Piquissiri maneuver

Piquissiri maneuver
Part of the War of the Triple Alliance
Date end of 1868
Location Formosa province, Argentina
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 Paraguay  Empire of Brazil
 Argentina
 Uruguay
Commanders and leaders
Francisco Solano López Duke of Caxias

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.

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