Personal experience of traveling around the countries: Uruguay, Paraguay - choose who you want! The Great Paraguayan War is a phlegmatic cynic.

The bloodiest and most murderous war of the second half of the 19th century were not at all the war of the North against the South in the USA 1861-1865, the Franco-Prussian 1870-1871. or Russian-Turkish 1877-1878, and war of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay) against Paraguay in 1864-1870.

During this war adult male population of Paraguay - most economically developed country in South America that time - has undergone almost total destruction. The economy of Paraguay was then thrown back 100 years ago, and the industry completely disappeared.

The Paraguayan dictator who unleashed the war Francisco Lopez Solano during the years of his reign raised his country to unprecedented level of development, and actually tried to build there - in the middle of the 19th century (!) - a kind of "socialist" society.

Francisco Solano Lopez (1827-1870) .

The pre-war development of Paraguay differed significantly from the development of neighboring states. Under the rule of José Francia and Carlos Antonio López, the country developed almost in isolation from the rest of the region. The leadership of Paraguay supported the course of building a self-sufficient, autonomous economy. The Lopez regime (in 1862, Carlos Antonio Lopez was replaced as president by his son Francisco Solano Lopez) was characterized by strict centralization, left no room for the development of civil society.

Most of the land (about 98%) was in the hands of the state. The so-called "estates of the Motherland" were created - 64 government-run farms, in fact, "state farms". More than 200 foreign specialists invited to the country laid telegraph lines and railways, which contributed to the development of the steel, textile, paper, printing, shipbuilding and gunpowder industries.

Government fully controlled exports. The main goods exported from the country were valuable species of quebracho wood and mate tea. State policy was rigidly protectionist; import actually overlapped high customs duties. Unlike neighboring states, Paraguay did not take external loans.

Francisco Solano López also started systematic rearmament of the army of Paraguay, among other things, with the support of the then President of the United States Abraham Lincoln. The latter promised him a mass of modern weapons, in particular, the famous multi-stemmed mitraliasis, known to the Russian audience from the costume-adventure film by Edward Zwig "The Last Samurai" (2003). The artillery factory built in 1851 mass-produced guns and mortars. In France, the Lopez government ordered several modern river artillery monitors - especially for operations on the Parana, Paraguay, etc.

The immediate cause for the war was Brazilian aggression against neighboring Uruguay in October 1864. Taking advantage of this, Francisco Lopez Solano decided to satisfy his territorial claims to Brazil, as well as get access to the ocean. And at the end of 1864 declared war on Brazil. The latter managed to drag Argentina and Uruguay, which was practically under its control, into the conflict the following year.

During the first year of hostilities, the Paraguayans, whose morale and military skills were superior to the enemy, managed to capture vast territories from Brazil and Argentina: the provinces of Mato Grosso and Corrientes.

However Fr's plans Lopez came into conflict with the interests of an influential banking house Rothschild , who financed the Brazilian armed forces and actually sponsored the invasion of the Triple Alliance army (in reality, mainly Brazilian and Argentine) into little Paraguay.

And now let's give the floor to professional historians:

“On November 12, 1864, the Paraguayan ship Tacuari, near Asuncion, captured as a prize the Brazilian merchant ship Marques de Olinda, bound for the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso, with a new governor, a cargo of gold and military equipment on board. "Tacuari" until recently he was in Europe. It was one of only two ships in the Paraguayan navy converted for military chains, but until now the ship has been used exclusively as a merchant ship, transporting goods to and from Europe.

A number of sources estimate Paraguay's population of 1,400,000, the figure seems more likely 1 350 000 . The population of Uruguay was about half that. Argentina and Brazil by the time the war began, had respectively 1,800,000 and 2,500,000 people population. Paraguay put under arms 100,000 people, and apparently up to 300,000 men and women were employed in support services. Later many women were also forced to take part in the fighting.

Brazil went to war with an army of approximately 30,000, at the end of the war bringing this figure to 90,000. Greatly weakened by long civil wars, Argentina had a small army, which at the best of times numbered up to about 30,000 people. Uruguayan troops numbered a maximum of 3,000.

Besides, approximately 10,000 Paraguayans took part in the war against López. These were unreliable elements expelled from the country, and deserters and Allied-liberated prisoners of Paraguayan prisons. All of them also contributed to the victory over Lopez.

Lopez built two strong fortresses: Yumaita on the Paraguay River and Paso de Patria on the Parana River. But their many weapons were mostly obsolete, consisting of muzzle-loading guns. Paraguay ordered large batches of the latest weapons from Europe, but before the start of the war, only a few of them were received.

While the cadre army was well equipped with modern rifles, the recruits of later drafts were often armed with only clubs, knives or bows and arrows. The Paraguayan fleet was small and also poorly armed. He counted in his composition 12-20 river propeller or paddle steamers. But, ultimately, being equipped mainly with sailing ships, barges or chatos (without any mechanical drive) and often even canoes could be considered military - their purpose was to moor an enemy ship in order to crush it with their crew during boarding battle.

Lopez also ordered five battleships in Europe: three turrets and two batteries. After the announcement blockade of Paraguay shipbuilders began to vigorously look for a new customer, which was Brazil... So, unwillingly, Lopez significantly strengthened the Navy of his enemy ... "

After the first successes of the Paraguayan troops on land and at sea, they began to suffer defeats from a heavily outnumbered enemy. June 11, 1865 between the fleets of the parties occurred battle of Riachuelo(on the La Plata River), during which the Paraguayan flotilla was completely destroyed by the Brazilians. Having lost the river fleet, Lopez lost the main channels for the transport of ammunition and food for the army which further exacerbated his situation.

