Battle of Caguijuru

Battle of Caguijuru
Part of the Paraguayan War
Date August 18, 1869 Location Caguijuru, Paraguay Result Brazilian victory
Belligerents
Paraguay	Empire of Brazil
Commanders and leaders
Pedro Hermosa	Vitorino José Carneiro Monteiro, Baron of São Borja Carlos Resin Filho
Strength
1,400 men	Unknown
Casualties and losses
260 killed 530 prisoners 12 guns	13 dead 153 wounded [1]

The Battle of Caguijuru was a brief engagement between Brazilian and Paraguayan forces in August 18, 1869, during the Paraguayan War's Campaign of the Hills.

Background and engagement

After the heavy fighting at Acosta Ñu two days earlier, the chase by the allied forces for Paraguayan president Francisco Solano López continued. ^[2]

On August 18th 1869, a column under general Vitorino Monteiro reached a trail named Caguijuru, ^[3] near Caraguatay which had been the site of the Battle of Acosta Ñu. ^[4] In the trail, a trenchline was dug and 1,200 Paraguayan soldiers were positioned in it under colonel Pedro Hermosa; ^[1] earlier, these troops had killed some Brazilian soldiers in the region and strung up their bodies from trees. The Brazilian 1st Infantry Division under general Carlos Resin Filho attacked and secured the trail, inflicting 790 casualties on the Paraguayan force, capturing 12 guns and a standard. After the battle, Vitorino ordered Hermosa and other of the leading Paraguayan officers be slain, angered over the Brazilian troops killed before the battle. ^[5]

References

1. Hooker 2008, p. 104.
2. Doratioto 2002, p. 437-438.
3. Donato 1996, p. 228.
4. Centurión 1901, p. 91.
5. Doratioto 2002, p. 438; Centurión 1901, pp. 92–93.

Sources

• Centurión, Juan C. (1901). Memorias del coronel Juan Crisóstomo Centurión o sea reminiscencias históricas sobre la Guerra del Paraguay. Vol. 4. Imprenta de Obras de J. A. Berra.
• Donato, Hernâni (1996). Dicionário das batalhas brasileiras (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). São Paulo: IBRASA. ISBN   978-65-5921-286-6.
• Doratioto, Francisco (2002). Maldita Guerra: Nova história da Guerra do Paraguai (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). São Paulo: Companhia das Letras. ISBN   978-65-5921-286-6.
• Hooker, Terry D. (2008). The Paraguayan War. Nottingham: Foundry Books. ISBN   978-1901543155.