The Paraguayan War: A Captivating Guide to a South American War Called the War of the Triple Alliance between Paraguay and the Allied Countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay by History Captivating

Author:History, Captivating
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

A painting of the Brazilian ships ramming into the Paraguayan fleet during the Battle of Riachuelo.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Batalha_Naval_do_Riachuelo_Pintura.jpg

Paraguay lost four ships, and estimates of Paraguayan casualties range up to 1,500. Brazil lost one ship, the Jequitinhonha, and several hundred of its crew, with some losses on other ships in the fleet. The victory gave the Allies complete control of the La Plata and Paraguay river systems almost to the Paraguayan border for the rest of the war. Although the number of lives lost was quite small compared to some of the gory land battles, Riachuelo gave the Allies control of all of the rivers up to the range of artillery from the Humaitá complex, locking Paraguay off from any possible imports of weapons or supplies. The crippled Paraguayan Navy never attacked the Brazilians other than in a few opportunistic raids.

Meza was wounded during the battle and died of his wounds afterward. His disobedience meant that López’s strategy of boarding the Brazilian ships was not carried out. The real problem was the attack’s delay, which had been caused by a mechanical problem on a ship, which did not participate in the battle. A surprise boarding attack in the very early morning might have succeeded. López was exceedingly angry at the results and remarked that it was a good thing Meza died of a bullet because he would have died from four (the reference being a firing squad). Disobeying orders was sometimes fatal for Paraguayan commanders. López did not permit any officer to attend Meza’s funeral.[58]

The Brazilian warships, with minor help from a few Argentine ships, cut Paraguay off from the outside world, but the defenses at Humaitá and the difficulty of river navigation prevented the Brazilian ships from running upriver and landing troops to attack the Paraguayans from the rear.

The Paraguayans evacuated the bit of Argentine territory they occupied when they took the town of Corrientes. Thereafter, Corrientes served as a base for the Allied navy and as a supply and hospital center for the armies. It became kind of a military boom town, and purveyors in sizable numbers came to the city, selling everything from alcohol to sex.

The Allies had complete control of the river downstream from the Paraguayan forts at Humaitá. However, the Brazilian ships were primarily designed for the open ocean, not for fighting in rivers. Several of the Brazilian warships drew too much water to navigate very far upstream in the relatively shallow rivers. The rivers unpredictably changed the main channels, and sandbars appeared and disappeared, something only a river pilot could have been aware of. As the war continued, Brazil added several ironclads to its fleet, including several designed for river fighting. Many of the battles that followed took place near the river, and cannon fire from the ships played a factor in them.

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