Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 100: Uruguay War
In November 1864, the Paraguayan War officially broke out.
Paraguay's enemies are the alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, with Brazil as the main force. Faced with an enemy whose economic strength and population far exceed Paraguay's, Francisco Lopez decided to adopt a preemptive strategy and actively launch an attack on Brazil, attempting to quickly resolve the war and force the three countries of Brazil to the negotiating table.

After the war officially broke out, Lopez Jr. first attacked northwards and entered the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso. This province is larger than the area of ​​Britain, France and Germany, but has a population of only 9 and weak defense. Lopez's army was unstoppable. Due to the difficult terrain, it took the Brazilian reinforcements two years to approach this area.

In the early stages of the war, Lopez used the tactic of using fast to defeat slow to catch the Brazilians off guard. However, he made a serious mistake. In May 1865, Lopez divided his small force into two parts. He personally led his troops into Corrientes, and the other part, led by Colonel Istigalibi, marched into the Brazilian residential area along the Uruguay River.

Lopez originally thought that the two routes of attack would target the disputed territories of the two countries, and the Paraguayan army could use the separatist sentiment of the locals to fight against the central governments of Brazil and Argentina. However, Colonel Istigalibi's first route was unsuccessful, and the locals' resistance to the Paraguayan army continued, causing the Paraguayan army to lose a major battle in June, and the war ended with Colonel Istigalibi being forced to surrender.

After the disastrous defeat of Colonel Istigalibi, the war entered its second phase, and Lopez had to switch the war from offense to defense.

In October, Lopez began to retreat from Corrientes. In 10, the army of the Triple Alliance began to invade Paraguay along the Parana River. This time, the Triple Alliance used 1866 of the most advanced steel gunboats at the time, plus more than 16 wooden warships to fight against Paraguayan wooden warships. In a lake at the confluence of the Parana River and the Uruguay River, this largest naval battle in the Americas ended with the Paraguayan side almost completely defeated.

After the naval battle, Lopez led his troops to retreat to the Humaita fortress on the riverside and used the terrain to resist the attack of the coalition forces.

In May 1866, Lopez launched a series of counterattacks in Tuyuti, with 5 Paraguayan troops attacking 2.4 coalition troops. On the banks of the Paraná River, at least 3.2 people were killed on both sides, making it the most brutal war in South America.

The attack and defense of Humeta Fortress failed, and Lopez Jr. lost his only mobile force. He had no choice but to transfer the remaining troops to the fortress to defend it.
Humeta Fortress is the eastern gate of Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. It controls the shipping center of the Paraná River and has always been the focus of defense of the Paraguayan troops. Since Paraguay's independence, it has been repaired and reinforced by two generations of dictators, Lopez Sr. and Lopez Jr., making Humeta Fortress one of the most difficult fortresses to capture in South America. In addition, with the addition of Lopez's remaining troops to the defense, the entire fortress defense force reached 25,000 people. The tight and solid fortress system and sufficient troops in the fortress made the coalition forces suffer a lot.

Since the siege of Humeta Fortress in 1866, the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms have continuously launched large-scale attacks on the fortress, but apart from suffering heavy casualties, the damage caused to the enemy was minimal.

The offensive and defensive wars that lasted for nearly two years failed to achieve the intended objectives. The large number of casualties and massive consumption of materials have made the three governments very dissatisfied.

Over the past two years, the 14-strong coalition force suffered more than combat casualties, while non-combat casualties due to diseases such as cholera and dysentery reached . A large number of veterans with rich combat experience left the battlefield due to injuries and illness. In order to continue fighting, the Brazilian government successively recruited troops, some of whom were used to supplement the troops lost on the front line, and most of them were assigned to the rear to provide logistical support and maintain security in the occupied areas.

Years of fighting and the expedition of hundreds of thousands of troops to Paraguay gradually drained the national strength of the three countries. Uruguay, a small and poor country, was the first to be unable to withstand the huge consumption. In February 1868, the Uruguayan troops withdrew from the defense line that besieged the Humeita Fortress, and then the Argentine troops also expressed their intention to withdraw. One bad news after another gave the commander of the Allied Forces, Brazilian Imperial Army Marshal Mitchell, a headache. He finally managed to temporarily stabilize the Argentine troops who were about to give up, but then he received a piece of news that made him despair.

In the tent-set command post, an officer from Rio de Janeiro, the capital of the Brazilian Empire, announced the order of the parliament with an expressionless face: Field Marshal Mitchell was ordered to attack Fort Hume in May 1866. As of March 5, 1868, he commanded troops to launch a total of 11 attacks, including the capture of small fortresses, with people killed in battle, injured, and lost due to illness, causing about casualties to the enemy.

32,000 guns and 107 cannons were consumed...

A long list of detailed data on military losses continued to come out from the mouth of the messenger officer, and Mitchell's face became paler and paler.

The troops suffered huge losses and the results were limited, but was all Mitchell's fault? Mitchell obviously didn't think so. Mitchell was able to become an army marshal and lead 100,000 troops to foreign countries. His previous achievements were naturally brilliant, but the enemy he faced this time was different. Since the failure of his counterattack, Lopez Jr. has been hiding in the Hume Tower Fortress and has not come out. No matter how hard Mitchell tried, he could not do anything about the tortoise-shell Hume Tower Fortress. No matter how many tricks you use, I will hide in the fortress and not come out. Even the famous generals of ancient times can only sigh in vain.

Mitchell, who had a large army but nowhere to use it, truly felt this feeling of powerlessness.

"The war lasted for nearly two years. Field Marshal Mitchell's command was inappropriate and he stopped at the Humeta Fortress, causing a large number of casualties and delaying the progress of the war. The Imperial Parliament proposed and His Majesty Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, approved the removal of Mitchell from his position as commander of the coalition forces. General Garcia took over as commander of the coalition forces."

"No, you can't do this to me. Give me another month and I promise to capture the Hume Tower Fortress."

Mitchell could not accept such a punishment. As a soldier, it was not shameful to be defeated by the enemy, but it was a shame that he could not accept being dismissed and sent back to the country for investigation because he could not break through the enemy's fortress.

He couldn't imagine what would happen after returning home, the people pointing and laughing behind his back, "Look, this is our field marshal, with 100,000 soldiers he can't even capture a small fortress, oh, I can't imagine how he became a marshal."

Thinking of this scene, Mitchell felt that it would be better to kill him.

"Marshal, this is the decision of His Majesty and the Parliament. If you have any dissatisfaction, you should go to Rio de Janeiro and explain it to His Majesty and the Parliament in person."

The other party's words shattered Mitchell's last hope. His face turned paler and he murmured, "It's over."

He fell straight to the ground.

"marshal"

The officers around him quickly reached out to support Mitchell, but he passed out due to fatigue and the stimulation of today.

"Marshal Mitchell is overworked, so let him have a good rest." The messenger officer said lightly, turned and walked out.

(End of this chapter)