Paraguayan War

Paraguayan War
From top, left to right: the Battle of Riachuelo (1865), the Battle of Tuyutí (1866), the Battle of Curupayty (1866), the Battle of Avay (1868), the Battle of Lomas Valentinas (1868), the Battle of Acosta Ñu (1869), the Palacio de los López during the occupation of Asunción (1869), and Paraguayan war prisoners (c. 1870)
Date 13 November 1864[1] – 1 March 1870 (5 years, 3 months, 2 weeks and 2 days) Location South America; Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina Result Allied victory Treaty of the Triple Alliance ended Loizaga–Cotegipe Treaty between Brazil and Paraguay Machaín-Irigoyen Treaty between Argentina and Paraguay Free navigation in the Platine region Allied occupation of Paraguay Territorial changes Brazil definitively gained the disputed territories north of the Apa River, now part of Mato Grosso do Sul state. Argentina definitively gained the disputed Misiones Province and all the disputed lands south of the Pilcomayo River now constituting Formosa Province. Paraguay permanently lost its claims to lands amounting to almost 40% of its prewar claimed territories.
Belligerents
Empire of Brazil  Argentina  Uruguay	Paraguay
Commanders and leaders
Emperor Pedro II Duke of Caxias Count of Eu Marquess of Tamandaré Viscount of Inhaúma Marquess of Herval Count of Porto Alegre Polidoro Jordão Bartolomé Mitre Domingo F. Sarmiento Juan Gelly y Obes Wenceslao Paunero Venancio Flores Enrique Castro	F. Solano López † Domingo F. Sánchez † José E. Díaz † Ignacio Meza † Elizardo Aquino † Wenceslao Robles  Vicente Barrios  José M. Bruguez  B. Caballero (POW) F. I. Resquín (POW) A. Estigarribia (POW) Pedro Duarte (POW) George Thompson
Strength
~139,000[2] ~30,000[3] 5,583[3] Total: ~175,000	300,000[4]
Casualties and losses
50,000 soldiers 50,000 civilians 18,000 soldiers 13,000 civilians 10,000 Total: unknown, between 50,000–200,000[5]	Unknown, likely 175,000–300,000 soldiers and civilians
Total: 150,000–500,000 dead ...further details

The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadliest and bloodiest inter-state war in Latin American history.^[6] Paraguay sustained large casualties, but the approximate numbers are disputed. Paraguay was forced to cede disputed territory to Argentina and Brazil. The war began in late 1864, as a result of a conflict between Paraguay and Brazil caused by the Uruguayan War. Argentina and Uruguay entered the war against Paraguay in 1865, and it then became known as the "War of the Triple Alliance."

After Paraguay was defeated in conventional warfare, it conducted a drawn-out guerrilla resistance, a strategy that resulted in the further destruction of the Paraguayan military and the civilian population. Much of the civilian population died due to battle, hunger, and disease. The guerrilla war lasted for 14 months until president Francisco Solano López was killed in action by Brazilian forces in the Battle of Cerro Corá on 1 March 1870. Argentine and Brazilian troops occupied Paraguay until 1876.