Piquissiri maneuver

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Piquissiri maneuver

Date	end of 1868
Location	near Humaitá
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

Paraguay

Uruguay,

Argentina,

Empire of Brazil

Commanders

Francisco Solano López

Marquês de Caxias

War of the Triple Alliance

Mato Grosso – Rio Grande do Sul – Corrientes – Riachuelo – Jataí – Tuyutí – Curupaity – Piquissiri – Itororó – Avaí – Campaign of the Hills – Cerro Corá – Acosta Ñu

The Piquissiri maneuver was a tactical move by Brazilian commander Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, the Marquês de Caxias in the War of the Triple Alliance. Paraguayan leader Francisco Solano López had concentrated his troops in a strong position across the Piquissiri stream, so Caxias made a bold move, building a road through 11 kilometers of marshland in the Chaco which lead around the Paraguayan position. López, who was convinced that masses of troops could not cross the Chaco, was surprised; the allies attacked from behind. López was forced to flee with his surviving troops to the hills in the north, where he and the Paraguayan would resist until 1870.