From Corrientes to Passo de La Pátria

By late May and early June, 1865, Estigarribia's army captured some villages and small towns in Rio Grande. São Borja, a city of some importance, fell to his troops with little fight. It seemed that López' plan would be achieved with success again.

Nevertheless, things had changed since López'decision of invading Rio Grande.

On February 22, Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, fell to the combined forces of the Brazilian Army and Colorado forces under General Venâncio Flores. This fact alone should be enough to show the lack of foresight of López' plan. El Supremo, however, was enraptured by his objectives. He would not give up.

On June 11, the Brazilian Navy succeeded in engaging Paraguayan ships in the Battle of Riachuelo on  Paraná River. Estigarribia was now trapped between Brazilian troops stationed in  Rio Grande and the Paraná.

A retreat would be advisable. Nonetheless, the Paraguayans did not move back. Instead, they went on and captured Uruguaiana on August 5.

To make things worst, on August 17, the second column of the Paraguayan Army under Major Pedro Duarte (a force of 2,700 men) was defetead in the Battle of Yatay in Corrientes. The vanguard of the Allies was commanded by Uruguay's president Venancio Flores (4,500 Argentineans; 2,440 Uruguayans and 1,450 Brazilians). While the most part of Duarte's men escaped to Paraguay by crossing the river, many were captured. The Allies had 83 dead and 257 wounded.

By Mid-September, when he was almost encircled and supplies were quickly diminishing, Estigarribia surrendered to the Allies. A  5,200 strong military force (made-up of Paraguayans, Blancos and some Corrientes troops) ceased to exist. Dom Pedro II, the emperor himself, attended to the surrender of the Paraguayans. López best troops yielded for almost nothing. From this point the war became a desperate struggle for Paraguay's survival.

The Allies, notwithstanding, were not prepared to cross Paraná River into the Paraguayan soil at once. It took months before they tried to irrupt into Paraguay coming from Corrientes.

The major problem was the terrain around Corrientes and Passo de La Pátria (on the Paraguayan side of Paraná River). It was flooded. Besides, the Brazilian Navy, although powerful, was not suitable to back a landing from the Paraná waters. The vessels were projected for sea operations; their navigation was not free of problems on Paraná waters.

A postwar image of Admiral Barroso, commander of the Brazilian ships on Riachuello. Brazilian Navy Archives

There was another problem. Before the Allies stood the Fort of Itapirú, a stronghold artillery position, located at a strategic point of the riverbank on the Paraguayan side of the river. It had to be taken for a safe cross.

While sundry skirmishes between the Paraguayan and the Triple Alliance Army took place in Corrientes and the nearby area, between September, 1865 and March, 1866, the Allies Commanders under General Bartolomé Mitre, Argentina's president, were evaluating those problems and preparing a plan of waging war on the Paraguay soil.

Riachuelo by Victor Meirelles (National Fine-Arts Museum/ Brazil)

Only on March, 1866, after months of meetings and plannings, they decided to sent troops to disembark  northward of Itapirú in order to take it from the rear. Meanwhile ships would fire on the Paraguayan positions. After it had been taken, more troops would cross the river.

A large fleet was gathered on the Paraná waters nearby Corrientes. It consisted of a diversity of ships, four of which were ironclads.

On April 16, 1866 General Manuel Luís Osório stepped on Passo de La Pátria with 15.000 men. He immediately marched towards Itapirú. His troops found some opposition from the Paraguayan, but it was faint at most.

Meanwhile, Itapirú was under fire of the Allied Fleet. The Paraguayan managed to attack the ships by using everything they had at disposal (boats, captured steamships).

Taking advantage from the limited maneuver of the Allied vessels, they inflicted some damage to the ships and losses to the Allies; but they could not overcome the Allies superiority in equipment and number and soon they withdrew.

Along the river the Allies aimed at some strategic positions that would enable them to send fire on Itapirú. One of these points was a small bank just in the middle of the crossing and almost in front of the Paraguayan cannons. Lieutenant- Colonel Antonio Cabrita´s detachment of the Imperial Army headed to land on the bank. As soon as he reached the place he and his men found themselves under fire of the Paraguayan positions. They also had to bear assaults from the enemy that was trying to expel them from there. After a fierce and lasting fight, and thanks to the ships that came in his aid, Cabrita´s men held the position.

Both sides experienced great losses. Only in the fight for the bank the Allies suffered 57 dead, 102 wounded and 3 missing. The Paraguayans, according to a Brazilian source, had 600 casualties.

On April 18, Mitre's 60.000 army landed on Paraguay. They would leave the Paraguayan soil only one decade later.

The next day Itapirú was abandoned by Paraguayans forces.

To Estero Bellaco