 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(February 2024) |
| Mato Grosso campaign | |||||||
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| Part of the Paraguayan War | |||||||
 Paraguayan fortification | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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| Strength | |||||||
| 7,898 men [1] : 25–26 | 3,000 men [1] : 69 | ||||||
The Mato Grosso campaign was an early Paraguayan offensive in the Paraguayan War. Paraguay invaded the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso (now Mato Grosso do Sul).
Paraguay took the initiative during the first phase of the war: invading Mato Grosso in the north on 14 December 1864, [1] : 25 Rio Grande do Sul in the south in early 1865, and the Argentine province of Corrientes.[ citation needed ]
Two separate Paraguayan columns invaded Mato Grosso simultaneously. An expedition of 3,248 troops, commanded by Colonel Vicente Barrios, was transported by a naval squadron under the command of Frigate Captain Pedro Ignacio Meza, up the Paraguay River to the town of Concepción. [1] : 25 They attacked the Novo de Coimbra fort on 27 December. [1] : 26 The Brazilian garrison of 154 men resisted for three days, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hermenegildo Portocarrero (later Baron of Forte Coimbra). When their munitions were exhausted, the defenders abandoned the fort and withdrew up the river towards Corumbá on board the gunboat Anhambaí. [1] : 26
After occupying the fort, the Paraguayans advanced north, taking the city of Corumbá in January 1865. [1] : 26 Barrios then sent a detachment to attack the military frontier post of Dourados. This detachment, led by Major Martín Urbieta, encountered tough resistance on 29 December 1864 from Lieutenant Antônio João Ribeiro and his 16 men, who were all eventually killed. The Paraguayans continued to Nioaque and Miranda, defeating the troops of Colonel José Dias da Silva. Coxim was taken in April 1865. The second Paraguayan column, formed from some of the 4,650 men led by Colonel Francisco Isidoro Resquín at Concepcion, penetrated into Mato Grosso with 1,500 troops. [1] : 26
Despite these victories, the Paraguayan forces did not continue to Cuiabá, the capital of the province, where Augusto Leverger had fortified the camp of Melgaço to protect it (he would later be granted the title of Baron of Melgaço for this). Their main objective was the capture of the gold and diamond mines, disrupting the flow into Brazil until 1869. [1] : 27
Brazil sent an expedition to fight the invaders in Mato Grosso. A column of 2,780 men led by Colonel Manuel Pedro Drago left the town of Uberaba in Minas Gerais in April 1865, and crossed the Apa River into Paraguay in April 1867. In January 1867, Colonel Carlos de Morais Camisão had assumed command of the column after the deaths of Drago and Galvão. The column numbered 1,907 men by April. [1] : 69
President Solano López sent the 21st Cavalry Regiment to Concepción to reinforce the cavalry under the command of Martin Urbieta. Despite winning the Battle of Baiende, Colonel Camisão was forced to retreat due to lack of supplies, which further reduced his force to 578 men. [1] : 69 Though he died of cholera along the way, the remnants of his force reached Canuto on 11 June. [1] : 70
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 was the deadliest and bloodiest inter-state war in Latin American history. Paraguay sustained large casualties, but even the approximate numbers are disputed. Paraguay was forced to cede disputed territory to Argentina and Brazil. The war began in late 1864, as a result of a conflict between Paraguay and Brazil caused by the Uruguayan War. Argentina and Uruguay entered the war against Paraguay in 1865, and it then became known as the "War of the Triple Alliance."
The military history of Brazil comprises centuries of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern Brazil, and the role of the Brazilian Armed Forces in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. For several hundreds of years, the area was the site of intertribal wars of indigenous peoples. Beginning in the 16th century, the arrival of Portuguese explorers led to conflicts with the indigenous peoples; a notable example being the revolt of the Tamoio Confederation. Sporadic revolts of African slaves also marked the colonial period, with a notable rebellion led by Zumbi dos Palmares. Conflicts were fought with other European nations as well – two notable examples being the France Antarctique affair, and a conflict with the Netherlands in the early 17th century over control of much of Northeastern Brazil. Although Portugal retained its possessions during conflicts with other nations, it lost control of the colony after the Brazilian war of Independence, which led to the establishment of the Empire of Brazil.
