Battle of Boquerón (1932) 1932
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1932 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Interwar (1919–1938) | derived from year |
| Location | Paraguay | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Chaco War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -22.7736, -59.9409 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Boquerón was fought September 9–29, 1932, between the Bolivian and Paraguayan armies in and around the stronghold of Boquerón. It was the first major battle of the Chaco War. The outpost (fortín) of Boquerón, among others, had been occupied by Bolivian troops since late July 1932 following instructions of president Daniel Salamanca, which led to the escalation of what began as a border conflict into a full-scale war. The Bolivian garrison was under the command of Colonel Manuel Marzana.
The assault on Boquerón was the first move of the Paraguayan offensive that was aimed to defeat the Bolivian army and capture territory before Bolivia had fully mobilized its army and resources. Paraguayan Lt. Col. José Félix Estigarribia led the attack. The use of mortars, an unknown weapon for the Bolivian troops until then, would give the Paraguayans a decisive advantage during the siege.
The first Paraguayan assault on Boquerón was repulsed. Both sides suffered from the lack of potable water – the Paraguayans had to get it from a small lake at Isla Poí (50 km or 30 mi to the east), and although the Bolivians had wells inside their compound, they were under heavy Paraguayan fire and were eventually contaminated by the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Boquerón (1932) (revision 1377081540), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Campo Grande 1933 · 37 km
- Battle of Gondra 1933 · 63 km
- Battle of Kilometer 7 1932 · 72 km
- Second Battle of Nanawa 1933 · 79 km
- First Battle of Nanawa 1933 · 79 km
- Battle of Cañada Strongest 1934 · 214 km
Other battles of the Chaco War
- Battle of Campo Grande 1933
- Battle of Gondra 1933
- First Battle of Nanawa 1933
- Second Battle of Nanawa 1933
- Battle of Cañada Strongest 1934
- Battle of Ingavi (1935) 1935
All 7 battles of the Chaco War →
Browse more: battles in Paraguay · South America · Interwar battles