Guns of the Chaco War
Guns of the Chaco War
The Chaco War of 1932–1935 between Bolivia and Paraguay was fought on the interior of the continent. Writer Vincent D. DeNiro examines the history of the conflict, and the firearms the two armies used.
A Bolivian monument to its heroes of the Chaco War. Note the Browning 1917 machine gun, which was used on both sides of the war. (Oliver Foerstner / Shutterstock.com) January 14, 2021 By Vincent D. DeNiro
Into the 20th century, much of South America had not yet been well explored and surveyed, especially the interior of the continent, and particularly the Amazon River Basin. Borders were also often contested between multiple nations with claims heavily overlapping. This issue had led to many extremely bloody conflicts between some of the world’s poorest nations. One of these conflicts was the Chaco War of 1932–1935, a war fought between Bolivia and