The Battle of Cerro Corá was the last battle of the Paraguayan War, fought on 1 March 1870, in the vicinity of Cerro Corá, 454 kilometres (280 mi) northeast of Paraguay's capital Asunción. It is known for being the battle in which Francisco Solano López, Paraguayan president, was killed at the hands of the Imperial Brazilian Army.
The capture of the steamer Marquês de Olinda was a Paraguayan naval action carried out on 12 November 1864, in Potrero-Poña, on the Paraguay River, which consisted of the capture of the Brazilian merchant ship and all on board. Paraguayan president Solano López ordered the imprisonment in response to the Brazilian invasion of Uruguay, before any formal declaration of war between Paraguay and the Empire of Brazil.
The Corumbá invasion, in the context of the Paraguayan War, was the first Paraguayan movement within the Brazilian territory, starting the Mato Grosso Campaign. On December 23, 1864, Solano López sent about five thousand men across the Paraguay River under the command of colonel Vicente Barrios. This column attacked the Novo de Coimbra fort on the 27th, which capitulated three days later; the Paraguayans then advanced towards Albuquerque, reaching Corumbá on January 4, 1865.
The combat of Dourados or Combat of the Military Colony of Dourados was a confrontation between a Brazilian garrison of fifteen men and a Paraguayan column with 3,500 soldiers, fought on December 29, 1864, in the current city of Antônio João, Mato Grosso do Sul, during the Paraguayan War. In the context of the Mato Grosso Campaign, the Paraguayan invading army started to conquer the Military Colony of Dourados, south of the then Province of Mato Grosso. There was a single garrison to defend it, under the command of Lieutenant Antônio João Ribeiro.
The Battle of River Feio or First Withdrawal, was an episode that occurred even at the beginning of the Mato Grosso Campaign in which about 200 Brazilians between civilians and soldiers under the command of Col. Dias da Silva faced a Paraguayan column of 2,000 men commanded by Captain Blas Rojas. After a failed attempt at dialogue between both parties, the two forces engaged in combat in the vicinity of the Feio River, in the municipality of Laguna on January 1, 1865, where the outcome was defeat and withdrawal of the imperial forces to Nioaque. It is considered the first Brazilian reaction after the invasion of the Empire. It was known as the First Retreat due to the defeat and subsequent withdrawal of soldiers from the Laguna region, preceding the famous Laguna Retreat that occurred two years later.
Occupation of Coxim was a Paraguayan military operation led by Colonel Francisco Isidoro Resquín that resulted in the capture of the village of Coxim, now Mato Grosso do Sul, during the Paraguayan War. Colonel Resquín detached 300 soldiers and some cannons from Miranda, the base camp for the invaders, and headed for the village. The column advanced on horseback and encountered great difficulties in the 120 kilometers of almost impassable terrain. On April 24, 1865, Resquín's column reached the village and found it almost abandoned. Coxim's defense was in charge of only seven Brazilian squares, under the command of retired captain Antônio Pedro dos Santos. The fight was fast and without casualties on the Paraguayan side. The resisters withdrew to Cuiabá and the invaders looted and burned the village. On their return, Paraguayan troops lost 50 soldiers to diseases and injuries from the march.
After the invasion of the then province of Mato Grosso by the forces of the Paraguayan Army in December 1864, starting the Triple Alliance War, one of the first Brazilian moves was to send a military land contingent to fight the invaders in Mato Grosso.
Corumbá was under the control of Paraguay since the beginning of 1865, in the first phase of the Paraguayan War. José Vieira Couto de Magalhães undertook an operation to retake Corumbá in 1867.
