audiobook The American Sharpe: The Adventures of an American Officer of the 95th Rifles in the Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns by Gareth Glover in History

Description

Often over-shadowed by contemporary events in China and Japan; the Chaco War (1932-1935) was a massive territorial war between Bolivia and Paraguay; which cost almost 100;000 lives. It was sparked by Bolivia's attempts to capture a stretch of the Paraguay River to gain access to the Atlantic. An old fashioned territorial dispute; the contested area was the Gran Chaco Boreal; a 100;000-square mile region of swamp; jungle and pampas with isolated fortified towns. The wilderness terrain made operations difficult and costly as the war see-sawed between the two sides. Bolivian troops; under the command of a German general; Hans von Kundt; had early successes; but these stalled in the face of a massive mobilization programme by the Paraguans which saw their force increase in size ten-fold to 60;000 men. Both sides acquired 'modern' technology including tanks and planes in an attempt to seize the initiative but by 1935 both sides were exhausted and a ceasefire concluded. This book sheds light on a vicious territorial war that waged in the jungles and swamps of the Gran Chaco and is illustrated with rare photographs and especially commissioned artwork.