Paraguayan Army

Paraguayan Army
Paraguayan Army Seal
Active	Officially since 1811
Country	Paraguay
Type	Army
Size	11,000 active personnel 6,000 reserves
Motto(s)	Vencer o Morir ("To win or to die")
Anniversaries	24 of July (Mariscal Lopez Birthday)
Engagements	War of the Triple Alliance Chaco War Paraguayan People's Army insurgency
Commanders
Chief of the Paraguayan Army	GEN Darío Martin Cáceres Snead
Notable commanders	José Félix Estigarribia Francisco Solano López

The Paraguayan Army is an institution of the State of Paraguay, organized into three divisions and 9, and several commands and directions, went to war three occasions, in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, Chaco War (1932–1935) against Bolivia, and the ongoing Paraguayan People's Army insurgency.

Paraguay's army was formally established in 1811, the year of the country's independence. For the first several years of Paraguay's existence the commanders of the army, such as Fulgencio Yegros and Pedro Juan Caballero, formed the majority of the cabinet until 1814, when they were replaced by Dr. Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, who installed himself as supreme dictator for life after a series of political clashes with Yegros. Francia removed all army personnel from the government and reformed the army, which was by now inept and corrupt. He limited the power of the army by declaring that no rank above captain could be achieved, and that after three years of service officers were to be retired. By 1816 there were no officers in the army who had fought at the Tacuari or the Paraguari. Francia's horse-grenadier guard company was the first new unit created and was to form the nucleus of the army. Each captain was given command of a branch of the service, which consisted of line infantry, light infantry, dragoons, chasseurs, hussars and artillery. The infantry, artillery and hussars were stationed in the capital Asuncion, and the rest of the army was stationed in outposts around the country to defend from attacks by Indians. The cavalry would go dismounted during peacetime, and were distinguished by the yellow aiguillette sewn onto their left shoulder. Although no formal wars were fought, conflicts with the Chaco Indians, particularly the sub-groups of the Guaykuru tribes, raged in the borderlands. The size of the army varied according to the magnitude of threat. In 1825 it was 5000 strong, but in 1834 it was only 649 strong. There was also a large number of militia troops, which usually numbered around 25,000.