Battle of Riachuello. Painting by V. Meirellis.

It is an indisputable fact that assassination of American President Lincoln who supported Francisco López Solano on April 15, 1865 in a suspicious manner coincided with a turning point in the Paraguayan War in favor of the Triple Alliance. By the way, the river monitors ordered in Europe were also not delivered to Paraguay, and most of them were bought by the Brazilians.

The systematic invasion of the Triple Alliance into Paraguay began in 1866, and immediately met with fierce resistance from not only the military, but also the local population. May 24, 1866 in the swamps of Tuyuti happened the largest in the history of South America in the 19th century. pitched battle, in which, at the cost of huge losses, the Allies managed to defeat the Paraguayans and launch an offensive against their capital Asuncion.

Included in military history textbooks successful defense of the Kurupaiti artillery battery on the outskirts of the Paraguayan fortress of Umaite On September 22, 1866, about 5,000 of the 20,000 advancing Brazilian and Argentine soldiers died.

Defense of Kurupaity. Painting by Candido Lopez.

However, Paraguay, which had not received any outside help for a long time, was drained of blood, and by the end of 1869 it was not able to offer serious resistance to the constantly growing forces of the Allies. AT Battle of Avai December 11, 1869 the regular army of Paraguay actually ceased to exist.

After the death of a significant number of adult male Paraguayans, even women and children were drafted into the Paraguayan army. August 16, 1869 at the Battle of Acosta New 3,500 children and adolescents from 9 to 15 years old fought - out of a total of 6,000 Paraguayan forces. Eyewitnesses - Brazilian officers and journalists - describe violent attacks by Paraguayan women and teenagers, armed only with pikes and machetes, against the ranks of the regular Brazilian army. In memory of the heroism of the Paraguayan child militias, every year on August 16, Paraguay celebrates Day of the child.

Scene from the Battle of Acosta New.

The heroic resistance of the local population led to massive punitive operations by the Brazilians and their allies, during which most of the country's settlements were simply depopulated. Several thousand government soldiers, militias and refugees continued guerrilla warfare in the mountains.

The site of the last clash of the Paraguayans with the allied armies of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay May 1, 1870. became a river Aquidaban. Francisco Lopez Solano with a small Paraguayan detachment of 200 people. and 5,000 local Indians met allies under the command of the Brazilian General Kamera and after a bloody battle in which both Lopez himself and Vice President Sanchez were killed, his army was completely destroyed.

“The Brazilians wanted to catch Lopez alive, until finally his squad was pinned to a narrow strip of land at river Aquidaban.

The "hated tyrant" Francisco Solano Lopez behaved heroically and expressed the will of the people, calling for the defense of the homeland; the Paraguayan people, who had not known war for half a century, fought under his banner not for life, but for death. Men and women, children and old people, all fought like lions.

On March 15, 1870, Lopez led his army (about 5,000-7,000 people), already looking like a host of ghosts - old men and boys who put on fake beards to seem older to their enemies - deep into the selva. The invaders, ready to cut everyone, stormed the ruins of Asuncion. Lopez tried to force it, but the banks of the river were so swampy that his horse was powerless. Then he rushed back to the right bank, where parts of the Brazilian general Camarra were already stationed.

Refusing to surrender, while attempting to fire on Camarra, López was hit by the pike of a nearby Brazilian soldier. The wound was not fatal - the pike hit the knee. But at this time, an unexpected shot was heard from the Brazilian side, but more likely from Paraguayan, who finished him on the spot ...

Before dying, he exclaimed: "I'm dying with my homeland!" It was the pure truth. Paraguay died with him. Shortly before this, Lopez ordered the execution of his own brother and the bishop, who went with him in this caravan of death, so that they would not fall into the hands of enemies.

Around the same time, Eliza Lynch and her squad were also surrounded by the Brazilians. Her eldest son Pancho (by López) resisted by rushing to the attack and was killed. Taken under the protection of the Brazilians, she was able to safely leave for exile in Europe, despite the demand of the new Paraguayan government, formed from immigrants, to extradite her».

Monument to Elizabeth Lynch (1835-1886), the Irish girlfriend of Francisco Lopez in Asuncion.

Thus, Francisco Lopez Solano died heroically in battle without surrendering to the enemy. His doom strongly reminiscent of the death of the Libyan leader, which, like him, also tried to build in his country a highly developed economy independent of foreign powers.

The result of the war was the complete defeat of Paraguay and the loss of 90% of the adult male population. Last thing from 1,350,000 people on the eve of the war (also called the more "scientific" figure of 525,000 people) decreased to 221,000 after it (1871), and only 28,000 of the latter were adult males.

Paraguayan War 1864-1870 also interesting in that it practically remained "unknown" to civilized Europeans. Even Russian newspapers wrote about her extremely sparingly. The question immediately arises Didn't the Rothschilds finance the European press then? occupied mainly with coverage of the American Civil War 1861-1865. and the Polish uprising of 1863-1864?

The French primer gun of the middle of the 19th century is the most advanced weapon of the Brazilian army. The Paraguayans managed mainly flint ...

Well, now I give the floor again specialist historian:

“Brazil paid dearly for the victory. The war was actually financed by loans from the Bank of London and banking houses of the Baring brothers and N. M. Rothschild and sons».

