To the Bitter End: Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance (Contributions in Military Studies) PDF
Preview To the Bitter End: Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance (Contributions in Military Studies)
TO THE BITTER END Recent Titles in Contributions in Military Studies An Uncertain Trumpet: The Evolution of U.S. Army Infantry Doctrine, 1919-1941 Kenneth F inlay son Death Waits in the "Dark": The Senoi Praaq, Malaysia's Killer Elite Roy Davis Linville Jumper War Wings: The United States and Chinese Military Aviation, 1929-1949 Guangqiu Xu A Navy Second to None: The History of U.S. Naval Training in World War I Michael D. Besch Home by Christmas: The Illusion of Victory in 1944 Ronald Andidora Tides in the Affairs of Men: The Social History of Elizabethan Seamen, 1580-1603 Cheryl A. Fury Battles of the Thirty Years War: From White Mountain to Nordlingen, 1618-1635 William P. Guthrie A Grateful Heart: The History of a World War I Field Hospital Michael E. Shay Forged in War: The Continental Congress and the Origin of Military Supply and Acquisition Policy Lucille F. Horgan Tricolor over the Sahara: The Desert Battles of the Free French, 1940-1942 Edward L. Bimberg Flenry Lloyd and the Military Enlightenment of Eighteenth-Century Europe Patrick J. Speelman United States Military Assistance: An Empirical Perspective William H. Mott IV TO THE BITTER END Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance Chris Leuchars Contributions in Military Studies, Number 223 Greenwood Press Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Leuchars, Chris, 1956- To the bitter end: Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance / Chris Leuchars. p. cm. — (Contributions in military studies, ISSN 0883-6884; no. 223) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-32365-8 (alk. paper) 1. Paraguayan War, 1865-1870. I. Title. II. Series. F2687.L545 2002 989.2'05—dc21 2002069640 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2002 by Chris Leuchars All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002069640 ISBN: 0-313-32365-8 ISSN: 0883-6884 First published in 2002 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. w w w. greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 Contents maps vn 1 The Country at the Heart of the Continent 1 2 The Man Who Would Be King 10 3 The Other Players in the Drama 15 4 Political Relations in the Plate Region 22 5 The Invasion of Brazil: September to December 1864 31 6 The Triple Alliance 38 7 The Military Balance 47 8 Conscripts and Volunteers: May to June 1865 54 9 The Invasion of Argentina: June 1865 60 10 The Rio Grande Campaign: June to September 1865 71 11 The March to War: September to December 1865 85 vi Contents 12 The Invasion of Paraguay: January to April 1866 90 13 Conflict in the Esteros: April to May 1866 109 14 The Battle of Tuyuty: May 1866 117 15 The Funnel of Death: July 1866 129 16 The Attack on Curupaity: September 1866 140 17 The Long Pause: September 1866 to August 1867 155 18 The Fall of Humaita: September 1867 to August 1868 169 19 The December Campaign: December 1868 191 20 Endgame: January 1869 to March 1870 213 Conclusion: Securing the Spoils 233 Notes 239 Selected Bibliography 245 Index 249 Maps South America 4 River Plate Region, 1860s 5 Invasion of Mato Grosso, December 1864 35 Paraguayan invasions, May-December 1865 63 Battle of Riachuelo, 11 June 1865 67 Battle of Yatay, 17 August 1865 79 Paso de la Patria, December 1865-April 1866 97 Battle of Estero Bellaco, 2 May 1866 115 Battle of Tuyuty, 24 May 1866 125 Battle of Sauce, 16-18 July 1866 135 Battle of Curupaity, 22 September 1866 151 Operations around Humaita, 1866-1868 171 Piquisiri Campaign, December 1868 193 Battle of Ytororo, 6 December 1868 197 Battle of Avahy, 11 December 1868 202 Battle of Ita Ivate, 21 -27 December 1868 206 Cordilleras Campaign, January 1869-March 1870 217 This page intentionally left blank 1 The Country at the Heart of the Continent The Italian explorer, Sebastian Cabot, was perhaps the first outsider to set eyes on that land of swamp and jungle, subsequently the scene of so much bloodshed, that lay between two of the great rivers that fed into the Plate. He was also the first to come across the region's fearsome inhabitants and was probably fortu nate to escape the encounter with the loss of only half of his companions. So brief was his stay that he discovered little more than the name of the river down which he had fled, and which the Indians referred to as "the river that flows to the sea" or, in their tongue, "Paraguay." His experience had been humiliating, but it was portentous too, for three centuries later this land of Paraguay was equally mysterious to those who did not reside there, and its people still proud and suspicious. Indeed, its geographical position, tucked away in the heart of the continent, difficult of access and stifled by its oversized neighbors, together with its bizarre and exploited history, had created a people whose development and character were notably different from those around them. By the first half of the nineteenth century, this history seemed to be relent lessly downwardly mobile, for since the Spanish conquest the country had as sumed a number of different, progressively less distinguished identities. From the 1530s it had been part of a huge province, designated "Provincia Gigante de Los Indios," comprising its present borders, together with those of Uruguay, eastern Bolivia, and most of Argentina. But in 1542 it was brought under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of Peru and divided into two governorships: that of the River Plate, with its headquarters in Buenos Aires, and Guaira, based in Asuncion.
Description:The list of books you might like
