Pikysyry maneuver

Pikysyry maneuver
Part of the Paraguayan War

Passagem do Chaco, oil on canvas by Pedro Américo
Date21 December 1868
Location
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 Paraguay
Commanders and leaders
Strength
2,000 men[1]: 95  8,000 men[1]: 95 
Casualties and losses
600 killed, 200 captured[1]: 95 

The Pikysyry maneuver was a tactic used by Brazilian marshal Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias, during the Paraguayan War to outflank the Paraguayan southern defense line along the stream of Pikysyry consisting of 142 gun platforms along a line 9.1 km long, built by the British engineer Lt. Col. George Thompson. Just to the north were the batteries of Angostura, protecting the River Paraguay. Marshal Caxias decided to attack from the Paraguayan rear by constructing a 10.7 km road on the Chaco side of the river starting at Santa Theresa.[1]: 88–91 

  1. ^ a b c d Hooker, T.D., 2008, The Paraguayan War, Nottingham: Foundry Books, ISBN 1901543153