For five years Brazil spent twice as much as it received, sparking financial crisis. Paying off the massively increased public debt had a negative impact on the country's economy for several decades.

There is an opinion that a long war in the future contributed to the fall of the monarchy in Brazil; In addition, there are suggestions that she was one of the reasons for the abolition of slavery (in 1888).

The Brazilian army gained new importance as a political force; united by the war and based on emerging traditions, it would play a significant role in the later history of the country.

In Argentina, the war led to the modernization of the economy; for several decades it became the most prosperous country in Latin America, and the annexed territories made it the strongest state in the La Plata basin.

Britain - was, in fact, the only country to benefit from the Paraguayan War. In the UK, both Brazil and Argentina borrowed huge sums, the payment of some of which continues to this day(Brazil paid off all British loans during the era of Getúlio Vargas).

As for Uruguay, neither Argentina nor Brazil interfered so actively in its politics anymore. The Uruguayan Party of Colorado gained power in the country and ruled until 1958 ...

Most of the Paraguayan villages devastated by the war were abandoned, and their surviving inhabitants moved to the vicinity of Asuncion. These settlements in the central part of the country almost switched to subsistence farming; a large part of the land was bought by foreigners, mainly Argentines, and turned into estates.

Paraguayan industry was destroyed, the country's market was open for UK goods, and the government (for the first time in the history of Paraguay) took external loan of £1 million.

Paraguay also had to pay an indemnity (it was never paid), and remained occupied until 1876.

To this day, the war remains a controversial topic - especially in Paraguay, where it is perceived as a fearless attempt by a small people to defend their rights - or as a suicidal, self-defeating struggle against a superior enemy, almost to the ground destroyed the nation ...

In modern Russian journalism, the Paraguayan War is also perceived extremely ambiguously.. Wherein the views of the authors of the articles play a key role, while the events of the war are used to illustrate these views.

So, Paraguay of that time can be represented as forerunner of 20th century totalitarian regimes, a war - as a criminal consequence of the aggressive policy of this regime.

In another, directly opposite version, the regime of Francia and Lopez looks like a successful attempt to create an economy independent of neighbors and the then world leader - Great Britain. War, according to this point of view, is nothing but deliberate genocide of a small people who dared challenge the most powerful power in the world and the imperialist system of the world as a whole.

The results of the war for a long time crossed Paraguay out of the list of states that have at least some weight in international affairs. It took decades for the country to recover from the chaos and demographic imbalance. Even today, the consequences of the war have not been completely overcome - Paraguay still remains one of the poorest countries in Latin America...»

The Paraguayan War of 1864-1870, the war of conquest by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay against Paraguay. Direct P.'s cause was the invasion of the Brazilian army in Uruguay under the pretext of forcing him to pay compensation for the damage allegedly caused in Ser. 50s Brazilian subjects during civil wars in Uruguay. With the beginning of the intervention, the government of Uruguay turned to Paraguay for help. Paraguay, interested in preserving the state. sovereignty of Uruguay, through ter. to-rogo he had access to the Atlantic coast. ok., declared his support for Uruguay in the hope of a peaceful settlement of the Brazilian-Uruguayan conflict. However, the Brazilian army continued to intervene, occupied Uruguay and forced it to join the anti-Paraguayan coalition, which included Argentina and Brazil. The coalition hoped to overthrow the government of Paraguay, headed by President F. Lopez, who actively defended the sovereignty of his country, and to tear away part of the territories. Paraguay.

In unleashing P. century. Great Britain, France and the United States played a significant role, seeking to open access to Paraguay for their capital. P. in. began in December 1864, when the President of Paraguay F. Lopez, having learned about the impending invasion of the coalitions. army, moved part (7.5 thousand people) 60-70 thousand. army through the Paraguayan-Brazilian border and occupied the southern districts of the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso, thus securing. north of the country from invasion. However, as a result of the defeat of the Paraguayan fleet on the river. Parana in June 1865 Paraguay was cut off from the outside world.

In August 1865, the Paraguayans captured the Brazilian city of Uruguayana, but by September, 8,000. the Paraguayan army was surrounded by forces of 30 thousand. coalition armies. After the bitter battles, the remnants of the Paraguayan army (about 5 thousand people) were forced to capitulate. In May 1866, 50,000 coalitions. army invaded. Paraguay and laid siege to the fortress of Umanta. But she managed to capture the fortress only after 2 years, in August. 1868. The retreating Paraguayan army in Dec. 1868 suffered a new defeat on the river. Pikisiri, and in Jan. 1869 coalition troops captured the capital of Paraguay, the city of Asuncion. F. Lopez withdrew the remnants of his troops to the mountainous regions of the Cordillera and deployed partisans. actions. During 1869, Lopez managed to increase the size of his army to 13 thousand people, replenishing it with 12-15-year-old teenagers. Partiz. The period of the war continued until the beginning. 1870. Despite the separation. successes, the Paraguayan army retreated. The human resources of the country were depleted, and there was no one to replenish the army. On March 1, 1870, a small detachment of Lopez was overtaken by a Brazilian cavalry detachment in the Sero-Cora mountains. In an unequal battle, Lopez's detachment was defeated, and he himself died. On this military. actions have stopped.

As a result of hostilities, hunger and disease, 4/5 of the population of Paraguay died. Of the survivors, men accounted for no more than 20 thousand people. The total losses of the armies of the anti-Paraguayan coalition exceeded 190 thousand people. In accordance with the peace treaties with Brazil (1872) and Argentina (1876), almost half of the territory was cut off from Paraguay. Brazilian invaders. troops were in Paraguay until 1876, which delayed the socio-political for a long time. and economic development of the country. Main the reasons for the defeat of Paraguay in P. century. were num. and tech. the superiority of the armies of the anti-Paraguayan coalition, which was seriously assisted by Great Britain.

