Battle of Avay
The Battle of Avaí was one of the last major combats of the Paraguayan War, fought by the stream of the same name in Paraguayan territory in December 1868 during the Paraguayan War, between the forces the Triple Alliance and the Paraguayan army.
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Background
The battle was fought during a period of the war known as the Dezembrada (Decembering, in a loose translation), where the Allied forces fought and won a number of battles while marching south in an attempt at taking Pikysyry from the rear.
In March 1868, most of the Paraguayan forces abandoned the fortress of humaita , under Solano Lopez's command, in order to set up a defence line in the margins of the Tebicuary River. The fortress was left under command of Paraguayan colonel Francisco Martínez. While the 2nd Corps of the Brazilian army began surrounding Humaitá, the 1st and 3rd Corps, alongside an Uruguayan division, followed the command of Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias, and began chasing the Paraguayan army.[2] Lopez, however, left his new position near the Tebicuary as well, in order to defend the Pikysyry lines, 130 km to the south of the capital, Asunción, and 200 km to the north of Humaitá. The Allied forces's march was slowed, giving Lopez enough time to reinforce the Pikysyry lines.
The week prior to the Battle of Avay, the Paraguayan vanguard, under the command of general Bernardino Caballero, clashed with the Brazilian army in the Battle of Ytororó. After the fight, Paraguayan forces retreated towards Villeta, crossing the Ypané River and camping in a fortified spot, where their troops could gather their strength in relative safety and prepare for a new battle.[3]
The battle
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The Allied advance stopped where the road crossed the Avay stream. For the Allied army, the vanguard consisted of the 3rd Corps, commanded by Gen. Osório, the 2nd Corps under Gen. Jose Luis Mena Barreto formed the center, and the 1st Corps under Gen. Jacinto Machado Bittencourt formed the rearguard. Caxias also had available the Cavalry Divisions, including the 1st under Gen. João Manuel Mena Barreto, the 5th under Col. José Antonio Correa da Câmara, and the 2nd and 3rd under Gen. Andrade Neves. The battle began at noon and lasted for five hours. The flanking attacks by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Cavalry Divisions into the Paraguayan rear made escape impossible. With the total defeat of Gen. Caballero's force, Marshal Caxias reached Villeta. The Paraguayan survivors, less than 50, retreated for Lomas Valentinas. There President Lopez has assembled 3,000 troops, plus another 2,000 at Pikysyry and 700 at Angostura.[1]:93–95
Aftermath
President Lopez ordered the evacuation of Asuncion to the provisional capital of Piribebuy.[1]:95
References
- Hooker, T.D., 2008, The Paraguayan War, Nottingham: Foundry Books, ISBN 1901543153
- Doratioto, Francisco (2002). Maldita Guerra. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras. ISBN 978-8535902242.
- Garmendía, José Ignacio (1890). Recuerdos de la guerra del Paraguay. Peuser.
Further reading
- Donato, Hernâni. Dicionário das Batalhas Brasileiras. São Paulo: Editora Ibrasa, 1987.