The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1053 - 785: When Two Kingdoms Clash, the Powers Benefit_2

Chapter 1053: Chapter 785: When Two Kingdoms Clash, the Powers Benefit_2

Knowing they were not at an advantage in terms of manpower, and following the advice of the Larasian officer corps, José Félix Estigarribia decided to launch a preemptive counteroffensive against the Bolivian army in the Northern Chaco region, in order to establish dominance in the war.

On August 17, 1931, José Félix Estigarribia led over 25,000 Paraguayan soldiers in a full-scale counteroffensive along a front line that stretched for more than 70 kilometers against the Bolivian army.

José Félix Estigarribia’s plan was to take the entire Chaco region by capitalizing on the consecutive defeats of the Bolivian army before their reinforcements could arrive, thereby securing the war advantage for Paraguay.

What neither side had anticipated was that this offensive would last even longer than the war had up to that point, indirectly causing both nations to deplete their vital forces entirely.

The comprehensive counteroffensive from Paraguay began on August 17 and wasn’t over until the end of October.

The counteroffensive, which lasted over two months, was an exceptionally grand affair for two such small countries.

Beyond the initial deployment of 25,000 soldiers, Paraguay sent three divisions, or approximately 34,000 soldiers, to the front lines over a month after the outbreak of the war.

On the Bolivian side, the front line was initially manned by three divisions of troops; with reinforcements, they had assembled six divisions, totaling over 90,000 men.

After the conclusion of this full-scale counteroffensive, Paraguay had two divisions almost entirely wiped out, with the total death toll exceeding 12,000 and more than 20,000 injured.

Bolivia didn’t fare much better. They still ended in defeat, with two divisions completely annihilated, over 36,000 dead, nearly 8,000 captured, and an uncountable number of injuries.

After this war, the viable military forces of both parties had dropped to rock bottom. The Paraguayan military could muster fewer than 50,000 men from three divisions.

Bolivia was in no better shape, with less than the forces of two divisions at the front line and over 15,000 prisoners in the hands of Paraguay.

It’s worth mentioning thaad lost the trust of all Bolivians.

Replacing the Frenchman in commanding the Bolivian troops was the rising star of the army, Enrique Peñaranda.

Speaking of Enrique Peñaranda, he was certainly a renowned figure in Bolivia at the time.

Born a native of Bolivia, Enrique Peñaranda began his military career as a youth and was admitted to the Bolivian Military University because of his abilities.

By the age of 18, Peñaranda had already graduated from the military academy and was awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant.

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Afterward, Peñaranda won the favor of several military upper echelons and was smoothly promoted to the rank of Colonel.

After the outbreak of the Chaco War, Peñaranda initially led his Fourth Division to capture several Paraguayan military fortresses.

But once command was taken over by the French, Peñaranda lost the opportunity to utilize his capabilities.

Only after thnment, and was promoted to Brigadier General, advancing exceptionally to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivian Army.

And in history, Enrique Peñaranda was definitely a prominent name in Bolivia.

Although he started his career in the military, Enrique Peñaranda had a smooth and successful career and even served as President of Bolivia.

When Enrique Peñaranda took over the command of the Bolivian military, he immediately revised the strategies set by the previous French commander and ordered the Bolivian forces on the front line to transition to a full defense.

This was indeed a sensible choice. Although Bolivia had a larger population than Paraguay, they were behind in terms of the number of troops they could mobilize at the moment.

The losses suffered by Bolivia in the war far exceeded those of Paraguay, which to some extent bridged the population gap between the two countries.

Continuing the offensive would not be beneficial for the Bolivian troops, especially given the large number of wounded in the rear who urgently needed medical supplies for treatment.

For Bolivia, it was not until these wounded soldiers were able to regain their combat strength after simple recuperation that the Bolivian military could regroup and launch a counteroffensive.

Before this time, the most important task at the front line was to hold on and delay as long as possible, to create an opportunity for the domestic medical care of the injured.

Although the Bolparts.

After all, Paraguay was at a disadvantage in both territory and population, so ending the war sooner was key to whether Paraguay could win the war or not.

Luckily, Paraguay enjoyed the support of the two great powers, the United Kingdom and Australasia. Aside from manpower, which they had to muster themselves, these powers could handle everything including funds and weapons and equipment.

Of course, these were not free. The longer the war dragged on for Paraguay, the more they owed to the United Kingdom and Australasia.

When the value of the loan far exceeded the value of the oil in the Northern Chaco region, that would be the time when the Paraguayan government collapsed.

It’s worth mentioning that, during these more than two months, Britain and France had almost settled their respective troubles.

The French, through conceding certain interests, managed to stabilize the Lone Star Republic for the time being.

However, Mexico’s coveting of the Lone Star Republic was growing stronger. Either strengthen their control over the ard against any possible action from Mexico.

Compared to the French with just diplomatic troubles, the British faced an internal military rebellion in India.

Still, as the French had anticipated, this military rebellion was not fatal to the British rule in India.

In just over half a month, the Indian army had already quelled the military rebellion led by Prabhati.

Even the Indian government arrested many members, including Prabhati and Gandhi, of the Indian National Congress, thereby also dealing a blow to the non-violent actions that had been troubling the British.

Although the Indian government bellowed threats to execute these criminals who stirred up the armed rebellion, most countries understood that Gandhi was almost certainly safe.

After all, as long as Gandhi was alive, India wouldn’t face too many problems.

If the Indian government indeed executed Gandhi, they might then be confronted with armed rebellions throughout India.

As expected, after detaining Gandhi for over half a month, the Indian government announced the sentences for the various members of the National Congress.

Although most mshment of only two years in prison.

Moreover, the prison where Gandhi was incarcerated was one of the better ones in India, especially used for detaining the British.

This indirectly reflected the British stance as well, as they understood Gandhi’s importance to India.

Until they were absolutely sure they could control India, there was no doubt that Gandhi was safe.

In Australasia, the movements of Britain and France over the past few months, including Bolivia’s change of their military commander, had all been reported to Arthur’s desk.

Arthurand France, especially the French who were unwilling to see war at this time.

If it were the France of a bygone, powerful era, faced with provocation from a country like Mexico, most of the French Army would probably be clamoring for war.

But now, just the fact that the French only made threats was enough to prove that they did not want to see a war, even if the war was against a not-so-strong Mexican Republic.