I.I. Yanchuk.

Used materials of the Soviet military encyclopedia in 8 volumes, v. 6

Literature:

Alperovich M.S., Slezkin L.Yu. New history of Latin American countries. M., 1970, p. 184-191.

Read here:

Paraguay in the twentieth century (chronological table)

Several decades before the war, Paraguay was probably the most prosperous country in South America. In trade with Europe, he had a large amount of exports. The country was the main source of exotic wood, which was used to produce furniture and interiors for the best houses in Europe. Almost as important were livestock and agricultural products, especially tobacco made in the form of Paraguayan cigars, and low-grade cheap tea.
Historically, Paraguay was an inland country that did not have access to the sea, and did not attract the attention of the Spanish colonists as other areas. A small number of whites who moved to metropolitan Asuncion were assimilated over several generations by blacks and local Guarani Indians. Until independence, the country was almost completely controlled by the government of the Supreme Inca and the Jesuit Order, which brought Christianity to the Indians.
When Argentina and Uruguay liberated themselves from Spanish rule in 1810, Paraguay was briefly a province of Argentina. But in 1813 he declared sovereignty and the Republic of Paraguay was proclaimed without any resistance from Argentina /1/. The state authorities were formed as in the Roman Republic, and were headed by two consuls /2/. But soon one of them, José Francia, became the first of many dictators whose tyranny and despotism was established in the former Spanish colonies. Francia took the title “El Supreme” (supreme) /3/. For 28 years, during which Francia ruled, Paraguay was completely isolated from the rest of the world. On the one hand, Francia legalized the Roman Catholic Church as the state religion, but on the other hand, he confiscated for his treasury the church tithes usually sent to Rome, and at the same time did not heed any protests of the Pope. In addition, during his reign, many people were excommunicated from the church, mainly descendants of whites (even if purely nominal), and their property was coifi- fied, so that the Guarani Indians, who occupied a very modest position before Francia, became in fact the state elite.
There was black slavery in Paraguay, but only for children. As soon as a person turned 21, he was immediately released. If freed blacks married and remained in the country, their children, in turn, as soon as they were old enough to work, also became slaves. In those days, slaves were used mainly as servants or for work in agriculture, mainly in government facilities. Some were used for the construction of state buildings and institutions, paving streets and in other areas of the economy where manual labor was required. So it was only natural that most blacks tried to emigrate at the first opportunity. However, many of those who tried to return were severely punished by Francia or imprisoned.
After the death of Francia in 1840, a government (like a junta) organized a puppet Congress and established the post of president, who was re-elected every 10 years. The new president - Carlos Antonio Lopez - soon became like Francia /4/. Every 10 years, the puppet Congress re-elected Lopez for a new term. Lopez somewhat changed the policy pursued by Francia. At first, he restored relations with the Pope, who had enough problems with his power in Italy proper. Lopez agreed to the appointment of a bishop in the country, who, however, obeyed him more than the Pope /5/. But the president categorically refused to pay the tithes owed by Paraguay. Lopez established such diplomatic relations with all civilized countries that recognized Paraguay. But only France, Sardinia (later Italy) and some countries of South America constantly kept embassies or consulates in Asuncion during the reign of Lopez. The USA and England recognized the Lopez government as such, but often recalled their ambassadors and closed their embassies. At that time, communication with them could be carried out only through Buenos Aires. In 1859, the USA sent a strong fleet to the region in an attempt to exert pressure, especially after two incidents: first, an attack on an American warship in which a member of the ship's crew was killed, and second, after the confiscation of American property. - Rican citizens. Carlos (I will now use the name Carlos to reserve López's name for his successor) settled the first incident, but as for the second, there was no settlement /6/. Also in 1859, England almost brought matters to a war with Paraguay, but after diplomatic demarches in 1862, the disputes were settled.
Carlos also allowed and strongly encouraged white immigration, especially from the USA and a number of European countries such as France, Italy and Austria-Hungary. For the most part, it was these people who contributed to the transformation of Asuncion into a business center. But the government made a clear mistake: as soon as a Paraguayan citizen began to prosper, he was often punished or imprisoned, and his property was confiscated. A similar fate awaited many of those who retained their old citizenship.
Francia organized a large army to maintain the "Iron Curtain", and Carlos strengthened it even more to protect his kingdom. He also began building a navy and maritime trade. An arsenal and a weapons factory were built in Asuncion. Many Englishmen entered the country as engineers on steam ships and to control shipbuilding in the arsenal. Due to the fact that the country had no access to the sea, trade organized and encouraged by Carlos could only take place on steam and sailing ships exclusively on the Parana and Paraguay rivers, as well as their numerous tributaries.
Thus, we finally got to the main character of our story - Francisco Solano Lopez (we will call him simply Lopez in the future), whom some historians consider the adopted, and not the native son of Carlos. But one way or another, but Carlos considered Lopez to be his eldest son, who became his father's chief adviser and his confidant. So, Lopez was sent at the head of a representative office to Europe, with emergency powers, mainly for the purchase of weapons. True, the latter function was entirely performed by figureheads and all sorts of small fry, since Lopez himself had fun in European cities. He was especially fond of visiting Paris, where he developed close ties with a local courtesan called Mme Eliza Linch, a native of Ireland. At the end of the trip, she returned with Lopez to Paraguay as a favorite. The future president remained unmarried all his life, but Mme. Lmnsh was with him as his wife and from that time had a great influence on Lopez in all his affairs.
