Battle of Cañada Strongest 1934
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 25 May 1934 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1934 | 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 | -22.1778, -61.9181 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cañada Strongest was a major military action from May 10 to May 25, 1934 during the Chaco War, in which Paraguayan forces were ambushed and defeated by three Bolivian divisions. The engagement is considered the greatest victory of the Bolivian army during the war.
The battle actually took place some 60 km southwest of Cañada Strongest, near a dried riverbed called Cañada Esperanza. The battle began as a Paraguayan attempt to outflank and eventually conquer Fort Ballivian, a large stronghold that was the keystone of Bolivian defenses along the border with Argentina.
Paraguayan forces began to open a new trail in the dry subtropical forests of the Chaco but were discovered by Bolivian aerial reconnaissance. The Paraguayan troops, unaware of having been discovered, were encircled by Bolivian forces who had sneaked up on the path and were waiting for a substantial number of Paraguayan troops to enter the pathway before they ambushed them. A 250-man Paraguayan detachment sent in to monitor the Bolivian movements was also surrounded and eventually captured on May 25 along Lóbrego Path, a route between the first Paraguayan lines and Cañada Esperanza.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cañada Strongest (revision 1370108729), 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 El Carmen 1934 · 70 km
- Battle of Ybibobó 1934 · 132 km
- Battle of Yrendagüé 1934 · 187 km
- Battle of Campo Grande 1933 · 203 km
- Battle of Boquerón (1932) 1932 · 214 km
- Battle of Kilometer 7 1932 · 239 km
Other battles of the Chaco War
- Battle of Boquerón (1932) 1932
- Battle of Campo Grande 1933
- Battle of Gondra 1933
- First Battle of Nanawa 1933
- Second Battle of Nanawa 1933
- Battle of Ingavi (1935) 1935
All 7 battles of the Chaco War →
Browse more: battles in Paraguay · South America · Interwar battles