The Epic Of The Chaco

Originally published in 1950, The Epic of the Chaco is the fascinating memoir of the 34th President of Paraguay, Jose Felix Estigarribia, written between 1938-1939 in Washington, D.C., “whilst discharging his duties as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary Paraguay.” The book’s editor, Pablo Max Ynsfrán, acted as counsellor of the Paraguayan legation during the same period and collaborated in drafting Estigarribia’s recollections as they are set down in the present volume. “The importance of this publication for the military historian of the Chaco War (1932-1935), in which Paraguay and Bolivia were involved, can hardly be overrated. Marshal Estigarribia held in that armed conflict—one of the most sanguinary ever fought by two South-American republics—the unique position of being the top planner (perhaps the only one) and the commander in chief of the Paraguayan army in the field during the entire course of the campaign. The remarkable success of his leadership is a well-known fact. He emerged from the Chaco War as one of the outstanding masters of strategy in South-American history.”—Editor’s Preface