Content area
Full Text
The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935. By BRUCE W. FARCAU. Westport: Praeger, 1996. Map. Notes. Bibliography. Index. x, 254 pp. Cloth. $59.95.
Bruce Farcau, a good storyteller, describes with clarity the military campaigns of the Chaco War, 1932-35. Following a chronological organization, with chapter titles denoting the location of battles, his book describes military campaigns, commander tactics, infantry hardships, and diplomatic efforts for peace. Farcau viewed Paraguayan general Jose Felix Estigarribia as more competent than either of the Bolivian generals, Hans Kundt and Enrique Penaranda. Estigarribia fought closer to his supply lines, commanded men more accustomed to the terrain and climate, had clearer goals, and effectively utilized mobile defenses. In contrast, the Bolivian military sought to defend long lines and never concentrated its forces effectively.
While President Daniel Salamanca and the Bolivian officials seemingly...