February 11, 1913.
"Marcelo, are Chile still unwilling to send volunteers to help us in Uruguay?"
In the Uruguay Presidential Palace, President Jose Batlle Ordonez anxiously asked Foreign Minister Marcelo.
As the head of state, José is well aware that Uruguay is too weak, with a population of only about 1 million. If the entire country is mobilized, it currently only has 25,000 troops.
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There are only more than 20,000 people, and they are short of clothing and ammunition. The only one with real combat effectiveness is a brigade. The country's weapons and equipment include more than 10,000 rifles, only 26 machine guns, and the largest heavy firepower is ten. The total number of German 75mm Lyinmetal M1908 guns in the Army is only 75. In addition to backward weapons, the ammunition is seriously insufficient. Uruguay does not have a decent arms factory. At best, it only does maintenance, and the weapons it produces are a generation behind.
To put it bluntly, Uruguay's military strength is not comparable to a Brazilian division. If Uruguay can survive for five days alone, it is God's blessing.
Since Uruguay is weak, it can only ask for foreign aid. In addition to actively asking European and American powers for intervention, Jose Batlle Ordonez also immediately asked the two big countries in South America, Argentina and Chile.
“José, President Ramon Barros Luco of Chile is sympathetic to us, but he says there is nothing we can do to help.
He replied to us again that Chile must also be on guard against Brazil. Today Chile cannot provide volunteers and can only provide more weapons. "
Regarding Uruguay's plight, Chilean President Ramon Barros Luco certainly wants to help, but he also knows clearly that his country does not have the ability.
When the Portuguese Empire was still the Brazilian Empire, Chile felt the pressure deeply. Facing him at that time, with the help of the United Kingdom, it still returned some of the territories it had invaded from Peru and Bolivia.
Facing the powerful Brazil, Argentina and Chile quickly reached an alliance and actively carried out military and military industry construction.
Ramon Barros Luco in history was an excellent president of Chile. He had excellent political skills and made great contributions to Chile.
In terms of political measures, on December 23, 1910, Barros Luco was officially sworn in as President of Chile. His political achievements in history are quite outstanding.
In 1911, under the guidance of German teachers, Chile established its first kindergarten. In the same year, construction of the National History Museum of Chile began.
On January 11, 1912, the Barros Luco government promulgated Decree No. 2597 on the Chilean flag. The decree once again confirmed that the Chilean flag was designed by Juan Gregorio de las Heras. The upper half of the flag One-third of the side near the flagpole is a blue square with a white five-pointed star in the center, and the remaining two-thirds is a white rectangle; the lower half is a red strip. The red symbolizes the blood of martyrs and heroes in the Battle of Rancagua during the Chilean War of Independence, the white symbolizes the perpetual snow in the Andes, and the blue symbolizes the vast expanse of blue waves of the Pacific Ocean.
In 1913, the Captain Manuel Avalos Aviation School was established to train junior officers, mainly aviation officers. Cultural facilities were improved, and a national archive and engineering college were established during this period.
He also made outstanding contributions to economic construction. When World War I broke out in 1914, Chile declared neutrality. Due to the increased demand for saltpeter from the belligerent countries, Chile's exports of saltpeter increased significantly, and a saltpeter boom occurred again.
The First World War launched in Europe increased the government's fiscal revenue, and the government began to strengthen infrastructure construction. Construction of railroads and roads to San Antonio began, improving local drainage systems, and improving public infrastructure in the Atacama Desert region.
The government also carried out tax reforms during this period, restricted the import and export of some goods, and worked hard to develop national industry. The Chilean steel industry was established in 1910. The government purchased the El Tofo iron mine of a French company in Coquimbo Province and built Chile's first blast furnace in Corral, taking the first step in the development of the national steel industry. The Chuquicamata copper mine was put into production in May 1915, and the National Railway Administration of Chile was also established that year.
In terms of diplomacy, Chile and Peru restored diplomatic relations in 1912. In 1915, the Barros Luco government signed the ABC Tri-Country (ABC Countries) Mutual Assistance Treaty with Argentina and Brazil in response to the United States taking advantage of World War I to implement policies in South America. political and economic penetration.
On December 23, 1915, Barros Luco resigned as president and was succeeded by Juan Luis San Fuentes Andonaegui.
After leaving office, Barros Luco began to engage in charity. He donated more than 50,000 pesos to social charities to build hospitals and schools. On September 20, 1919, Barros Luco died of illness in Santiago at the age of 84. It can be said that his life was dedicated to Chile.
Now, due to changes in the historical line, Ramon Barros Luco is further promoting military and industrial construction in this historical plane.
He spent almost all of the income from mining exports on industrialization and military reform. He actively expanded the navy and army to 150,000, and also visited the north several times to inspect the defense line.
In today's Chile, except for the naval industry which is still weak due to high expenditure and small investment, the army industry has been built quite well. Rifles and machine guns have been domestically produced, and cannons can also be produced with a caliber of 105mm.
Today's Chile, speaking of military strength, is stronger than the Kingdom of Castile in Europe, but this objective strength pales in comparison to the Portuguese Empire.
Chile's national strength is only a little higher than Portugal's western theater, so there is no capital to send troops to help Uruguay.
Today's Chile's top priority is to prevent Portugal from moving south. In order to deal with the Portuguese Empire, Chile is now working very hard to maintain good relations with Britain and the United States in addition to maintaining relations with Argentina.
Uruguay was targeted by Portugal, and Uruguay came to seek help. In addition to diplomatic support, Ramon Barros Luco could only support arms. He did not dare to reduce the slightest bit of military power when it came to the vital military support that Uruguay needed most. assistance.
"Ramon Barros Luco, is it true that you still don't want to send troops?"
José Batlle Ordoñez told Marcelo: “Let our ambassador to Chile express to the President of Chile our sincere gratitude as Uruguay for its diplomatic support and arms assistance.
It is rare for us in Uruguay to have countries that can provide us with arms and diplomatic support. There are very few countries in the world that can provide us with such help. "
Jose Batlle Ordonez actually knew that Chile would answer this way, but he still hoped that a miracle would happen and that Chile could help Uruguay in a more substantial way.
But now that hope has been shattered, Ramon Barros Luco gave the final answer. Chile's support is limited to diplomacy and arms, and nothing else is discussed.
Jose had no resentment towards Chile's attitude. He actually knew that Chile could only help so much, and any more would lead to war.
Chile has actually given Uruguay everything it can. If it sends more troops as volunteers, Portugal might really dare to go south to attack it.
