In World War I, Russia and Germany were at war with each other. For more than three years, from August 1914 to December 1918, the technically strong but numerically weak German armed forces were engaged in a deadly war with the numerically strong but technically weak Russian armed forces. But the extreme anarchy, anarchy and civil war that erupted in Russia in November 1917 due to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,As a result, the Russian armed forces, known as the 'Steamrollers of Europe', became fragmented and ineffective. As a result, the Soviet Russian government led by Vladimir Lenin was forced to sign the humiliating Brest-Litovsk Treaty with the German-led Central Powers on March 3, 1918. The agreement forced Russia to cede 17 provinces to the central powers, which accounted for 34% of Russia's population, 54% of its industries, 69% of its coal mines and 26% of its railways.
Many Russian Armed Forces officials refused to accept this humiliating defeat and blamed the Bolsheviks for the defeat and took part in the civil war against them. But the Bolsheviks eventually won the civil war, and many of these Russian military officers were forced to flee the country to save their lives. Many of them took refuge in South American states.On the other hand, the humiliating Treaty of Versailles was imposed on Germany after its defeat to the Allies in World War I, and the German armed forces were virtually banned. Many German military officers were fired. Incidentally, many of them also settled in South American states. In the 1930s, these Russian and German military officers resumed the Russo-German war on South American soil. This article is about the story of that war.
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The border dispute between the two South American states of Paraguay and Bolivia has been going on for decades. The area they were in dispute over was called Gran Chaco. It was a warm and almost arid lowland in the Rio de la Plata. Both Paraguay and Bolivia claimed ownership of the sparsely populated region. Both were landlocked states. The Paraguay River flows through the Gran Chaco region.
If they could gain control of the region, it would be possible for them to gain access to the Atlantic Ocean through the river. Paraguay was defeated in the Battle of Paraguay, which lasted 164-60, and lost half of its territory to Argentina and Brazil. Paraguay had no intention of relinquishing access to the sea by giving up its claim on Gran Chaco. On the other hand, in the Pacific War of 189, Bolivia lost its Pacific coast to Chile.
Control over the Gran Chaco could give Bolivia access to the sea again. That is why the region was so important to both the states. But none of them have fought a direct battle with it so far. However, this situation came to an end in 1926. Why did it happen suddenly? Answer: Oil!
In 1928, geologists claimed that there was a possibility of oil mines in the Gran Chaco region. As a result, this sparsely populated and almost uninhabitable region suddenly became very important to both Paraguay and Bolivia. International oil companies intervened in the conflict and made arrangements to add fuel to the fire. Royal-Dutch Shell, a British-Dutch joint venture, backed Paraguay in the conflict.On the other hand, their rival US company Standard Oil supports Bolivia. Throughout 1926, isolated border clashes between Paraguay and Bolivia continued. Due to the direct intervention of the League of Nations, the war between the two states did not start that year.
But in the years that followed, tensions between Paraguay and Bolivia escalated and the two states failed to reach a settlement on the disputed territory. Border clashes broke out between them again on 15 June 1932 and the general war started on 9 September. This war is known in history as the 'Battle of Chaco' (Guerra del Chaco).