The Paraguayan War 1864–70: The Triple Alliance at stake in La Plata (Campaign) (Paperback)

The Paraguayan War 1864–70: The Triple Alliance at stake in La Plata (Campaign) By Gabriele Esposito, Giuseppe Rava (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Gabriele Esposito, Giuseppe Rava (Illustrator)
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Description


This highly illustrated study examines, in detail, the brutal Paraguayan War of 1864--70, one of the largest and bloodiest conflicts in South American history.

The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was the largest and most important military conflict in the history of South America, after the Wars of Independence, and its only true “continental” war. It involved four countries and lasted for more than five years, during which Paraguay fought alone against a powerful alliance formed by Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. This conflict was remarkable in its huge scale and its terrible cost in lives, with the catastrophic human price paid by Paraguay amounting to more than 300,000 men, a loss of some 70 percent of the country's total population.

The war was a real revolution for the armies of South America, and the first truly modern conflict of the continent. When the war began in 1864, the armies were small, poorly trained, and badly equipped semi-professional forces. However, by the time the war ended, most of them had adopted percussion rifles employing the Minié system and new weapons like breech-loading rifles and Gatling machine guns were being tested for the first time on the continent.

This title covers the whole span of the war, from when the early days the conflict primarily involved small columns of a few thousand men seeking each other out in rugged and sparsely inhabited territory, through to the later Napoleonic-style positional battles fought at points of strategic importance. It also explores the unique challenges presented by the humid, subtropical climate, including the devastating impact of disease on the troops.

About the Author


GABRIELE ESPOSITO is a university professor of modern history and a freelance researcher and author of military history, specializing in uniformology. His interests range from ancient civilizations to modern post-colonial conflicts, and recently he has concentrated on 19th-century Italian, Sanish and Latin American wars. His books and essays have been published by Osprey, Pen & Sword, Winged Hussar and Libreria Editrice Goriziana, and he has also contributed articles to specialist journals such as Ancient Warfare Magazine, Medieval Warfare Magazine, History of War, Guerres et Histoire, and Focus Storia.

Giuseppe Rava was born in Faenza in 1963, and took an interest in all things military from an early age. Entirely self-taught, Giuseppe has established himself as a leading military history artist, and is inspired by the works of the great military artists, such as Detaille, Meissonier, Röchling, Lady Butler, Ottenfeld and Angus McBride. He lives and works in Italy.
Product Details
ISBN: 9781472834447
ISBN-10: 1472834445
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Publication Date: October 29th, 2019
Pages: 96
Series: Campaign