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Xadrez BélicoWar as a Chess Game
Topic · 03 battles

Paraguayan War

Three moments of the Paraguayan War, from 1865 to 1868. At Riachuelo, on 11 June 1865, the Paraguayan plan was to board the Brazilian squadron in the dark, and the Paraguayans arrived with the sun high; Barroso turned the fight around, and Brazil lost a single ship, the corvette Jequitinhonha.

At Tuyutí, on 24 May 1866, López launched a surprise attack on the Allied camp among the swamps, but the signal went out hours late and the enemy was already under arms. About 6,000 Paraguayans died.

Humaitá, the fortress on a bend of the Paraguay River, held up the war for almost two years. It did not fall to assault, nor to the passage of the ironclads: it fell to hunger, besieged from upriver and from the Chaco.

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Battles on this topic

  • Black-and-white engraving: paddle and masted steamers exchanging fire on a wide river, one of them heeling over on the left, in front of a high bluff with palm trees and heavy smoke 18 Premieres Jan 21, 2027
    Paraguayan War, 1865

    Riachuelo

    11 June 1865 · The Paraná River off the mouth of the Riachuelo stream, about 15 km below the city of Corrientes, Corrientes Province, Argentina

    At the Battle of Riachuelo, Paraguay meant to board the fleet in the dark and arrived in daylight. How it became a duel, nearly lost, and what it closed.

    Episode 18Read the game →
  • Color plan of the battlefield with the Estero Bellaco in blue at the bottom, the Potrero Pires surrounded by brush on the left, the road to Humaitá in the center, the Paraguayan trenches at the top and arrows showing the attack columns 19 Premieres Jan 28, 2027
    Paraguayan War, 1866

    Tuyutí

    24 May 1866 · Tuyutí (Tuiuti), between the Estero Bellaco and the Estero Rojas, Ñeembucú Department, Paraguay, on the road from Paso de Patria to Humaitá

    At the Battle of Tuyutí in 1866, López attacked the Allied camp among the swamps by surprise. The signal came hours late; the enemy was under arms.

    Episode 19Read the game →
  • Dozens of wheeled cannon lined up on bare earth in front of a long shed with a clay-tile roof, with a church tower on the left 20 Premieres Feb 04, 2027
    Paraguayan War

    Humaitá

    22 September 1866 to 5 August 1868 · Humaitá, Ñeembucú Department, Paraguay, on a bend of the Paraguay River; and the Chaco, on the opposite bank

    The Fortress of Humaitá fell neither to assault nor to the ironclads' passage, but to hunger, cut off upriver and in the Chaco. Its fame vs. what it was.

    Episode 20Read the game →
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The battles grouped by war and by front, to read the whole campaign.