Wild North America 1846

Chapter 485 Difficult Peace

The situation of the Paraguay War is very bad. This war that broke out in South America could have been completely avoided. It all stemmed from the unrealistic ambition and recklessness of Paraguayan President Lopez, who first provoked the war.

As the saying goes, "people are addicted to food", it is perfect for Lopez.

As the president of a country, the people of Paraguay also suffered bad luck and were involuntarily involved in this unprecedented and cruel South American war.

Objectively speaking
Paraguay was the chief culprit who provoked the South American war, and was also the first invader to attack Brazil and Argentina. On December 1864, 12, Paraguay declared war on Brazil and sent troops to the Mato Grosso region, thus instigating the war.

Because Argentina refused the Paraguayan army to send troops to Uruguay through Argentine territory, Paraguay declared war on Argentina on March 1865, 3, and then sent troops to the Argentine province of Corrientes, brazenly invading Argentina.

Replay the process
Can you know how rampant, reckless, and arrogant Paraguayan President Lopez was at the beginning?
See what other people do in Prussia?

In order to avoid the possibility of France intervening in the Prussian-Austro-Prussian War and the possibility of fighting on two fronts,

After defeating Austria in a quick battle, Prussia gave up the huge temptation of marching into Vienna, gave up the temptation of seizing more territory from the Austrian Empire, and quickly signed a war contract at a relatively small price acceptable to the Austrian Emperor Joseph Franz. Is the most sensible approach.

Perhaps, compared to the European teacher Prussia, Paraguay lacks an iron-blooded prime minister, Bismarck, who can dissuade President Lopez from calming down when he is hot-headed.

gossip
In May 1865, Lopez personally led his troops into Corrientes. At first, the Paraguayan army drove straight in, and the local Argentine garrison was defeated.

Another army, led by Colonel Istigaribi, marched aggressively along the Uruguay River into the Brazilian residential area.

Lopez's optimistic estimate;

The above-mentioned areas are disputed territories, and the Paraguayan army can take advantage of the separatist sentiment of the local people to mobilize civilian forces against the central governments of Brazil and Argentina.

The so-called: where the king's teacher arrives, the flag of righteousness points, the common people eat pots of pulp to welcome the king's teacher.

All of this is President Lopez's subjective imagination, intentionally or unintentionally ignoring his own role as an invader.

In essence, the resistance of the locals to the Paraguayan army came one after another, and the resistance was very resolute.Argentine militias attacked convoys, attacked small groups of patrolling soldiers, and burned Paraguayan food and grass.

In the face of constant harassment, the Paraguayan army struggled to cope.As a result, the Paraguayan army lost in a brutal battle in June. After the defeat, Colonel Istigaribi was forced to surrender with the remnants.

After the disastrous defeat of Colonel Istigaribi, the Paraguayan army led by Lopez was unable to support it alone. In October 1865, the Paraguayan army began to retreat from Corrientes.

And this means the end of Paraguay's dominant offensive in the early stage of the war. The Brazilian Empire, Argentina and Uruguay switched from defense to offense.

In April 1866, the troops of the Triple Alliance counterattacked and entered Paraguay along the Parana River, and camped in Tuyuti on the Parana River and the Paraguay River, which meant that the South American war entered the second stage.

this stage
The Triple Alliance began to besiege Paraguay with superior forces, and the war entered a more tragic and bloody stage, and the battlefield was mainly located in Paraguayan territory.The war resulted in the destruction of a large number of villages and towns, and the civilian population suffered greatly.

In order to eliminate the threat of the Paraguayan fleet, the Triple Alliance used 16 of the most advanced steel gunboats, plus more than 70 wooden warships to deal with the Paraguayan fleet.

The two sides fought fiercely in a lake at the confluence of the Parana River and the Uruguay River. The Paraguayan fleet only had two 1500-ton iron-clad frigates imported from the Datang Empire. Facing an enemy that was several times their size, the fierce battle lasted for two days and one night. This is the largest battle in South America. The naval battle ended with the annihilation of the Paraguayan fleet.

after the naval battle
The annihilation of the Paraguayan fleet made the situation worse, because Brazil and Argentina, after taking control of the Paraná River, cut off the supply of food and weapons to the interior.

President Lopez led his troops to retreat to the Umaita Fortress by the river, relying on the terrain to resist the attack of the coalition forces.

In May 1866, Lopez launched a series of counterattacks in the Tuyuti area, using 5 Paraguayan troops to attack the 2.4-strong Triple Allied Forces.

On the banks of the Paraná River, at least 18000 people were killed in battle on both sides, and the real number of casualties may be doubled. The battlefield was littered with corpses, and blood flowed like a river of hell. This became the most tragic battle in the history of the South American continent.

Both sides of the war invested a large number of troops in the Tuyuti area and fought desperately. On May 5, the Allied forces severely damaged the Paraguayan army and won the first major battle on land.

