The Battle of Boquerón was fought on 16 July 1866 and the Battle of Sauce on 18 July 1866, between an allied force of

Uruguayans Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

, Brazilians, and

Argentines Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

on one side and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

on the other in the

Paraguayan War 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 wa ...

. The Spanish-born Uruguayan officer León de Pallejas (1816–1866) and the Paraguayan officer Elizardo Aquino were killed in the battle.Thompson, George – La Guerra del Paraguay, Tomo II pp 154 – Colección Andador, Editorial Cántaro – Buenos Aires, Argentina (1970)

Background

Following the First Battle of Tuyutí after the Allied forces invaded Paraguay, president

Francisco Solano López Francisco Solano López Carrillo (24 July 1827 or 1826 – 1 March 1870) was a Paraguay, Paraguayan statesman, Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870, of which he serve ...

tried enticing the Allies into attacking his fortifications at Curupayty and Curuzú along the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (''Ysyry Paraguái'' in Guarani language, Guarani, ''Rio Paraguai'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese, ''Río Paraguay'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bol ...

. By June 1866, López had 20,000 soldiers along the front.Hooker, T.D., 2008, The Paraguayan War, Nottingham: Foundry Books,

Battle of Yataytí Corá

On 11 July, 2,500 Paraguayans under the command of general José E. Díaz, attacked the positions outside the main Argentine camp perimeter. The attack was stopped by dusk due to a grass fire set by the

Congreve rocket The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon Mysorean rockets, the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against ...

s, but soon resumed. By 2100, the fighting ended after the Paraguayans suffered 400 casualties and 30 wounded men captured. The Argentines lost 30 men killed, 177 wounded and 51 missing

Battle of Boquerón

López had dug two trenches during the night of 13 July, from which he planned on having snipers and artillery fire into the Brazilian left flank. Brazilian general Guilherme de Sousa led 3,000 men from the 4th Brazilian Division in an attack on the southern trench at 0500 on 16 July, supported by three Brazilian cavalry regiments. The Paraguayans were led by colonel Elizardo Aquino who was mortally wounded after 16 hours of fighting and four counter-attacks. The Paraguayans suffered 2,000 casualties in the loss of the southern trench, while the Brazilians had 282 men killed, 1,579 wounded and 38 missing, and the Argentines lost 3 killed and 52 wounded

Battle of Sauce

The Brazilians attacked again on 18 July, the flanking movement by general José Luís Mena Barreto and a frontal assault by general Vitorino José Carneiro Monteiro. General

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

had general Sousa replace Monteiro when he was wounded. The allies lost colonels Palleja, Aguero, and Martínez. The Brazilians had 630 killed, 2,938 wounded, and 54 missing, the Argentines had 201 killed, 421 wounded, the Uruguayans had 250 casualties, while the Paraguayans had 2,500 casualties.

Aftermath

The Battle of Curuzú was soon to follow. File:Muerte de León de Palleja.jpg, Uruguayan soldiers at the funeral of colonel León de Pallejas, killed in action at the Battle of Boquerón File:Guerre du Paraguay. - Bataille de Piriz (16 et 18 Juillet), charge de la 7ª. brigade brésilienne, colonel Paranhos; enlêvement des positions des paraguayens.jpg, Charge of the 7th Brazilian Brigade, colonel Paranhos; wrongful removal of Paraguayan positions File:ATAQUE de la 3ª DIVISION del 2º CUERPO de EJERCITO á las órdenes del Coronel D. CESÁREO DOMINGUEZ à la TRINCHERA PARAGUAYA del BOQUERON DE PIRIS (Batalle del "Sauce" de los Paraguayos).jpg, Attack of the 3rd Division of the 2nd Army Corps of Argentina, under the command of colonel Don Cesáreo Dominguez, on the Paraguayan trench of ''Boquerón de Piris'' (Battle of "''Sauce''" for the Paraguayans) – Picture of F. Fortuny File:BatalladeBoquerondelsauce.jpg, "The Battle of Boquerón, episode of the standard-bearer Dantas" by Modesto González

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Boqueron (1866) Boquerón Boquerón Boquerón Boquerón Boquerón Boquerón July 1866 History of Ñeembucú Department