Argentina, 2 vols., Buenos Aires, 1899, I, pp. 256-258, n. 115, fuente a su vez citada en R.N. Burr, op. cit., p. 186..

Historia de las Relaciones Internacionales Argentinas (c)

Argentine Navy: Auxiliary Ship ARA Tte Olivieri

Auxiliary Ship ARA Tte Olivieri

ARGENTINA - ARA Teniente Olivieri 


The auxiliary ship ARA Teniente Olivieri (A 2), the former Marsea 10, was a PSV (Platform Supply Vessel), built at the Quality Shipyard in Houma, Louisiana (USA) and commissioned in 1981. It was acquired by the Argentine Government to the US Maritime Administration, on November 15, 1987 and delivered in May 1988, to be used as a warning and Patrol.

The ship displaces 1,640 tons, and its dimensions are: 56.3 meters long, 12.2 meters wide and 3.6 meters deep. Propulsion is provided by two GM-EMD 16-645 E6 type diesels, which generate 3,700 HP and drive two propellers, with a speed of 14 knots and a radius of 5,200 km at 10 knots. She also has two 300 shp bow (side) thrusters. The crew consists of 15 men and she is armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns.



The load capacity on the aft deck, which measures 35.06 meters long by 9.33 meters wide, is 610 tons. In commercial service, it transports up to 315 tons of fuel, 514 tons of industrial water, 44 tons of drinking water and 113 tons of bentonite slurry. In Argentine Navy service, the ship normally carries up to 600 tons of fuel and 800 tons of water. She is based in Puerto Belgrano and is primarily used as a logistical support vessel for facilities and isolated locations.

In 1994, speculation about the acquisition of another similar vessel, an AHTS called "Erebus", which now belongs to the company Marítima Mexicana SA de CV (MARMEX) TMM Group, operating under the name "Isla Ballena".

Photo: Luis Padilha

ARA “TENIENTE OLIVIERI” (A-2)

Shipyards: Quality Shipyard, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Origin: Ex Marsea 10
Entry into service: 1981
Entry into service US Maritime Administration: November 1987
Entry into ARA service: s/d
Assigned to: Naval Amphibious and Logistics Command (COAL). Stationed at the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base (BNPB)

Technical characteristics

Displacement at full load: 1640 tn
Dimensions: length 56.3 m; beam 12.2 m; draft 4.3 m.
Maximum speed: 14 knots
Propulsion: 2 GM/EMD 16-645 E6, 3230 HP, 2 propellers.
Autonomy: 2,800 nautical miles at 10 knots.
Crew: 25 men
Armament: 2 12.7 mm MG machine guns.
Radar: s/d


Poder Naval

Argentine Army: GMC, 2 1/2-ton, 6x6, Cargo, CCKW - (G 508) Truck

GMC, 2 1/2-ton, 6x6, Cargo, CCKW - (G 508) Truck

By Sergio Toyos  

This truck was named according to the production nomenclature of the General Motors Corporation company of the time, since the Second World War had begun. The acronym CCKW was assigned by it using its standard system:
C= Designed in 1941
C= Standard Body
K= Front wheel drive
W= Rear wheel drive

Nicknamed by the soldiers as "The Jimmy", this truck began to be produced in 1941, ending production in 1945, with a total of 562,750 units being manufactured off the assembly line in different versions. It was the most commonly used tactical vehicle in World War II. It then continued in service until 1956, even being used in the Korean War. The CCKWs were originally fitted with a metal cabin (called a "closed cabin"), but after July 1943 it was replaced by a canvas one to save metal and reduce the volume for boarding (called an "open cabin"). They were designed and produced in two basic versions of chassis and wheelbase.: 

"Short": 145 inches (CCKW-352) for artillery trailer.
"Length": 164 inches (CCKW-353) for troops and cargo.

The configuration of the box was multiple, according to the various needs emerging from the conflicts in which it had to participate. It was equipped with a GMC 270 6-cylinder engine, which provided 92 hp. Its weight was 20,700 Kg for the short chassis model and 22,500 Kg for the long one. It had a width of 2.16 m. Its height without awning in place was 2.35 m. The basic cargo version had seats for the troops folded into the box. Other variants included: 

Air compressor
750 gallon tank
Two 350-gallon fuel tanks and Jerry Cans
Tipper.
Shop van (ST-5 and ST-6 body)

They could be equipped with Gar Wood (2-U512) or Heil (JJ-104-B, 125G or 125G1) winches, but only if the front and bumper were factory built for that purpose. A letter code had to be created to identify the various types of bodies: 

A: Loading without winch
B: Loading with winch
C: Tanker
D: Naphtha tanker without winch
E: Gasoline tanker with winch
F: Van
G: Water tanker without winch
H: Tipper with winch

After the Second World War, enormous quantities of these noble, rustic and strong vehicles were distributed throughout all the former battle fronts in states of maintenance. The armies of the countries in which they were located rebuilt their own fleets of vehicles and then sold the surplus to contractors. These, in turn, resold gigantic batches of vehicles of all types to countries around the world, to fulfill both military and civil tasks.

It should be emphasized that in Korea, after the war, gigantic repowering plants were installed for military vehicles used in the conflict. It is notable the way in which all types of materials were collected, establishing large factories, where all the vehicles intended for later use were remade, using the incredible quantities of spare parts available for this purpose.. 

Our country received part of this material after the Second World War, along with Studebaker, Chevrolet and Ford Canada trucks, and Sherman armored vehicles (English version), Crusader tanks, half-tracks and T 16 or Bren Carrier weapons-carrying vehicles.
The national organization that handled the transactions to import them was a state organization called IAPI (Argentine Institute for Exchange), which purchased enormous quantities of material of all kinds that were prohibited to us by the United States, as a result of our abstention in the participation in the world conflict. The material was purchased from a Belgian contracting company, which sold in-use material, some quite battered and others, literally new, with enormous quantities of spare parts still boxed. With this flood of automotive material, our Armed Forces became motorized and began a new era and a new doctrine.


Source: 
Asociación Argentina de Coleccionistas de Vehículos Militares 

A.A.C.V.M 
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