Paraguayan War
- Period
- November 1864 – March 1870
- Sides
- Paraguay vs Brazil, Argentina & Uruguay
- Battles
- 18
The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a war in South America that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. It was the deadliest inter-state war in Latin American history. Paraguay sustained immense casualties, but even the approximate numbers are disputed. Paraguay was forced to cede disputed territory to Argentina and Brazil. The war began in late 1864, as a result of a conflict between Paraguay and Brazil caused by the Uruguayan War. Argentina and Uruguay entered the war against Paraguay in 1865, and it then became known as the "War of the Triple Alliance".
Sources: Wikipedia — Paraguayan War · CC BY-SA 4.0
Battles 18
June 1865
Battle of Riachuelo
The Battle of Riachuelo was a large and decisive naval battle of the Paraguayan War between Paraguay and the Empire of Brazil. By late 1864, Paraguay had scored a series of victories in the war, but on 11 June 1865, its naval defeat by the Brazilians on the Paraná River began to turn the tide in favor of the allies.
August 1865
Battle of Yatay
In the Paraguayan War, the Battle of Yatay was fought on August 17, 1865, between the troops of the Triple Alliance (Argentina, Brazil and and the soldiers of Paraguay near Paso de los Libres, Corrientes, Argentina. It was a victory for the Alliance.
August 1865
Battle of Paso de Mercedes
The Battle of Paso de Mercedes was fought on 11 August 1865 during the Paraguayan invasion of the Argentine province of Corrientes.
September 1865
Siege of Uruguaiana
The siege of Uruguaiana was an engagement in the Paraguayan War that began in late August 1865, and ended on 18 September that year when the Paraguayans were forced to surrender due to low food supplies. Paraguayan forces surrendered in spite of President López's order to the Paraguayan commander, Colonel Estigarribia, not to do so. After the allied victory at Uruguaiana, Lopéz withdrew his army from Argentina and Brazil.
May 1866
Battle of Tuyutí
The Battle of Tuyutí was a Paraguayan offensive in the Paraguayan War targeting the Triple Alliance encampment of Tuyutí. It is considered to be the bloodiest battle ever in South America. The result of the battle was an Allied victory, which added to the Paraguayan troubles after the loss of its fleet in the Battle of Riachuelo.
May 1866
Battle of Estero Bellaco
The Battle of Estero Bellaco was one of the bloodiest battles of the Paraguayan War. The battle was fought on 2 May 1866 with the Paraguayan Army suffering 2,000 casualties among the dead and wounded. Likewise, 300 of their men were taken prisoner by the troops belonging to the Triple Alliance: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The allies lost nearly 2,000 men, mostly wounded, and the Uruguayan troops of General Venancio Flores - commanded by León de Pallejas - were severely decimated, accounting for the vast majority of allied deaths.
July 1866
Battle of Boquerón (1866)
The Battle of Boquerón was fought on 16 July 1866 and the Battle of Sauce on 18 July 1866, between an allied force of Uruguayans, Brazilians, and Argentines on one side and Paraguay on the other in the Paraguayan War. The Spanish-born Uruguayan officer León de Pallejas (1816–1866) and the Paraguayan officer Elizardo Aquino were killed in the battle.
September 1866
Battle of Curupayty
The Battle of Curupayty was a key battle in the Paraguayan War. On the morning on 22 September 1866, the joint force of Brazilian, Argentine, and Uruguayan armies attacked Paraguayan fortified trenches on Curupayty. The Paraguayans were led by general José Eduvigis Díaz. This position was held by 5,000 men and 49 cannons, some of them in hidden places out of the attackers view. The Imperial Brazilian Navy gave support to the 20,000 assailants, but the ships had to keep some distance from the guns at the fortress of Humaitá, which led to the lack of accuracy and impact of the ship's fire. The navy's failure was crucial at the later ground battle result.
September 1866
Battle of Curuzú
The Battle of Curuzú occurred between September 1 and 3, 1866 during the Paraguayan War. After the first Battle of Tuyutí, won by the Allies on 24 May 1866, an Allied council of war decided to use their navy to bombard and capture the Paraguayan battery at Curupayty.
