In November 1864, the Paraguay War officially broke out.
Paraguay's enemy is the Tripartite Alliance of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, with Brazil as the main force. Faced with an enemy whose economic strength and population far exceed Paraguay, Francisco Lopez decided to adopt a preemptive strategy and proactively launch an attack on Brazil.
A quick decision forced the three Brazilian countries to the negotiating table.
After the war officially broke out, Lopez Jr. first attacked north and entered the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso. This province has an area larger than that of Britain, France, and Germany, but has a population of only 90,000.
The defense was weak. Lopez's army was in uninhabited territory. Due to the difficult terrain, it took Brazilian reinforcements two years to approach this area.
, in the early war, Lopez caught the Brazilians off guard by using fast and slow tactics, but at this time he made a serious mistake. In May 1865, Lopez divided the small army into two
One part, he personally led his troops into Corrientes, and the other part, led by Colonel Istigalibi, fought along the Uruguay River into the Brazilian residential area.
Lopez originally estimated that these two attacks were on the disputed territories of the two countries. The Paraguayan army could take advantage of the separatist sentiments of the locals to fight against the central governments of Brazil and Argentina. However, Colonel Istigalibi's attack was unfavorable.
, local resistance to the Paraguayan army came one after another, causing the Paraguayan army to lose in a battle in June. The war ended with Colonel Isti Galibi being forced to surrender.
After the disastrous defeat of Colonel Isti Galibi, the war entered the second stage. Lopez had to change the war from offensive to defensive.
In October, Lopez began to retreat from Corrientes. In 1866, the troops of the Triple Alliance began to invade Paraguay along the Parana River. This time, the Triple Alliance used 16 of the most advanced steel gunboats at the time, plus more than 70
Wooden warships faced off against Paraguay’s wooden warships. In a lake at the confluence of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, the largest naval battle in the Americas ended with almost the entire Paraguayan army wiped out.
After the naval battle, Lopez led his troops to retreat to the Humaita fortress on the riverside, relying on the terrain to resist the coalition attack.
In May 1866, Lopez launched a series of counterattacks in Tuyuti, using 24,000 Paraguayan troops to attack 32,000 coalition troops. On the banks of the Paraná River, the death toll on both sides reached at least 18,000.
.Became the most brutal war on the South American continent.
The offensive and defensive battle for the Humeta Fortress failed. Lopez Jr. lost the only mobile unit in his hand. As a last resort, he transferred the remaining troops to the fortress to defend it.
The Fortress of Humeta is the east gate of Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. It guards the shipping center of the Parana River and has always been the defense focus of the Paraguayan army. Since Paraguay's independence, it has been repaired and reinforced by two generations of dictators such as Lopez Sr. and Lopez Jr.
This made the Humeita Fortress one of the most difficult to capture in the South American continent. With the addition of Lopez's remaining troops for defense, the entire fortress defense force reached 25,000 people. The tight, solid fortress system and sufficient troops in the fortress allowed the coalition forces to
I have suffered enough.
Starting from the siege of the Humeita Fortress in 1866, the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces continued to launch large-scale attacks on the fortress. However, apart from paying a large number of casualties, the losses to the enemy were minimal.
Nearly two years of offensive and defensive wars have not achieved the set goals. The large number of casualties and massive consumption of materials have made the governments of the three countries greatly dissatisfied.
In the past two years, the 100,000 coalition troops have lost more than 20,000 people due to combat, while the non-combat casualties caused by cholera, dysentery and other diseases have reached 50,000. A large number of veterans with combat experience have left the battlefield due to injuries and illnesses, and in order to continue fighting
, the Brazilian government has successively recruited 140,000 troops, part of which supplemented the attrition of troops on the front line, and most of which were assigned to the rear troops for logistical support and maintaining security in the occupied areas.
After years of fighting, hundreds of thousands of troops went on an expedition to Paraguay. The massive consumption gradually emptied the national strength of the three countries. Uruguay, a small and impoverished country, could not support the huge consumption at first. In February 1868, the Uruguayan troops surrounded the fortress of Humeta from the defense line.
Then the Argentine troops also expressed their intention to withdraw. One bad news after another gave the commander of the coalition forces, Field Marshal Mitchell of the Brazilian Empire, a headache. It was finally difficult to temporarily stabilize the Argentine troops who were about to give up. But then they
He received news that made him desperate.
In the headquarters set up in a tent, an officer from Rio de Janeiro, the capital of the Brazilian Empire, announced the order of the Congress with an expressionless face: Field Marshal Mitchell was ordered to attack the Hume Fortress in May 1866. As of March 11, 1868, he commanded a total of troops.
Launched 131 major and minor attacks, including the capture of 18 small fortresses. 3,000 people were killed in battle, 20,000 were injured, 51,000 were lost due to illness, and about 3,000 casualties were caused to the enemy.
It consumed 32,000 firearms and 107 artillery pieces...
A large list of detailed data on the army's losses continued to come out from the mouth of the ordering officer, and Mitchell's face became increasingly pale.
The troops suffered huge losses and the results were limited, but is this all the fault of Mitchell alone? Mitchell obviously doesn't think so. Mitchell can be a field marshal and lead hundreds of thousands of troops to conquer foreign countries. His previous achievements are naturally brilliant, but
The enemy he was dealing with this time was different. Ever since he led his troops to counterattack and failed, Lopez had been hiding in the Humeita Fortress and could not get out. No matter how hard Mitchell tried, he could not get rid of the turtle-shell-like Humeita Fortress.
No matter how many tricks you use, I will hide in the fortress and won't come out. Even the famous generals in ancient times can only do nothing.
But Mitchell, who had an army in his hands but had nowhere to use it, truly felt this sense of powerlessness.
"The war lasted for nearly two years. Field Marshal Mitchell mismanaged the command and stopped at the Humeita Fortress, resulting in a large number of casualties and delaying the war. Upon the proposal of the Imperial Congress and the approval of His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil Pedro II, the withdrawal was
Mitchell assumed the position of commander of the coalition forces, and General Garcia took over as commander of the coalition forces."
"No, you can't do this to me. Give me another month and I promise to capture the Humeita Fortress."
His command of the battle was unfavorable, and he was dismissed from his post and returned to China midway. Mitchell could not accept such a punishment. As a soldier, it was shameful to be defeated by the enemy, but being dismissed from his post and returned to China for investigation because he could not break the enemy's fortress was a shame that Mitchell could not accept.
He couldn't imagine what would happen after returning to China, those people pointing and laughing behind his back, "Look, this is our field marshal. He can't even attack a small fortress with a hundred thousand troops. Oh, I don't dare."
Imagine how he became marshal."
Thinking of this scene, Mitchell felt that it would be better to kill him.
"Marshal, this is the decision of His Majesty and the Parliament. If you have any dissatisfaction, you should go to Rio de Janeiro and explain it to Your Majesty and the Parliament in person."
The other party's words broke Mitchell's last hope. His face became paler and he murmured: "It's over."
He fell straight to the ground.
"marshal"
The officer beside him quickly helped Mitchell, but he passed out due to fatigue and today's stimulation.
"Marshal Mitchell is overworked. Let him take a good rest." The ordering officer finished speaking calmly, turned around and walked out.