Third Chaco War | |||||||||
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Part of the Twilight Struggle | |||||||||
Paraguayan militias assembling before being sent to the front in Chaco. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Supported by: Russia |
Supported by: France America | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Carlos Quintanilla Bernardino Bilbao Rioja Manuel A. Odría |
Clotario Blest Arturo Puga Rodolfo Ghioldi Liborio Justo Rafael Franco |
The Third Chaco War (Spanish: Tercera Guerra del Chaco), also known as the Great South American War (Spanish: Gran Guerra Sudamericana), was a war between Peru and Bolivia on one side, and Chile, Argentina and Paraguay on the other that lasted from 1957 to 1960. Started primarily over the dispute over Chaco Boreal, Peru entered the war on the side of Bolivia two weeks after its start with the goal of retaking the Tarapacá Region from Chile that they lost in the 19th century.
While the primary cause of the war was territorial disputes, conflict between these nations goes all the way to the Chilean-Argentine War, the result of which was the establishment of socialist pro-Internationale governments in Argentina and Paraguay. During the war, Peru and Bolivia received financial and military aid from Russia, while the socialist triple alliance was supported by the Commonwealth of America and France.
The war ended with the Bogotá Accords negotiated in Colombia, changing the borders to reflect the situation on the ground at the time of the ceasefire. Bolivia and Paraguay also signed the Chaco Agreements in 1961, further revising the border.