The Naval Battle of Riachuelo is considered one of the greatest triumphs in the history of the Brazilian Armed Forces. Its outbreak has to do with the Paraguay War, where Brazil joined forces with Argentina and Uruguay. The conflict, which took place between 1864 and 1870, was the result of a series of political disputes involving the nations that traveled in the region of the Rio de la Plata. The beginning of the war only took shape through the ambitious expansionist project of the Paraguayan government.
The naval conflict that took place on the Riachuelo River was considered of paramount importance for the victory of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina) against the Paraguayan forces. At the time, the ships of the Brazilian force did not have proper facilities for river navigation, which threatened the loss of a vessel due to grounding. In addition, the vessels were all made of wood, which offered a great risk against any land artillery.
During the preparations for the Battle of Riachuelo, the future Marquis of Tamandaré was responsible for commanding the Brazilian naval-warfare power. According to the established strategy, Brazilian vessels would block the Paraguay and Paraná rivers. The naval forces were divided into three groups, the first one making the rearguard on the Rio de la Plata, and the other two directly responsible for the blockade.
Meanwhile, Paraguayan troops were advancing territorially along the left bank of the Paraná River. To strategically weaken the Paraguayan military, a vessel commanded by Francisco Manoel Barroso da Silva waged a battle in the city of Corrientes. The success of the Brazilian fighters in this mission would effectively impede the Paraguayan occupation of the southern region of Brazil. The strategic importance of this location made the Brazilian naval forces set up their main point of operations in Corrientes.
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The reaction plan against the Triple Alliance would be launched in the night of June 10th to 11th, 1865. According to the Paraguayan plan, the naval forces should make a surprise attack capable of surprise Brazilian vessels near Corrientes, which would later be towed to Humaita. The conflicts started on the morning of June 11, with a slight advantage of the Paraguayan forces. Brazilian forces pursued the Paraguayans to the mouth of the Riachuelo, where the clashes would take place.
Unaware of the plans of the Paraguayan naval force, the military officer Francisco Manoel directed Frigate Amazonas with the objective of intercepting the Paraguayans. The advance of Brazilian troops ended up costing the stranding of two vessels hit by enemy fire. Francisco Manoel's mistake was corrected in time to reorder the vessels under his command. The frigate Amazonas guided the other vessels against the Paraguayan ships and artillery.
This first part of the conflict ended after twelve hours of uninterrupted combat. Brazilian ships retreated to later return to the stage of war with six vessels. The second part of the conflict was completely dominated by the Brazilians, who managed to nullify the combat power of the Paraguayan ships and put four other enemy ships in flight. At the end of the day, the Paraguayan troops were defeated and the naval blockade of the allies was assured.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Naval Battle of the Riachuelo"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/batalha-naval-riachuelo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