After the death of Carlos in 1862, López took over as president (and dictator) of Paraguay. He cherished more ambitious plans than Carlos. Lopez intended to make Asuncion the capital of a vast empire, including the entire La Plata basin, that is, territories that were supposed to be seized from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Such ambitions led to the war with his three neighbors. This war is often also called the War of the Triple Alliance (Triple Alliance) of the united nations against Paraguay.
Now a few words about the history and situation in the countries of the Triple Alliance.
Of these, the most important state was Brazil. She suffered the most casualties and losses in the fight against Lopez. Brazil was the most valuable and largest Portuguese colony. When Napoleon Bonaparte's army reached Lisbon in 1807, the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil. After the crushing of Napoleon, King Joao VI returned
to his homeland, leaving his son Pedro in Brazil as regent. In 1822, he declared Brazil independent and took the name of Emperor Don Pedro I.
The emperor of Brazil was the absolute dictator in his country until, in 1831, he was overthrown and abdicated in favor of his minor son, who, after a 10-year regency, took the name of Don Pedro II. During his reign, Brazil became democratic and the monarch constitutional, although the emperor exercised enormous powers during his entire term in office. The new monarch was also deposed in 1889 when Brazil became a republic, and since then it has sometimes been with a freely elected government, but more often in a general Latin American style, with a military dictatorship after another revolution. At that time, many Brazilians were completely white, having immigrated there from Portugal or other European countries. There were also a significant number of black slaves who had been used for a long time, and such a small stratum of Brazilian Indians, most of whom belonged to wild and practically unknown tribes in the interior of the country. There were also many mixed races. Brazil was also a prosperous country, mainly due to the export of coffee and cotton.
Since gaining independence from Spain, the political situation in both Argentina and Uruguay has been unstable. Geographically, Argentina was divided into two political camps - the coastal region of Buenos Aires
opposed the union of three provinces - Missiones, Entre Rios and Corrientes (the last border with the southern part of Paraguay). All these years, in both camps, there have been various dictators striving to become presidents of all of Argentina and hold on to power. Uruguay was not divided like Argentina, but even there the political factions and parties waged constant wars among themselves for dominance in Montevideo. Because of this incessant struggle, countries were not as prosperous as Brazil or Paraguay, and did not trade as extensively. However, any dictator with control over Buenos Aires or Montevideo had the necessary forces in the Rio de la Plata to cut off the trade routes of Paraguay and the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso with the outside world if necessary, thus creating a permanent embers for the outbreak of war in the region.
Initially, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay did not interfere in the internal affairs of Uruguay, forming an effective buffer zone so that Argentina and Brazil could not intervene in the conflict on either side. The two main political parties that existed in Uruguay had nothing to do with the systems adopted in, say, the United States or England, but there was something similar throughout Latin America. On one side were the forces known as the Blancos (whites or conservatives), opposed by the Colorados (reds or liberals). But none of these currents had anything in common either with what was later in tsarist Russia, or with what was going on in the Anglo-Saxon states.
At the end of 1845, Carlos declared war on Buenos Aires and its dictator Juan Rosas, supporting the dictator of the "outlying provinces" Jose Elitazia-Paz and occupied most of the province of Entre Rios. In all his actions, Carlos relied on the agreement concluded with Brazil. At the same time, Rosas actively helped the pro-Argentinean Uruguayan faction under Manuel Oribe, which was opposed by the pro-Brazilian faction that controlled Montevideo. Oribe blocked Paraguayan shipping on the Uruguay River, the fairway of which he controlled, while Rosas closed La Plata from Buenos Aires.
Lopez was sent with an army of 5,000 men to Corrientes, but the advance of the army from Buenos Aires forced him to withdraw his heavily weary troops into Paraguayan territory. Rosas did not attempt to invade Paraguay, and Carlos concluded an agreement with him, according to which the Argentines do not cross the borders of Paraguay, and he no longer interferes in Argentine affairs. The blockade was lifted, and peace was restored among the countries. Lopez returned to Asuncion, where he was hailed as a great hero. He became known as the “Minister of War”, one of his brothers, Benino, became the military governor of Asuncion, while another, the younger Venancio, led the Paraguayan fleet (although at that time no fleet existed yet).
Shortly thereafter, Lopez was sent to Europe on an important diplomatic mission.
Upon his return, Lopez energetically took up the construction of the Paraguayan armed forces, so that in the event of a declaration of war, he could put up to 100,000 people under arms from the reserve, the active army, and by this time already a small fleet, numbered 30,000 people. After active service, people were transferred to the reserve and became part of the reserve.
At the time of Carlos's death in 1862, when Lopez took office, political passions in neighboring countries were again seething. In 1852, Rosas was overthrown in Buenos Aires by General Justo Urquiza, the governor of Entre Rios, but a new leader appeared directly in Buenos Aires - Bartolome Mitre. So in 1859, López acted as an intermediary in the conclusion of peace, as a result of which Urquiza again became the governor of Entre Rios, and Miter became the governor of Buenos Aires with a firm decision to become the head of the country.
