Carandaitý offensive
| Carandaitý offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Chaco War | |||||||
 Map showing the Paraguayan 2nd Corps' movement during the offensive. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Bolivia |
 Paraguay | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Enrique Peñaranda Bernardino Bilbao Rioja José Leonardo Lanza |
José Félix Estigarribia Rafael Franco | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 9000 men[1] | 15000 men[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| At least 1000 captured[2] | Unknown | ||||||
The Carandaitý offensive was a military operation of the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, where the Paraguayan 2nd Corps pushed through an inhospitable zone in the Chaco to capture Bolivian Fort 27 de Noviembre, foiling a Bolivian plan to push to the Paraguay River; they then turned to the west, towards Carandaitý, a fortified position barring the way towards the Andes and the Bolivian oil wells. Despite not being able to capture Carandaitý, the Paraguayans took large amounts of land and supplies during the offensive; this land would be fought over by the opposing armies over the next months.
Background
[edit]In August 1934, Paraguayan intelligence detected a new Bolivian corps being formed on the back lines, something which would give them greater strategic flexibility, with many threatening possibilities. In order to limit these, Paraguayan command ordered Fort 27 de Noviembre to be captured, as it was one of the Bolivian positions closest to the Paraguay River, vital to the Paraguayan war effort. Capturing it would also isolate Fort Ingavi, further to the west.[3]
Offensive
[edit]Leaving Fort Garrapatal on 13 August 1934, the Paraguayan 2nd Corps, tasked with the offensive, encircled Fort Picuíba by surprise on 15 August, taking prisoner almost 1,000 men[2] and important supplies at the cost of 28 casualties.[4] Afterwards, they marched to and captured El Cruce, at which point their column divided into two, one of which marched towards Yrendagüé and the other towards 27 de Noviembre. A Paraguayan regiment, mounted on trucks, took 27 de Noviembre by surprise on 17 August,[5] while the 6th Division took Yrendagüé. The speed of the advance, which had covered 120 km in only 5 days, had caught Bolivian command unaware. Taking advantage of this, a new objective was given to the 2nd Corps: Carandaitý,[6] the gateway to the Parapetí River, which delimitated Paraguay's claim on the Chaco.[7]
Algodonal
[edit]This new advance already started on 17 August 1934. Mounted on trucks, at great speed, the 6th Division advanced 160 km over 13 days, through a sandy desert and then thick brush, leaving behind their artillery and also the retreating enemy. One of its regiments, the 14th Infantry Regiment "Cerro Corá", having covered 100 km in 3 days, arrived at El Cruce de Huirapitindí, 45 km from the Parapetí River. On August 22, the Battle of Algodonal was fought, where the 6th Division encircled and took Fort Algodonal by surprise, forcing its 1,016 defenders to surrender or retreat.[8]
Carandaitý and aftermath
[edit]Though the Paraguayan advance managed to get to 5 km from Carandaitý, they did not manage to take it, as its garrison had been reinforced.[4] The Bolivians had finally amassed a strong force to detain them, and they lacked supplies to continue pushing.[6] Water was being sent from Garrapatal, 250 km away at that point.[4] The supply situation on the 2nd Corps' front would only be partly solved in late October, when Paraguayan engineers managed to drill wells in Yrendagüé.[9]
Only a few months afterwards, the Bolivians started a massive offensive to retake the land captured during the Carandaitý operation, putting Colonel David Toro's newly formed Cavalry Corps to the task.[10]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- 1 2 Zook 1960, p. 195.
- 1 2 Estigarribia 1969, p. 166.
- ↑ Estigarribia 1969, p. 160; Zook 1960, p. 195.
- 1 2 3 Pedraja 2006, p. 372.
- ↑ Rolón 1961, p. 334.
- 1 2 Estigarribia 1969, p. 167.
- ↑ Farcau 1996, p. 185.
- ↑ Rolón 1961, p. 337.
- ↑ Zook 1960, p. 205.
- ↑ Pedraja 2006, p. 373; Zook 1960, p. 203.
Sources
[edit]- Estigarribia, José (1969). The epic of the Chaco: Marshal Estigarribia's memoirs of the Chaco War, 1932-1935. University of Texas Press.
- Farcau, Bruce (1996). The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932–1935. Greenwood Publishing Group.
- Pedraja, René (2006). Wars of Latin America, 1899-1941. McFarland and Company.
- Rolón, Raimundo (1961). La Guerra del Chaco: Campaña de 1934 (in Spanish). Vol. I.
- Zook, David (1960). The conduct of the Chaco War. Bookman Associates.
