The Colonel Luis Irrazábal Barboza was born in Encarnación, in
Itapúa Department
Itapúa () is a department in the southern region of Paraguay. The capital is the city of Encarnación. It is divided into 30 districts, more than any other district in the country.
History
This department was created after the breakup of the ...
,
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, on August 8, 1891, and died on March 16, 1958, in
Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
, capital of Paraguay.
He went to elementary school in Encarnación and to high school in Asunción.
Beginnings
On April 1, 1913, at the age of 22, he joined the National Army and from the first moment he remained true to his duty, forces from which Irrazábal was part of.
Career
In the peace that followed after the revolution, Irrazábal was sent to continue his studies in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. He came back to the country with a gold medal, the first one given to a foreign officer.
Later, he was sent to the garrison in Paraguarí, where he dedicated to the creation of the cavalry regiment No. 1 “Valois Rivarola”. On February 10, 1926, he was designated to command it.
He was also, the creator of the equitation school and he worried for the intellectual and technical formation of his subordinates.
He also created the Polo club in
Paraguarí
Paraguarí (; gn, Paraguari) is a city, ''distrito'' and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.Chaco War, “one of this people who was born to be leader”.
“The command obeyed with convincement of the superiority of moral or intellect, searching with it the conscientious subordination, is the kind of power that is rarely found”. Much has been said about the Colonel Luis Irrazábal. It is known of his severity and his efforts to be true to his calling of service to his country, as well as his characteristic as a true friend and comrade of the men at his command. It is proverbial the effort he put into caring for his subordinates, being them officers or members of the troop, to make the bearable the hard conditions in the front of the battle.
Those characteristics were respected and valued by his subalterns.
Difficult times
In 1928, his unit was sent to cover the area of Bahía Negra when the tension with
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
was about to unleash war between the two countries.
Coronel Irrazábal was sent to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in a mission to prosecute the studies of Estado Mayor when the things were calmer, thanks to diplomatic help until July 31, 1932, the day that Bolivian forces took over Fortín Boquerón, which became a ''
casus belli
A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...
'' for Paraguay.
On September, 1932, back in Asuncion, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the forces that operated in the area of Fortín Nanawa; two months later, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the DI 5, a unit that was organizing when the Bolivians decided to attack this sector.
The first battle of Nanawa
On January 20, 1933, started the battle of Nanawa, during the first days of the frontal offensive on the Paraguayan stronghold the Bolivian army suffered more than 2.000 deaths, against the 248 Paraguayan deaths
The ways of access to Nanawa were filled with bodies but General Hans Kundt, who was in charge of the Bolivian forces ordered to continue the assault.
Surrounded by the enemy, without possibility to receive help by land, the Colonel Luis Irrazábal ordered the construction of a landing runway, which made possible the audacious maneuvers of the Paraguayan pilots, which risked to land and take off in the middle of the fire, to transport ammunitions and weaponry to the besieged soldiers, who counted with only 5 cartridges for each one. The order of Irrazábal was clear: “Once we ran out of ammunitions we will engage in one on one combat, but we will not retreat from Fortín Nanawa”.
He was awarded “Cruz del Chaco” for his successful conduct of the battle.
Second Nanawa
The commander of the Bolivian forces, the German Hans Kundt, wanted to revenge the failure of January, 1933 and prepared another attack, on July 4, he ordered the biggest frontal attack of the war. The Bolivians caved a tunnel and put on an extreme a powerful bomb, near the focal point of the Paraguayan resistance, the bomb exploded at 9:00 and give signal to the massive attack: 7.000 Bolivians, with air force included and 30 artillery pieces, tanks and flamethrowers. But by doing this, he sent his men in the line of defense of the Paraguayan and the result was a massacre. The lack of coordination of the Bolivians made them victims of their own artillery.
The Commanding Officer Irrazábal, appointed Commander of the 3rd Branch of the Army, had to face an army much bigger in number and technically superior, resisting 3 days of combat. The following days were bloody and difficult. The 3rd Branch of the Army confronted an unstoppable offensive of the Bolivians.
Emiliano R. Fernández
Emiliano Fernández Rivarola (August 8, 1894 – September 15, 1949) was a Paraguayan poet, musician, and soldier. He is the author of more than 2,000 poems and participated in the Chaco War as an infantryman.
Childhood and youth
Emiliano Fern ...
compose music in which he sang to Commanders Irrazábal and Brizuela, to honor them for the good job they did during the battle in Fortín Nanawa, and all the difficult combats they had to engage in the Chaco.
Dismissal
The triumphs of the Paraguayan army resulted in the promotion of Estigarribia to the position of Commander in Chief of the Army. Irrazábal came to resent this. He said to Estigarribia: “You keep going, being promoted, General, we will continue, in our positions in combat, so you could keep winning medals”. This phrase cost him his job & position in the army.
After the war he was appointed Military Attaché in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, later in
Santiago de Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
.
Luis Irrazábal, hero of Nanawa, died in Asunción, on March 16, 1958.
First Battle of Nanawa
The First Battle of Nanawa was fought from 20 to 26 January 1933 between the Bolivian and Paraguayan armies during the Chaco War. Nanawa (Enxet for "carob tree forest"), established by the Paraguayans in 1928, was considered the strongest Paragu ...
*
Second Battle of Nanawa
The Second Battle of Nanawa was a battle fought from the 4 to 9 July 1933, between the Bolivian and Paraguayan armies during the Chaco War. It was one of the bloodiest battles fought in South America in the 20th century, coming to be labeled as ...