Armies of the War of the Triple Alliance 1864–70: Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay & Argentina

Osprey Men at Arms #499

by Gabriele Esposito, Giuseppe Rava (Illustrator)

Between 1864 and 1870 four nations fought in an extraordinarily bloody war - the largest in the history of South America. The powerhouses Argentina and Brazil alongside tiny Uruguay on one side, and the small but increasingly-powerful Paraguay on the other, fought a conflict that was almost contemporary with the American Civil War and Franco-Prussian War, and rivalled their very high casualty rates. The aftermath of the war saw defeated Paraguay's territory diminished, its total population reduced by a staggering 70 per cent, and its economy ruined for generations, while victorious Brazil was established as the predominant military power on the continent. Despite the extraordinary ferocity of the fighting and the significant historical consequences thereafter, little has been published in English on a war that shaped the political map of Latin America to this day.
This title book in some crucial gaps by telling the story of the men who fought on both sides, using contemporary paintings, prints, and rare early photographs combined with detailed research and engaging analysis.

Genres: History, Military History, 19th Century

48 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2015

About the author

The author of numerous books on armies and uniforms, Gabriele Esposito is a contract professor of Medieval, Modern and Contemporary History at the "Luigi Vanvitelli" University of Campania.

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was the largest war ever fought in South America and involved 4 countries, it is quite hard to find information in English about it. Poor Paraguay had a disastrous series of dictators after their independence from Spain, but the most lethal was the megalomaniacal Francisco Solano Lopez who ruled from 1862 until his death in 1870. During his early years in Europe, F.S.L. became obsessed with Napoleon and decided that he would become the Napoleon of the La Plata region.

He precipitated the war by invading lands adjacent to Paraguay which were parts of Argentina and Brazil. Although in the beginning he had one of the best trained armed forces in the area, his tiny, landlocked country of about 450,000 would soon be destroyed by its much larger, stronger and richer neighbors. During this war Paraguay’s population was reduced by about 70%. Yup. There were 160,000 Paraguayans at the most, after this bloodbath.

Like lots of WWI, this was fought in horrible physical conditions, swamps and jungles with huge losses on all sides to diseases like cholera. And, like all war, was chockablock full of atrocity: burning down of full hospitals, hanging of civilians, slaughter and plunder.

Amazingly, although:
“He had certainly assured that most of (Paraguay’s) people had died before him; nevertheless, today (F. S.) Lopez is remembered as a national hero.”
hmmm.

[Igor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concise militar analysis of this useless conflict among South America´s countries.

There were no winners and a huge looser, Paraguay.

Many people in Brazil criticize how the Brazilian army crashed the Paraguayan population. Ok. That´s war. It is terrible and brutal. Anywhere, anytime. When the Paraguayan army invaded Brazil they did awful acts ass well.

The point is that the 'President', Francisco Solano Lopez, had the chance to stop the carnage in the early moments after being very clear that it was impossible to win the war. Instead, he killed many of his own people who opposed him by trying to end a useless conflit.

There is still movements trying to make him a hero. Do you believe that? Instead of learning from bad past decisions, some are trying to make it right. Unbelievable.

Last thing: these Osprey collections are wonderful.

[Manolo González · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nicely done research (and illustrations) about this kind of forgotten conflict.

[Mike O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, but small, book on one of the least known wars of South America. A really brutal bloodletting that Paraguay has still barely recovered from. The idea that a moderate sized power would dare take on two huge neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, would only work if you were Fredrick the Great. "President" Lopez was no Fredrick the Great.
Well worth reading with some interesting maps and possibilities for gaming.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been picking up information about the War of the Triple Alliance in South America for several years now. This book about the war is typical of other titles in the Osprey series. It is and overview of a relatively little known war and within this context has detailed information about the subject in a relatively few pages. Like other Osprey Books, it is well illustrated. Although no parallels were drawn in the book, I found drawing a comparison between Paraguay and Francisco Solano Lopez in 1864 and Iraq and Saddam Hussein during the Gulf wars.

I recommend this book for its photographs and illustrations and its information on a little known subject. If you are a fan of the Osprey Series, you will not be disappointed.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit it . . . I had never heard of the Paraguay War until a couple of weeks ago, while researching why Paraguay named a sizable chunk of its territory "Presidente Hayes" (guess there's no Spanish equivalent of "Rutherford"). Feeling slightly guilty about my utter and complete ignorance of a major event in the history of the Hemisphere, I sought out histories of the conflict . . . and found this extended itemized list of battles fought, battalions dispatched, and weapons used. If you love military history, I bet this book is fascinating. If you're more interested in the political and social history that led to the near-complete obliteration of the male population of Paraguay, well . . . it's not incredibly satisfying, but it at least whets your appetite for more research.

[Ned Leffingwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a military history book published by Osrpey, a company who caters to wargamers. This book describes a conflict that I knew nothing about. The book is short and gives a compact account of the War of the Triple Alliance. Key battles are described and in true Osprey style there are great color illustrations of soldiers from each army. I picked this book up with an eye on recreating the conflict with miniatures. This could be done by using American Civil War troops, French Franco-Prussian War troops, and various other miniatures. I would recommend using 15mm figures since specific details are not as important and painting using the color schemes in this book.

[Shane Kiely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good account of the events of the War of the Triple Alliance (also called the Paraguayan War) that reveals the historical events that led to its outbreak, how the war progressed & its conclusion/aftermath. The uniform details are obviously dry but also provide some context to the war as a whole as the course of the conflict did impact how the soldiers were equipped. Solid introduction to a conflict that’s essentially invisible in English language writing.

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, containing a decent summation of one of the most important wars ever fought in South America, since it ended Paraguay's rise and made Argentina a true regional power. The discussion of the armies is quite good, including weapons and tactics. Overall, a lot is packed into a slim volume.

[Jereme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent but broad overview of the the War of the Triple Alliance. Esposito does a good job using the limited space to explain as much as possible, but the breadth of the topic means that a lot of detail is left out.

Some of the best plates of any MAA book. One of the few that stands up as genuine art.

[Chris Quartly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like every book ever written on the War of the Triple Alliance is prohibitively expensively, so I punted on this very short book. It's definitely better than nothing and packed with information for its size, though I still want to know more!

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, concise summary of a generally unknown war, with great illustrations and diagrams.

[Augusto Gobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A arte é incrível! O único problema é a falta de documentos sobre isso, mas da para entender graças ao cenário!