After taking office as president, Lopez launched a trial balloon in the direction of Rio de Janeiro about the possibility of marrying the daughter of the Brazilian emperor and thus establishing friendship between countries. In this case, probably, the clash between Brazil and Paraguay could not have been brought to war. However, Don Pedro II rebelled against the desired world, who could not come to terms with the idea that an Indian tyrant would become his son-in-law and the husband of his white daughter. Without waiting for an answer from Rio, Lopez started a real war.
Meanwhile, in 1861, Miter in Argentina defeated Urquiza, who resumed the war, and became the first real president of all of Argentina. The war in Uruguay also continued. In 1863 the Blancos under Berro occupied Montevideo and the Colorados under Flores were expelled. But with the help of Mitre, who provided support for Flores, the latter soon recaptured Uruguay. Berro ordered the ambassador in Asunción to test the waters to see if Lopez would oppose Flores. At this time, Lopez still did not want a war with Argentina, as he expected a large batch of weapons from Europe. Nevertheless, Burro was able to secure a vague agreement guaranteeing Uruguayan independence, with several secret appendices showing López's hatred of Mitra and Uruguayan support for Paraguayan trade. But what Lopez really wanted was to mediate in Uruguay, as he did in Argentina in 1859. But for some unknown reason, Lopez signed an agreement that caused outrage in Buenos Aires, and Don Pedro II. However, Berro agreed to sit down at the negotiating table only if Lopez acted as a mediator, but then Mitra began to object. Still unwilling to start a war, at least until the arrival of military equipment from Europe, Lopez in March 1864, as a precautionary measure, began mobilization.
Now Brazil has entered the game. Flores' detachments crossed the border and invaded the southernmost Brazilian province of Rio Grande de Sul, whose governor hastily left for Rio to demand from Don Pedro II that he put pressure on Montevideo and the Uruguayans would leave Brazilian territory. But Berro and official Montevideo were unable to do anything. The other mediator that Lopez wanted to play was not invited to the talks, so Lopez immediately sent an ultimatum to Rio, saying that Paraguay could not stand by while Brazil was eating Uruguay. And Brazil didn't even think of doing it! Lopez also pressed Montevideo, causing the Blancos to reluctantly replace Berro with Aguirre. Lopez thought that with this change, the new government would call on Paraguayan troops to help, but instead, on October 18, 1864, the Brazilian army occupied Uruguay. So, wanting peace, Lopez brought things to war with Brazil.
On November 12, 1864, the Paraguayan ship "Tacuari" near Asuncion captured as a prize the Brazilian merchant ship "Marques de Olinda", heading for the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso with a new governor, a cargo of gold and military equipment on board. “Tacuari” turned out to be very handy, as it was recently in Europe. It was one of only two ships in the Paraguayan navy converted for military chains, but until now the ship has been used exclusively as a merchant ship, transporting goods to and from Europe.
And, finally, before starting the description of combat operations, I would like to say a few more words. Although a number of sources estimate the population of Paraguay at 1,400,000 people, the figure of 525,000 seems more likely, which was still a lot by world population standards in 1864. The population of Uruguay was about half that. Argentina and Brazil, by the time the wars began, most likely had 1.8 and 2.5 million people, respectively. Paraguay placed 100,000 men under arms, and it appears that up to 300,000 men and women were involved in auxiliary services. Later, many women were also forced to take part in the fighting.
Brazil went to war with an army of about 30,000, bringing that figure to 90,000 by the end of the war. Greatly weakened by long civil wars, Argentina had a small army, which at the best of times numbered up to about 30,000 people. The troops of Uruguay amounted to a maximum of 3.000. In addition, approximately 10,000 Paraguayans took part in the war against López. These were unreliable elements expelled from the country, as well as deserters and prisoners of Paraguayan prisons released by the allies. All of them also contributed to the victory over Lopez.
And one more significant addition. Lopez built two strong fortresses: Yumaita on the Paraguay River and Paso de Patria on the Parana River. But their numerous weapons were for the most part obsolete, consisting of muzzle-loading in-line guns. Paraguay ordered large batches of the latest weapons in Europe, but before the start of the war, only a few of them were received /7/. While the cadre army was well equipped with modern guns, later recruits were often armed only with clubs, knives, or bows and arrows. Paraguay's fleet was small and also poorly armed. He counted 12-20 river screw or wheeled steamers in his composition. But, ultimately, being completed mainly with sailing ships, barges or chatos /8/ (without any mechanical drive) and often even a canoe could be considered a military one - their purpose was to moor to an enemy ship in order to crush it with their crew in during the boarding battle.
On the other hand, the Brazilian fleet was very numerous by the standards of Latin America and consisted of 15 propeller-driven warships, 4 wheeled, 13 sailing, as well as many transports and river canon rock. Its power was very conveniently strengthened by many ships such as casemate battleships and monitors, acquired in time abroad or built in Rio. Argentina for military purposes could only donate a few river steamers, used mainly as transports, and Uruguay had nothing at all.
It was obvious that the outcome of the war was determined by control over the rivers, of which there were a great many in this region. Land communications were at a very primitive level. In the combat area there was only one, and even then a very short railway running from Asuncion to the southeast, necessary to connect the capital of Paraguay with the river port.
Oddly enough, but at the beginning of the war, Ms. Lynch, who was at the zenith of her fame, more than Lopez, planned the entire military strategy. And at the very beginning, she made a mistake that later became fatal. Paraguayan units were not sent to Uruguay against the Brazilian army already operating there. Instead, she put all her efforts into capturing the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso, which, although fertile, was of little strategic importance and, if captured, at best, became only a kind of hostage against Brazil /9/.
