BATTLE OF NANAWA I & II: THE VERDUN OF THE CHACO

[ostprussenmann_new]

All interested:

A while back I wrote a Battle Analysis for of the Chaco War. Has anybody every heard of it? One could call the Chaco War a training ground for wars to come, specifically the Germans who would use the lessons learned to fight during World War II. The Chaco War was one of the first times Maneuver would be integrated. The Bolivia Army, led by General Hans Kundt, a famous German Regimental Commander, would try to use the tactics of World War One against a Guerilla Force (Paraguay) and ultimately loose even though Kundt's Army had more money and technology.

This topic could really bring alot of us,; as collectors and historians from the Imperial German, Third Reich, US, and Britain to discuss our interests and have an intelligent conversation as a community of military history. Below is the introduction paragraph from my 19 page paper that was written. All sources that I used are correctly annotated..

Latin America has had a tradition of internal conflicts since their independence from Colonial powers. Border conflicts pursued and these small countries fought to define themselves. Two countries fought a little war in an area that seemed of little significance to the greater of things going on in the world, which was greatly unnoticed. Little did the great nations of the United States and Europe realize that the war between Bolivia and Paraguay would play such a significant role in what was to become another Great War starting in 1939. The Chaco War would was South America’s bloodiest conflict in the 20^th Century with casualty rates equivalent to that of the First World War (Hughes, 1). This conflict could be called a “training ground” for wars to come. Hughes states:

Both sides fielded armies totaling 400,000 men. Bolivia would end up loosing two percent of its population (56,000-65,000) dead, and Paraguay would loose almost four percent of its population (36,000) dead. It saw the mobilization of war economies, the use of French and German advisory teams, large scale battlefield engagements, the development of war-time alliances, and the development of the sorts of modern weaponry that would become commonplace in the Second World War.

The Chaco War (1932-1935) would be fought during the important Interwar Period that featured changes in technological and doctrine of how war would be fought in the future.

[ostprussenmann_new]

Works Cited

Bracco, Jeffrey. Fire Support for Irregular Warfare. Thesis: Naval Postgraduate School. March 2008.

Corum, James S. “The Chaco War, 1932-1935.” The Quarterly Journal of Military History. Summer 2009: 52-65.

De La Pedraja, Rene’. Wars of Latin America, 1899-1941. North Carolina and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2006.

English, Adrian J. The Green Hell: A Concise History of the Chaco War Between Bolivia and Paraguay 1932-35. Spellmount Military Studies, 2007.

Farcau, Bruce W. The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935. Praeger: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 1996.

Hughes, Matthew. “Logistics and Chaco War: Bolivia versus Paraguay.” The Journal of Military History. April 2005: 411-437. Brunel University Research Archive. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_military_history/v069/69/2hughes.html, Internet, assessed on 10 March 2010.

Johnson, Robert C. “The Gran Chaco War: Fighting for Mirages in the Foothills of the Andes.” http://worldatwar.net/chandelle/v1/v1n3/chaco.html, Internet, assessed on 15 March 2010.

Zook, David H., Jr. The Conduct of the Chaco War. Bookman Associates, 1960.

[ostprussenmann_new]

In fact during the Chaco War Bolivia counted with the following German advisors or volunteers:

Gen. Hans Kundt (Commander)

Maj. Wilhelm 'Wim' Brandt (tanks and infantry)

Maj. Achim R. von Kries (tanks)

Maj. Luis Ernst (pilot LAB Junkers 52 transports)

*Cpt. Werner Junck (pilot LAB Junkers 52 transports)[1]

Cpt. Walter Jästram (pilot LAB Junkers 52 transports)

Cpt. Hermann Schroth (pilot LAB Junkers 52 transports)

Mr. Kastener (aircraft mechanic LAB)

Karl Heming (Intelligence)

Wálter Mass (Intelligence)

Otto Berg (Intelligence)

Karl Ackerman (Intelligence)

In the past (before 1931) Bolivia also had the following German advisors:

Col. Klaus (War academy, retired before the war)

Maj. Friedich Muther (Military academy, retired before the war)

*Cpt. Ernst Rohm (NCO academy, retired before the war)[2]

Three other NCOs whose names are not recorded

[1] A German World War II Luftwaffe Generalleutnant and the one time commander of Fliegerführer Irak. He claimed five aerial victories during World War I. He was also awarded the Iron Cross 2^nd and 1^st Class as well on 9 June 1944 as Generalmajor and commanding general of the II. Jagdkorps. http://en.wikipedia....ki/Werner_Junck

[2] Throughout the period of Hitler's rise to power, Ernst Röhm represented the militant wing of the Nazi Party as the chief organizer of the party militia known as the S.A. (Sturmabteilung) or the Brownshirts.

Edited December 4, 2010 by ostprussenmann

[ostprussenmann_new]

Further details on Generalmajor Kundt:

Lieutenant: 21 Sep 1889

Oberstleutnant: 19 Aug 1914 Ff

Oberst: 18 Apr 1917 P

Chief of Staff X. Reserve-Korps: 30 Jun 1915-29 Nov 1915

Commander Kaiser Alexander-Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 1: 2 Jan 1917-3 Jan 1918.

Commander 211. Infanterie-Brigade: 3 Jan 1918-8 Sep 1918

Commander Kaiser Alexander-Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 1: 20 Jan 1919

*Retired as a Generalmajor a.D.

[VtwinVince]

Very interesting details on a very unknown conflict. I had heard of this war, but wasn't aware that so many Germans were involved.

[ostprussenmann_new]

Very interesting details on a very unknown conflict. I had heard of this war, but wasn't aware that so many Germans were involved.

I have more if you would like it. It was very interesting to study.

Jason