Battle of Vuelta de Obligado

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Battle of Vuelta de Obligado
Date 20 November 1845
Location Vuelta de Obligado part of the Paraná River, Buenos Aires Province
Result 'Pyhrric victory' for the Anglo-French fleet. Recognition of the Paraná river as Argentinian territory by the United Kingdom and France.
Belligerents
Argentine Confederation, Rosas' army. Anglo-French Fleet.
Commanders
General Lucio N. Mansilla Rear Admiral Francois Thomas Trehouart
Strength
2160 men, one warship Eleven warships
Casualties and losses
250 killed
400 wounded
1 warship lost
21 cannons lost		 28 killed
95 wounded
Multiple damage to the warships, forcing emergency repairs

The naval Battle of Vuelta de Obligado took place between the Argentine Confederacy, under the leadership of Juan Manuel de Rosas, and an Anglo-French fleet, on November 20, 1845, on the waters of the Paraná River.

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[edit] Background

During the 1830s and 1840s, the British and French governments were at odds with Rosas' leadership of the Argentine Confederacy. Rosas was an ardent nationalist leader, and his economic policies of protecting the national industry with high tariffs, combined with his attempts to reincorporate Paraguay and Uruguay to the confederacy, were in conflict with French and British economic interests in the region. During his government, Rosas had to face numerous problems with these foreign powers, which in some cases reached levels of open aggression. These incidents included two naval blockades, a French one in 1838, and an Anglo-French one in 1845.

With the development of steam-powered sailing (which mainly took place in Great Britain, France and the USA) in the third decade of the 19th century, large merchant and military ships became capable of sailing up rivers at a good speed and with a heavy load.

This technology allowed the British and French governments to avoid Argentine custom houses in Buenos Aires by sailing directly through the La Plata estuary and engaging in commerce directly with the Argentinian inland cities. This avoided taxation, guaranteed special rights for the Europeans and allowed them to export their products cheaply.

The Rosas government tried to stop this practice by declaring the Argentine rivers unnavigable by foreign countries, barring access to Paraguayan ports in the process. The British and French governments did not acknowledge this declaration and decided to defy Rosas by sailing upstream with a joint fleet, setting the stage for the battle.

[edit] The battle

The Anglo-French squadron that was sailing through the Paraná river in the first days of November was composed of eleven warships. These ships were among the most advanced military machinery of their time. They were partially armoured and had rapid-fire guns and Congreve rockets.

The main Argentine fortification was located in Vuelta de Obligado, where the river is 700 metres wide and a turn makes navigation difficult.

The Argentine general Lucio N. Mansilla set up three thick metal chains suspended from 24 boats completely across the river, to prevent the advance of the European fleet. This operation was in charge of an Italian immigrant in Argentina named Aliverti.

On the right shore of the river the Argentines mounted 4 batteries with 30 cannons, many of them made of bronze, with a calibre of 8, 10, 12 and 20, and served with a division of 160 gaucho soldiers. There were also 2,000 men in trenches under the command of Colonel Ramón Rodríguez, and a sole Argentine warship called Republicano, with the mission of guarding the chains across the river.

The combat begun at dawn, with an intense cannon fire and rocket discharges over the Argentine batteries, which had less accurate and slower loading cannons. From the beginning the Argentines suffered many casualties — 250 dead, 400 wounded and 21 cannons fell into hands of the Europeans. Furthermore, the boats that held the chains were burnt down, and the Republicano warship was lost. It was blown up by its own commander when he was unable to defend it any longer. On the other side, the Europeans had 28 dead and 95 wounded, and suffered damage that left their fleet stranded at Obligado for 40 days to make emergency repairs.

The few British and French ships that were able to sail past Vuelta de Obligado were again attacked in Paso del Tonelero and in Angostura del Quebracho. Thus the Anglo-French victory turned out to be a Pyhrric one. It was proved to be practically impossible to sail Argentine rivers without the authorisation of Argentinian authorities.

[edit] The aftermath

The battle had a great impact on the continent. Chile and Brazil changed their stance (which until then were against Rosas), and turned, momentarily, to the Confederation's cause. Even some unitarian leaders (traditional enemies of the Argentine caudillo) were moved by the events, with General Martiniano Chilavert offering to join the Confederacy army.

Politically, France and the United Kingdom renounced their attempts to bypass Buenos Aires' policies, and acknowledged the Argentine government's legal right over the Paraná and the other internal rivers and its authority to determine who had access to it.

The Battle of Obligado is remembered as one of the few occasions in which a peripheral country was able to reject European attempts of intervention in its internal affairs. It is also remembered in Argentina on November 20, which was declared "Day of National Sovereignty". The French Paris Métro had a station named after this battle until the 1950's,when it was renamed Argentine.

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