So, in December 1864, a detachment of 3,000 people was sent on ships to capture Mato Grosso. He successfully completed his task. On the 27th or 28th, he captured Coimbra, whose garrison hastily retreated to Corumba. The Brazilians, united there, withdrew further north, where on January 6, 1865, they capitulated to the Paraguayans. The Brazilian river gunboat “Anhambai”, which was either surrendered or sunk, and two more ships, which Mr. Meister describes as destroyers, the first was called “Jauru”, and the second, like the gunboat captured nearby, were captured as trophies. also called “Anhambai” /10/. Later, another detachment of 2,500 men invaded Mato Grosso from land, so that all this captured and plundered province was lost to Brazil for a long time.
The war has now moved to other areas. At the beginning of 1865, the Brazilian fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Tamandare, began a demonstration at the mouth of La Plata, announcing the blockade of Paraguay. A separate detachment of ships under the command of Rear Admiral Francisco Manuel Barroso (Francisco Mahuel Barroso) began to slowly rise along the Parana River. López sent his best ships Tacuari, Ygurey, Paraguari, Marques de Olinda, and Ipora with 3,000 troops downriver, and on April 13, 1865, attacked the city of Corrientes in Argentina. In the captured port, the Paraguayans got two Argentine ships: “25 de Mauo” and “Gualeguay”.
On May 1, 1865, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay formally formed an alliance in a war against Paraguay and López. Paraguay announced the declaration of war on May 3, which, however, was a mere formality, since the war had been going on for several months. On May 25, the Allies launched offensive operations. With the support of Brazilian warships, Corrientes was returned. Of the 4,000 attackers, 3,600 were Argentines. The Paraguayan ships were previously withdrawn upstream, and the next day, waiting for reinforcements, the Paraguayans again returned Corrientes. The Brazilian ships went downstream and settled at the mouth of the Rihuelo (Riachuelo) River, which flowed into the Parana. In response to this, a Paraguayan detachment from Corrientes built several coastal batteries in the lower reaches of the Parana near Rihuelo.
Lopez then gave the order to attack the Brazilian fleet. In accordance with the conceived plan, it was first supposed to “feel” the Brazilians, for which the gunboat “Yberra”, towing 6 chatos, on which a 68-pound gun was installed, had to stick to the shore and, attacking the enemy, exhausted as much as possible his. The plan was to take up a starting position at night with the Brazilian ships anchored, and at dawn to attack the still dormant Brazilian detachment. However, there was a delay in the campaign, and the Paraguayan ships were able to reach Rihuelo only in the afternoon, when the Brazilians were preparing for Sunday Mass. The Paraguayan fleet now consisted of gunboats: Tacuari, Ygurey, Paraguari, Marques de Olinda, Ipora, Jejui, Salto Oriental and Pirabebe. The Paraguayans were commanded by Captain Pedro Ignacio Meza, who placed his famous Sixth Battalion of 500 people on the ships. As soon as the battle was opened, it was found that because of the insufficient number of such necessary boarding cats, the Paraguayans had already actually failed. This is most often suspected of treason that reigned in Lopez's army.
The Brazilian squadron consisted of the wheeled frigate "Amazonas" (flagship) and "Beregibe", "Belmonte", "Araguary", "Iguatemy", "Ipiranga", "Jequitinonha", "Mearini" and "Parnaiba". Naturally, there was a lot of confusion among the warring parties, for example, Wilson categorically states that during the entire battle, Admiral Barroso was hiding in his cabin, since it is very doubtful that he even tried to control the Brazilian ships / 11 / . Not having achieved surprise, as expected, Mesa was supposed to move up the river, but his squadron confused the cards for the Brazilians who remained at anchor. During the battle, the parties exchanged fire from about a mile away, as a result of which the Paraguayan "Jejui" received a hit in the boiler room and in the future did not take part in hostilities anymore. The Brazilian ships, having weighed anchor, began to chase, but the Paraguayans, as a refuge, hid in the narrowest part of the channel, under the protection of one of the coastal batteries. One bomb exploded and killed the pilot aboard the Jequitinonha, and the ship ran aground. When trying to help drag him into the water, the Ipiranga also ran aground.
The Paraguayans immediately attacked "Parnaiba" from three sides: "Tacuari", "Marques de Olinda" and "Salto Oriental". But Belmonte and Mearini approached, and the Paraguayans were driven back. Having suffered heavy losses in the crew, the crew of Parnaiba soon restored the combat readiness of their ship, somehow eliminating the damage. The Paraguayan coastal batteries seem to have fired fairly well, repeatedly hitting the Belmonte, which had to run ashore to avoid sinking. Whoever was in charge of the Amazonas did a good job. The frigate entered the battle, rammed the Paraguari, which then sank. He then sank the Jejui, which at first was out of action, and finally rammed the Marques de Olinda and Salto Oriental, which, having been damaged, began to drift down the river. The survivors of their crews were rescued the next day by the English ship "Doterel", which came south to Asuncion on a diplomatic mission.
The remaining Paraguayan ships: "Tacuari", "Ygurey", "Ipora" and "Pirabebe" retreated up the river. The horribly damaged Paraguari was salvaged, but the Marques de Olinda and Salto Oriental (along with the Jejui that sank before) were lost. The Brazilians managed to raise the "Ipiranga", but the "Jequitinonha" was completely destroyed and abandoned. . Several of his cannons were later taken down by the Paraguayans. Captain Mesa was mortally wounded and died soon after being taken to Yumaita, which was probably better for him, since Lopez was very angry when he learned of the defeat. He threatened Mesa with torture and certainly would not have left him alive. For his actions, according to Wilson, Admiral Barroso was awarded the Brazilian title of Baron Amazonas, but he was subsequently transferred to Rio. For South America, Rihuelo was a big battle. Both sides seem to have equal numbers of braves and cowards on that fateful day. However, while the Paraguayans continued to continuously reinforce their shores on the Paraná, the Brazilian ships, having suffered losses, retreated from the batteries, eventually finding refuge in Ricon do Sote.

