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Jul 16, 2003
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Land locked, but not for long! 1836-1842.

El Presidente was not pleased. It is true that his uniform was the fanciest and his sideburns the best in all of South America but what good did that do in a land of peasents? And only 800,000 peasents to boot! To the North the Great Power(6th) of Brazil. To the South the Great Power of Argentina(8th) and to the West was Peru that was also a might power.

The tiny people produced tiny incomes as well. Even with massive cut backs in crime fighting and the military the economy barely grew.

Finaly the army was pathetic. A single understrengh infantry divisions.

El Presidente did not belive that a great country is formed through the trickery of industrial growth or 'cultural' development. Only blood and iron brings prestiege.

And so the Great Idea of Paraguay that reaches to the sea and beyoned was born. There were three options to expand South against Argentina, East against Brazil and West against Peru. Peru and Brazil were both mighty nations and their coasts were far away. The paltry Paraguayan army could not beat either of them. But to the South, through Argentina and onto Uruguay. There lay some possibilities. But not with this army!

El Presidente reasoned that a strong force of cavarly would be enough to defeat the numericly superior Argentinians. So he order the recruitment of two cavarly divisions. This was a costly venture and the country was forced to sell its supply of artillerly, ammunition, fancy clothes(this upset el Presidente the most!) just to stay afloat.

By 1837 the Army was read and so the campaign towards glory began. The declaration of war against Argentina was met with contempt among the nations of the world, they thought that the tiny Paraguayns will be swept under a tide of Argentinian military.


Indeed the late 1830's would be an odd time period. The mighty British Empire would suffer a defeat in India against the resurgent Chinese Empire and colony after British colony would rebel and then join a local regime, in Asia Singapore declared its alegience to the local Sultan and in South America Venezuela recieved a new province. Only swift actions of the British Army prevented British North America from enterting the dustbins of history.

The invasion proceded in three waves. The 1st Infantry Corp advanced on the eastern most Argentinian provinces. The 1st Cavalry Corp advanced in the center and the 2nd Cavalry Corp was in the far left. The Argentinians were slow to respond and so the border provinces all feel quickly to the advancing army.
Finaly the Argentinians responded and three Argentinian corps matched the Paraguayn ones atempted to stem the tide. However, it seems Argentina was not as great as the world belived. Their army was badly understrengh and so the cavalry brushed them easily aside, indeed the fact that our military did not belive in the Jominian thought of elan seemed a testament to the inferiority of Argentina.

Slowly the 1st Cavalry corp shifted the Argentinian army to the far west of the country where the 2nd Corp could keep an eye on them as the rest of the army advanced towards Buenos Aieres.

The greatest problem in the war it would turn out was not the Argentinian army but the Paraguayan economy. The creation of the two extra divisions and the placement of the country on war footing has put Paraguay into a downward spiral. Only drastic measures would prevent us from going bankrupt. The 1st infantry division was disbanded and army maintanence was halfed. This saved the economy but put the balance of power back into Argentinas favour.

Fortune, however smiled upon the Armies of Paraguay. The small, 3000 men, cavalry divisions still proved more then a match for the 10,000 strong infantry division of Argentina and Buenos Aieres fell. A month later and the aproachs to the city from Paraguay have been completley secured as the last Argentinian division was hunted down and destroyed.

With their army gone and their capitol occupied Argentina caved in and surrendered to Paraguay. 300,000 new citizens joined the Great Nation(5th) of Paraguay.

The final march to the sea is almost too pathetic to note. The Grande Armee of Paraguay invaded and annexed Uruguay within 3 months.


And so Paraguay has a port, the first transport is already under construction and El Presdiente looks abroad among the Barbarian nations of Asia for more honor!
 
You got it first...

Hey brother,

i am mad at you! ;) you got Vicky first...

but anyway, you will have some competition with this AAR as soon as my copy of Victoria arrives to...

Asuncion, Paraguay.

That's right! You will get some competition from an EUengine veteran that kills his paraguayan boredom (hey, no beaches, after all ;))) playing Paradox games.

I hope you will not be angry. I was planning this AAR since the first time i heard about Vicky. Maybe even sooner, because i really really love the period, and the southamerican history from the Independence untill 1880 is a bunch of richness.

Good luck on your attempt. I will try to beat it in the next few days.

C-ya later aligator.

Rick
 
Well if you want to take over Paraguay thats fine I guees. I kind of lost directon after geting to the sea so easily. Oh well. On the front of nations-that-are-realy-small-and-pathetic-but-thanks-to-luxury-clothes-exploit-still-work-as-nations I am playing anther GC as Transval.