The Battle of Alegre was a naval battle of the Paraguayan War fought on July 11, 1867 near the city of Corumbá, on the São Lourenço River, present-day Mato Grosso do Sul, between Brazilians and Paraguayans. During the supply of meat, "carnage", for the troops that were there, coming from the resumption of Corumbá, a small squad of Paraguayan vapors had gone up the river in pursuit of the Brazilians, after the first ones had been defeated. The Paraguayan attack was of initial surprise, but they were defeated by the men of Lieutenant Colonel Antônio João da Costa. The loss and reconquest of the Brazilian steam Jauru stood out.
Antônio João Ribeiro (1823-1864) was a Brazilian Lieutenant who served in the War of the Triple Alliance and was notable for his sacrifice in the Battle for Colônia Militar dos Dourados.
Francisco Isidoro Resquín Xara was a Paraguayan general during the War of the Triple Alliance. He was considered to be one of the most brilliant generals of the war and his writings are one of the main primary sources on the conflict.
Hermenegildo de Albuquerque Portocarrero, Baron of Forte de Coimbra was a Brazilian Marshal and Baron. He was known for being the primary commander of the Invasion of Corumbá during the Mato Grosso Campaign of the Paraguayan War.
Vicente Barrios Bedoya was a Paraguayan general and politician who was the son-in-law of President Carlos Antonio López. Under López and his successor, Marshal and President Francisco Solano López, Barrios held many positions throughout the earlier years of the Paraguayan War and participated in the earlier battles and campaigns of the war.
The Corrientes campaign or the Paraguayan invasion of Corrientes was the second campaign of the Paraguayan War. Paraguayan forces occupied the Argentinian city of Corrientes and other towns in Corrientes Province. The campaign occurred at the same time as the Siege of Uruguaiana.
The Humaitá campaign or the Cuadrilátero campaign was the third, longest and deadliest campaign of the Paraguayan War. The campaign lasted from 16 April 1866 to 5 August 1868. After the initial Paraguayan success in the Mato Grosso campaign and its failure in the Corrientes campaign, the armed forces of the Triple Alliance, Argentina, the Empire of Brazil and Uruguay, invaded the south of Paraguay. At a very short distance, they found the Paraguayan defensive device made up of four fortifications, the so-called "Cuadrilátero", which obstructed the passage to Asunción both by land and by the Paraguay River. A long series of battles cost huge numbers of casualties on both sides, with operations coming to a complete halt after the allied defeat at the Battle of Curupayty. Casualties on both sides were even higher from disease than from battle due to a cholera epidemic which was added to the appalling food and sanitary conditions.
The Battle of Três Lagoas was an offensive by tenentist rebels against Brazilian government forces on 17–18 August 1924, extending the São Paulo Revolt into southern Mato Grosso. Led by Juarez Távora, the rebels suffered heavy losses to loyalist troops from Minas Gerais, under the command of colonel Malan d'Angrogne, in the town of Campo Japonês. This defeat frustrated the rebels' ambition to settle in Mato Grosso, forcing them to start the Paraná Campaign.
Augusto João Manuel Leverger, Baron of Melgaço, nicknamed "Cuiabá's Breton" was a French-Brazilian admiral, writer, historian, geographer and several times president of the province of Mato Grosso in the Empire of Brazil. He was a key figure of Mato Grosso's literature production during his time.
The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso was the focus of tenentist military conspiracies and the stage of a series of revolts in the 1920s: by the command of the Military Circumscription of Mato Grosso (CMMT), in Campo Grande in 1922, by the 10th Regiment of Independent Cavalry of Bela Vista in 1924, and the 17th Battalion of Caçadores of Corumbá in 1925. Tenentist forces from other states also made incursions into Mato Grosso: the remnants from the São Paulo Revolt, in 1924, and the Prestes Column in 1925 and again in 1926–1927. A state of emergency was in force in the Mato Grosso from August 1924 until the end of 1925, and again from October 1926 to February 1927.