PARAGUAN WAR 1864-1870 - war-on Bra-zi-lii, Uruguay and Ar-gen-ti-ny (the so-called Troy-st-ven-no-go union) against Pa-ra-gwai.

Her on-cha-lu before-she-st-in-va-lo the second of the Brazilian army in Uruguay with the goal of getting comp-pen-sa-tion for damage, like -would have happened to the Brazilian under-given in the 1850s during the civil war in the country. Pra-vi-tel-st-in Uruguay about-ra-ti-moose for help to the Paraguayan pre-si-den-tu F.S. Lo-pe-su.

Pa-ra-gwai, for-in-te-re-so-van-ny in the preservation of the state su-ve-re-ni-te-ta Uruguay, through ter-ri- then-ryu someone-ro-go he had access to the At-lan-ti-che-sko-mu ocean, declared his support for Uruguay. Brazilian army ok-ku-pi-ro-wa-la Urug-wai and you-well-di-la it with-so-di-thread-sya to an-ti-pa-ra-guai-koa- Li-tion, in someone-rui also enter-di-la Ar-gen-ti-na. Coa-li-tion plan-ni-ro-va-la overthrow the right-vi-tel-st-vo Lo-pe-sa and from-trade part of the ter-ri-to-rii of Pa-ra-gwai . In December 1864, Lo-pez, having learned about the next second of the coalition troops, moved the 10-thousand-thousandth (according to other data, 7, 5-thousand-thousand) army through the para-Ragvaian-Brazilian border-ni-tsu and occupied the southern regions of the Brazilian province of Ma-to-Gros-su, dezo-pa-siv in this way se -version of the country from the second. One-on-ko in re-zul-ta-te in the same way of the para-ragva es-cad-ra from the Brazilian fleet on the river Pa-ra-na in July 1865 Pa-ra- gwai eye-sal-sya from-re-zan-nym from the outside world.

In August 1865, the pa-ra-gwai-tsy ov-la-de-li by the Brazilian city of Urug-vaya-na, but by September the 8-thousand-thousand para-ragvaian army was-la ok-ru-same - on the 30-thousand-thousand ar-mi-her against-against-no-ka and after the fire-and-chon-ny battles ka-pi-tu-li-ro-va-la (in about 5 thousand people captured in a pa-lo). In May 1866, coalition troops (50 thousand people) invaded the territory of Pa-ra-gwai and the wasp-di-li fortress of Umai-ta, who-to-para -la in August 1868. From-stu-paw-shay para-ragvaian army in December 1868 in ter-pe-la in-ra-same on the Pi-ki-si-ri river, and in January 1869 howl-ska koa -li-tion for-hwa-ti-li hundred-li-tsu Pa-ra-gwai the city of Asun-s-on. Lo-dog led the os-tat-ki of his troops to the mountainous regions of Kor-dil-er and deployed par-ti-zan-skie actions. By the middle of 1869, he increased the number of the army to 13 thousand people, filling it with 12-15-year-olds-ni-mi under-ro-st-ka-mi and in- dei-tsa-mi, one-na-ko in av-gu-ste she would-la raz-thunder-le-na near Kuru-gu-ati. The par-ti-zan-sky pen-ri-od of the war continued until 1870. The human re-sur-sy of the country was-it-schi-lis. On March 1, 1870, the not-big-shoy detachment of Lo-pe-sa was on-stacked by the Brazilian how-ska-mi in the Ser-ro-Co-ra mountains and was beaten on the be-re-gu the rivers Aki-da-ba-na, Lo-dog died.

The main reason for the Pa-ra-guay was the numerical and technical superiority of the coalition army (what way -st-vo-va-la fi-nan-so-vaya and technical assistance We-li-ko-bri-ta-nii). In co-ot-vet-st-vie with the world-us-mi to-go-in-ra-mi with Bra-zi-li-she (1872) and Ar-gen-ti-noy (1876) from Pa-ra-guay would-la from-trade-well-ta almost 1/2 ter-ri-to-rii, Brazilian ok-ku-pathic how-ska on-ho-di-lis in the country before 1876. War-on-la had ka-ta-st-ro-ficical after-st-via for Pa-ra-gwai: more-lo-lo-lo-lo-wee-na-se-le-died and up to 90% of men at the age of over 16 years old (there were mainly women and children), the income part of the budget was the same -kra-ti-las up to 2 million gua-ra-ni (in 1857 - 13 million), the industry would destroy the same, a significant part of the land (most of the Paraguayan de- re-wen would-la po-ki-nu-ta) sku-p-le-na foreign-country-tsa-mi (mainly ar-gen-tin-tsa-mi) and others. The general in-te-ri army of an-ti-pa-ra-guai-skoy koa-li-tion with-hundred-vi-li is over 190 thousand people. In Bra-zi-lie and Ar-gen-ti-ne, as a result of the Paraguayan war, there arose huge state debts to foreign (mainly British) banks, which then-rye you-pla-che-us only in the middle of the 20th century.