Paraguayan-Argentine Alliance in the war of the triple alliance

how would the War of the Triple Alliance & South America afterwards have changed if Argentina had allied itself with Paraguay agianst Brazil & Uraguay
 
sooo just snooping through some old threads i tryed but no one ever commented on, I'm just going to try & bump this & see if anyone has any opinions on my question after nearly a year
 
From what I recall, Argentina was a bit less centralized at the time, and some of the northern provinces were friendly to Paraguay. Maybe if Francisco Solano Lopez doesn't manage to piss everyone off quite so thoroughly, you might see them lending some tacit (or not-so-tacit) support in a war against Brazil.
 
From what I recall, Argentina was a bit less centralized at the time, and some of the northern provinces were friendly to Paraguay. Maybe if Francisco Solano Lopez doesn't manage to piss everyone off quite so thoroughly, you might see them lending some tacit (or not-so-tacit) support in a war against Brazil.
i just wonder how that changes the war without Argentina attcking Paraguay as well
 
i just wonder how that changes the war without Argentina attcking Paraguay as well

Well, it certainly wouldn't be the War of the Triple Alliance at that point. Paraguayan forces had some success in the opening stages of the war against Brazil in Mato Grosso province; the Brazilians were far from their lines of supply. After that, the Brazilians sent a fleet up the river and there were a series of naval battles, which the Brazilians eventually won. I don't recall how vital Argentina and Uruguay's consent or cooperation were at this stage, but I think this was before they really became involved. However, if it looks like some of the northern Argentine provinces might back Paraguay, Brazil might be warier about provoking them with naval operations on the rivers--and in a land war, Paraguay might have a shot since it's much closer to the scene of the action.

What Paraguay needs is a short, victorious war. If you can get Argentina to sit out entirely (maybe distracted by another round of internal trouble) then that helps. But Lopez was terrible at diplomacy and too paranoid to let others do it for him, so it'll be a challenge for Paraguay to build alliances of its own. And in the long run, Paraguay is very much outweighed by Brazil...
 
The best Argentina could do if they actually joined Paraguay's side is preventing the other front down there and maybe getting some more supplies through to Paraguay, their big weakness was supplies. Militarily, Argentina was actually much weaker than Paraguay, at least initially. Hell, Paraguay at the start of the war outnumbered all the Allies and were much better prepared for war. If they don't have to worry about being invaded from the south and could possibly get some more modern, rifled muskets and maybe even shoes, then their army stands a better chance of standing toe-to-toe with the Brazilians, or doing even better than them.
 
Well, it certainly wouldn't be the War of the Triple Alliance at that point. Paraguayan forces had some success in the opening stages of the war against Brazil in Mato Grosso province; the Brazilians were far from their lines of supply. After that, the Brazilians sent a fleet up the river and there were a series of naval battles, which the Brazilians eventually won. I don't recall how vital Argentina and Uruguay's consent or cooperation were at this stage, but I think this was before they really became involved. However, if it looks like some of the northern Argentine provinces might back Paraguay, Brazil might be warier about provoking them with naval operations on the rivers--and in a land war, Paraguay might have a shot since it's much closer to the scene of the action.

The conflicts involving Brazil and Paraguay only happened after Argentina had declared itself on the Brazilian side, and such alliance is related to the civil war in Uruguay (as both Brazil and Mitre supported the Colorados there). If Argentina is pro-Paraguay (and you would need to replace Mitre for that) the odds are that the war simply wouldn't happen, or would happen over Uruguay instead.
 
The conflicts involving Brazil and Paraguay only happened after Argentina had declared itself on the Brazilian side, and such alliance is related to the civil war in Uruguay (as both Brazil and Mitre supported the Colorados there). If Argentina is pro-Paraguay (and you would need to replace Mitre for that) the odds are that the war simply wouldn't happen, or would happen over Uruguay instead.
Would it be possible though to have the Paraguayans assist Urquiza in the civil war and have Urquiza support the Paraguayans against Brazil and the Colorados as a measure of gratitude or whatever?
 
Would it be possible though to have the Paraguayans assist Urquiza in the civil war and have Urquiza support the Paraguayans against Brazil and the Colorados as a measure of gratitude or whatever?

Well, that was what everybody was expecting to happen IOTL, even Urquiza supporters. Of course, it didn't happen for a personal decision of him, but I wouldn't consider such outcome a surprise, especially considering his behavior after the Battle of Pavon. Also, Urquiza greatest concern was always money, and after being funded by Brazil several times during the Argentine civil war he knew the place where money came from.
 
Top