2,300
330 captured 1,555
8 captured Result Allied victory | Date 2 May 1866 Combatants Paraguay, Argentina | |
 | ||
4,500 infantry
1,000 cavalry
mixed battery At least 11 battalions of infantry
two artillery batteries
two cavalry regiments Location Ñeembucú Department, Paraguay Similar Paraguayan War, Battle of Tuyutí, Battle of Curupayty, Battle of Curuzú, Siege of Uruguaiana | ||
The Battle of Estero Bellaco was one of the bloodiest battles of the Paraguayan War (1865–1870), with the Republic of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay banded together against the Paraguayan government of Marshal Francisco Solano López.
Contents
This battle took place on 2 May 1866, in which the Allied army repulsed a surprise Paraguayan attack.
Setting
On 16 April 1866, Allied troops under the command of Marshal Osorio, crossed the River Paraguay and attacked Fort Itapirú and Paso de la Patria. By the 23rd, the Paraguayans had retreated behind the great marsh of Estero Bellaco. The Allied vangurard, under the command of General Flores, was camped on the southern edge of the marsh, with four Uruguayan battalions and their artillery battery, six Brazilian infantery battalions including artillery battery, a Brazilian cavalry regiment, and further behind, elements of an Argentinian infantry battalion and a cavalry regiment. Flores forces included: the Brazilian 5th, 7th, 3rd, 16th, 21st and 38th Voluntarios da Patria, the Uruguayan 24 de Abril, Florida, Independencia and Libertad, the Argentinian Rosario. Nearby was the main Allied army camped north of Paso la Patria. On 2 May 1866, President Lopez sent 4,500 Paraguayan infantry against this Allied vanguard.
The Battle
The surprise attack started at 1130, the Paraguayans soon overwhelming the Brazilians and Uruguayans, and capturing the Allied artillery. It took the main Allied army, arriving an hour later, to force Colonel José Hedwig Diaz to retreat.
Aftermath
Gen. Flores wrote his wife, "In the future my vanguard will be composed of Argentines."
Location of Estero Bellaco
This estuary is located in the Ñeembucú Department, Paraguay, bordering the river of the same name.