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Paraguay The Army
The Paraguayan army has existed since independence in 1811, when
it consisted of two infantry battalions backed up by a militia. It
was built up under Francia to include cavalry and artillery
elements and was also backed by a reserve force. The army continued
to occupy an important position under the presidencies of both
Lópezes, who devoted considerable resources to training,
organization, and weaponry. During the 1860s, under the younger
López, the army grew to be the largest in Latin America,
maintaining fixed artillery positions around Asunción and in other
fortresses in the country. In 1864 during the lead-up to the War of
the Triple Alliance, the army was large enough to invade Argentina
and Brazil, one invasion force numbering as high as 25,000.
Eventually, a force estimated at 50,000 was mobilized during the
war--far more than the nation was able to train or arm adequately.
The army was overwhelmed by the larger and better equipped armies
of its opponents, which by the war's end in 1870 had reduced the
Paraguayan army to a few remnants.
The army was reestablished after the Brazilian occupation ended
in 1876, but until the turn of the century it consisted mainly of
small units assigned to defend the frontiers or to act as
ceremonial forces in the capital. Less a professional institution
than a collection of forcibly conscripted troops, the army during
the late 1800s came under the shifting commands of officers allied
with whatever government was currently in power.
Efforts to improve matters met with uneven results. Most of the
new equipment acquired during the 1895-1904 period was lost in 1904
during the Liberal revolt
(see The First Colorado Era
, ch. 1). The
Liberals were backed by a well-equipped armed force, the personnel
and equipment of which were then incorporated into a 2,000-strong
army reorganized by the new government. The army again underwent
reorganization after the 1922 civil war. It grew only slightly
until the late 1920s, when tensions with Bolivia prompted a
mobilization, and new battalions were formed. Approximately 140,000
men saw service during the three-year Chaco War, after which the
army was reduced dramatically to little more than its prewar level.
The factional split of the army during the 1947 civil war was
followed by a large turnover in personnel. After operations were
"regularized," the army was expanded. The greatest buildup came in
the engineer arm, which began to be used extensively in civicaction work. A cavalry division was also organized.
After Stroessner became president in 1954, he enlarged the army
again, the most important new element being the Presidential Escort
Battalion (later expanded to a regiment). The army inventory grew
more slowly. A small quantity of light and medium tanks, armored
personnel carriers, and armored cars were acquired during the 1960s
and 1970s, mostly from the United States and Brazil. These
acquisitions barely kept pace with deletions of obsolete and
broken-down equipment, however.
In 1982 the government announced a new army tactical
organization that incorporated existing units into three corps. At
the same time, two new infantry divisions were formed.
As of late 1988, army strength stood at 12,500, including
members of the Presidential Escort Regiment; about 8,100 army
personnel were conscripts (see
table 9, Appendix). Army combat arms
included infantry and cavalry divisions, and artillery engineer
battalions. Logistics services branches included signals,
transport, administration, war matériel, medical, and veterinary
elements that were dispatched in support of combat units.
The army's main tactical units included eight infantry divisions
and one cavalry division (see
table 10, Appendix). At full
strength, the infantry divisions were each designed to comprise a
headquarters, three infantry regiments, and a logistics support
battalion that included transport and medical units. In peacetime,
however, the divisions were actually made up of a single, sometimes
"skeletonized" infantry regiment. The cavalry division included
mechanized elements as well as men on horseback.
The eight infantry divisions and the cavalry division were
organized tactically into three army corps. The First Corps was
headquartered at Campo Grande near Asunción and included the First
Cavalry Division, which was located at Ñu Guazú and comprised four
cavalry regiments. The First Corps also contained the First
Infantry Division and the Third Infantry Division, headquartered
respectively at Asunción and San Juan Bautista. The Second Corps
contained the Second, Fourth, and Fifth Infantry Divisions. The
Second Infantry Division, along with the Second Corps headquarters,
was located at Villarrica. The Fourth Infantry Division was
headquartered at Concepción, the Fifth at Curuguaty. The Third
Corps also had three infantry divisions. The Sixth Infantry
Division and corps headquarters were located at Mariscal
Estigarribia in the Chaco. The Seventh and Eighth Infantry
Divisions were headquartered at Fortín Teniente Primero Stroessner
and Mayor Pablo Lagarenza, respectively.
Three other major elements also rounded out this tactical
organization. The first was the Combat Support Command, which
comprised an artillery garrison consisting of three artillery
battalions, an engineer command composed of six engineer
battalions, and a communications command made up of a signals and
transport battalion. The artillery battalions were garrisoned at
Paraguarí and were attached to the infantry divisions on an ad hoc
basis. The engineer battalions were dispatched as needed throughout
the country and assigned to military and civilian construction
projects as well as other civic-action tasks. The second major
support element was the Logistics Support Command, which
encompassed a variety of service elements, including quartermaster,
medical, veterinary, and transport services. This command also
oversaw the army's ammunition depot, draft and mobilization
program, and surveying and mapping unit. The army's training
establishments, including the Francisco López Military College,
came under the Military Institutes of Instruction Command--the
third major army support element.
Major ground force arms were heterogeneous in origin. Much was
obsolete United States equipment, most of which was obtained
thirdhand from Argentina and Brazil. The small armor inventory
consisted of twelve M-4A3 medium and twelve M-3A1 light tanks. It
was unclear how many of the United States-made tanks were operable.
The army also had twelve United States-made M-8 and M-3 armored
cars; twenty Brazilian-made Cascavel armored vehicles; three United
States-made M-2 armored personnel carriers (APCs), and ten
Brazilian-made Urutu APCs. Artillery pieces included 75mm and 105mm
howitzers of French, and Swedish manufacture, plus six British-made
152mm coastal guns. The army used French-made 81mm and United
States-made 107mm mortars and United States-made 75mm antitank
guns. Also in the army's inventory were eight light transport
aircraft and three helicopters.
The army's conscripts were trained initially in the unit to
which they were assigned. A variety of specialty schools, including
the Armaments School, the Signals School, and the Engineer School,
offered advanced training.
Data as of December 1988
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