November 1867
Second Battle of Tuyutí
The Second Battle of Tuyutí was fought on 3 November 1867 between the Paraguayan Army and a smaller allied Brazilian-Argentine force. The Paraguayans lost twice as many soldiers as the allies and were defeated.
November 1867 – July 1868
Siege of Humaitá
The siege of Humaitá was a military operation in which the Triple Alliance flanked, besieged and captured the Fortress of Humaitá, a Paraguayan stronghold that was referred to as the Gibraltar of South America. It fell on 26 July 1868. It can be considered the key event of the Paraguayan War since the fortress had frustrated the allied advance into Paraguay for more than two years. However it did not surrender as the defenders escaped, most of them to fight another day.
February 1868
Passage of Humaitá
The Passage of Humaitá was an operation of riverine warfare during the Paraguayan War − the most lethal in South American history − in which a force of six Imperial Brazilian Navy armoured vessels was ordered to dash past under the guns of the Paraguayan fortress of Humaitá. Some competent neutral observers had considered that the feat was very nearly impossible.
December 1868
Battle of Lomas Valentinas
The Battle of Lomas Valentinas was fought in the Central Department of Paraguay on December 21–27, 1868. The Paraguayan Army, led personally by president Francisco Solano López, was decisively defeated, though López managed to escape. On 30 December 1868, the Paraguayan garrison at Angostura, with 1,907 men, surrendered to the Allies.
December 1868
Battle of Ytororó
On the morning of 6 December 1868, marshal of the Imperial Brazilian Army, Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Marquis of Caxias, moved with 16,999 infantrymen, 926 cavalrymen and 742 artillerymen, to take Villeta, a Paraguayan city, as a plan to make further attacks on the Paraguayan Army rear. Nevertheless, Paraguayan president and commander-in-chief of the army Francisco Solano López was aware of the landing the Allies had made in the rear of his army.
December 1868
Battle of Avay
The Battle of Avay of 11 December 1868 was one of the last major combat engagements of the Paraguayan War, fought near the Avay stream in Paraguayan territory between the forces the Triple Alliance and the Paraguayan Army.
August 1869
Battle of Acosta Ñu
The Battle of Acosta Ñu, also known as the Children's Battle in Paraguay and the Battle of Campo Grande in Brazil, took place on 16 August 1869. It was the last major engagement of the Paraguayan War between the Triple Alliance and Paraguay. The 3,500 poorly armed Paraguayans, mostly boys between nine and fifteen years old, old men and wounded combatants, confronted 20,000 Brazilian and Argentine veteran soldiers.
August 1869
Battle of Piribebuy
The Battle of Piribebuy was fought on 12 August 1869 in the Paraguayan town of Piribebuy, which was then serving as a temporary capital of the Paraguayan government. The Paraguayan defenders, who were poorly armed and included children, fought the attacks of the Allied forces, led by French-born Brazilian general prince Gaston of Orleans, the Count of Eu, son-in-law of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. The town refused two peace envoys calling for surrender, sent by the Count of Eu. At 04:00, the Brazilian batteries surrounding the town started a bombardment which lasted until 08:00, when the infantry charged. General João Manuel Mena Barreto was mortally wounded leading a cavalry charge against the Paraguayans.
March 1870
Battle of Cerro Corá
The Battle of Cerro Corá was the last major battle of the Paraguayan War, fought on 1 March 1870, in the vicinity of Cerro Corá, 454 kilometres (280 mi) northeast of Paraguay's capital Asunción. It is known for being the battle in which Francisco Solano López, Paraguayan president, was killed at the hands of the Imperial Brazilian Army.
Earlier and later events nearby
- 1810May Revolution
- 1816Argentine Declaration of Independence
- November 1864 – March 1870Paraguayan WarThis page
- 1932–1935Chaco War
- 1991Treaty of Asunción
Who ruled this land
States that held this place in the historical borders data (Cliopatria). Years are approximate, as fine as the data's snapshots (every few years to a century). Tap to open the map for that year.
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