Chaco War

Chaco War (1932–5) A war between Bolivia and Paraguay about the disputed Gran Chaco territory, an extensive but infertile and inhospitable lowland plain at the foot of the Andes. Already highly sensitive to territorial losses, following those to Chile (1883) and Brazil (1903), and perhaps with the (erroneous) suspicion that the area might be harbouring large oil reserves, Bolivia constructed a strategic fort in an area previously occupied by Paraguay. In response, Paraguayan forces reoccupied the site. Misled by the superiority of their armed forces in numbers and equipment, the Bolivians declared war, but this superiority counted for little in a terrain unsuitable for an all-out offensive war. In the eventual peace, Paraguay gained most of the disputed territory while Bolivia gained access to the River Paraguay and hence to the South Atlantic coast. The war cost the lives of 50,000 Bolivians and 35,000 Paraguayans and, coupled with the Great Depression, inflicted irreparable economic damage.