The Battle of Tuyuti was a turning point in the Paraguay War. However, due to the desperate and tenacious resistance of the Paraguayan army, the unity of the whole country, and the timely intervention of the instructors from the Datang Empire, they finally withstood the counterattack of the Allied forces. The battle lines stabilized in the area.

Then three months, until mid-August.

The two sides of the war repeatedly saw each other in the Tuyuti area, and large and small battles broke out every day, and the Allied forces failed to move forward.

Lopez matured after suffering repeated beatings. He once asked the Allies for peace for the survival of Paraguay's country and nation, but was flatly rejected.

The Brazilian Emperor Pedro II gritted his teeth and hated; "Brave imperial soldiers, go and kill all those Paraguayan bastards, and don't keep a single one."

Ten days later, at Kurupeti on the banks of the Paraguay River, the Allied forces who initiated the attack were surrounded and suffered a major defeat in the war.

Battle of Kurupeti

The casualties admitted by the Allied forces amounted to 9000, but in fact the casualties were several times that. This failure was an unprecedented blow to the Allied forces.

Just at this time

The Tang Empire sent a note to the four South American countries on both sides of the war, planning to host an international mediation conference in Buenos Aires to find a truce acceptable to all parties for this war that affects the situation in South America.

The meeting was planned to be held on November 11th. After hearing the news, the United Kingdom immediately stated that it would participate in international mediation, and brought in France, the Netherlands, and Spain. The Tang Empire also brought in Prussia, Italy, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America. A nine-nation mediation mission was formed.

This is the first time that the diplomacy of the Tang Empire has played the role of the convener of international mediation, and it is also a symbolic event that exerts a more important influence on the international stage, so it is attached great importance from top to bottom.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Luo Fengxian personally led the team to Panama by train, and then took a boat across the Caribbean Sea along the Atlantic coastline all the way south, and arrived in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, at the end of October.

After arriving, they kept in close contact with relevant parties, listened to their demands and truce conditions, and started intensive mediation work.

At this stage
Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay's three-nation alliance showed more cooperation. Although they hated the Tang Empire's international mediation in their hearts, they had no choice but to hold their noses and give in because of the hegemony and mighty power of the Tang Empire.

The proposed truce conditions are also the lion's mouth, there are three main ones;
Article 1 requires Paraguay to cede 2/3 of its total area. The northern provinces belong to Brazil, the eastern provinces belong to Uruguay, and the southern provinces belong to Argentina, including the valley area where Paraguay is rich in yerba mate.

Article 2 requires a huge amount of war compensation, totaling up to 3600 million Tang Yuan, which is equivalent to the total fiscal revenue of Paraguay for 26 years, and it will be mortgaged by customs tax until the war compensation is emptied.

Article 3 requires the garrison of troops in Paraguay, requires Paraguay not to retain the army, opens up the domestic industry, commerce and agriculture, and gives the victorious countries super-national treatment and a lot of conditions.

from the bottom of my heart

The Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms were unwilling to participate in the Laoshizi international mediation, but due to the power of the Tang Empire, they had to submit.

You must know that if you don't listen to the call on this one-third of an acre of land in America, the Datang Empire will use excuses to go crazy at any time.

However, Britain's meddling in this international conference has added a lot of courage to the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms, and it feels like it can do it again, and it seems that it can break the wrist with the Datang Empire.

The nine countries participating in the mediation of the Buenos Aires peace conference made a lot of momentum, but the positions of the two sides are far apart, and the progress of the peace negotiation process is very difficult.

Three rounds of talks broke down, and the end of 1866 did not see any hope of a peace agreement.

This includes both the warring parties' own reasons, as well as the British's instigation of troubles inside, which made the peace meeting a lot of thunder and rain, and no actual results could be produced for a long time.

There is a proverb in Europe: where the British walk, the fish in the fish pond will fight.

Luo Fengxian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Tang Empire, had seen the ability of the British to stir up shit. He had originally exerted pressure in private, but Uruguay and Argentina have let go of their mouths one after another, and are willing to flexibly adjust the negotiation asking price.

The Brazilian Empire no longer insisted stubbornly, but after the British representatives went around, they overturned the original promises one after another, which made people vomit blood in anger.

Under the pull of all parties, the Buenos Aires peace talks went through five rounds of bumps, and the time came to the end of January 1867, and there was still no possibility of reaching a final agreement.

In desperation, he could only declare an exception to the peace talks.

The Tang Empire's first appearance in the field of world diplomacy ended in regrettable fruitlessness.

Paraguay should be the most injured by the failure of the peace talks. However, Paraguayan President Lopez is completely unaware of this. On the one hand, he continues to mobilize the male population of the country to actively prepare for the war.On the other hand, it publicly condemned the lack of sincerity of the three-nation coalition forces and tried to wipe out the country of Paraguay with bloody means. The heroic Paraguayan people will fight to the end.

He intentionally or unintentionally ignored the right choice to be a dog for the Tang Empire. The victory in the battle of Kurupeti made President Lopez feel that he was doing well again.

If you have it once, there will be a second time. Who wants to be a dog if you can be a human?
(End of this chapter)