| Unit Name: | Paraguayan Army |
| Start Date: | Officially since 1811 |
| Type: | Army |
| Size: | 20,000 active personnel[1] 160,000 reserves |
| Command Structure: | Armed Forces of Paraguay |
| Motto: | Spanish; Castilian: Vencer o Morir To win or to die |
| March: | Marcha al Mariscal Lopez |
| Battles: | War of the Triple Alliance Chaco War Paraguayan People's Army insurgency |
| Anniversaries: | 24 of July (Mariscal Lopez Birthday) |
| Commander1: | General Darío Martin Cáceres Snead |
| Commander1 Label: | Chief of the Paraguayan Army |
| Notable Commanders: | José Félix Estigarribia Francisco Solano López |
The Paraguayan Army (Spanish; Castilian: Ejército Paraguayo) is the ground force branch of the Armed Forces of Paraguay. It is organized into three corps and nine divisions, and several commands and direction. It has gone to war on many occasions, notably in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay; the Chaco War against Bolivia; and the ongoing Paraguayan People's Army insurgency.
Paraguay's army was formally established in 1811, the year of the country's independence. For the first several years of Paraguay's existence the commanders of the army, such as Fulgencio Yegros and Pedro Juan Caballero, formed the majority of the cabinet until 1814, when they were replaced by Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, who installed himself as supreme dictator for life after a series of political clashes with Yegros. Francia removed all army personnel from the government and reformed the army, which was by now inept and corrupt. He limited the power of the army by declaring that no rank above captain could be achieved, and that after three years of service officers were to be retired. By 1816 there were no officers in the army who had fought at the Tacuarí or the Paraguarí. Francia's horse-grenadier guard company was the first new unit created and was to form the nucleus of the army. Each captain was given command of a branch of the service, which consisted of line infantry, light infantry, dragoons, chasseurs, hussars and artillery. The infantry, artillery and hussars were stationed in the capital Asunción, and the rest of the army was stationed in outposts around the country to defend from attacks by Indians. The cavalry would go dismounted during peacetime, and were distinguished by the yellow aiguillette sewn onto their left shoulder. Although no formal wars were fought, conflicts with the Chaco Indians, particularly the sub-groups of the Guaykuru tribes, raged in the borderlands. The size of the army varied according to the magnitude of threat. In 1825 it was 5000 strong, but in 1834 it was only 649 strong. There was also a large number of militia troops, which usually numbered around 25,000.
After Francia's death in 1840, Carlos Antonio López assumed power and modernized the army and expanded the navy. He opened an iron foundry at Ybycuí that produced arms and bullets and also built up a railway system in the country to transport troops and materiel.
Following the succession of Lopez's son, Francisco Solano López, the army was expanded yet further until it was one of the largest in South America, consisting by 1864 of 44 infantry battalions, 46 cavalry regiments and four artillery regiments. In that same year Paraguay fought its first actual war against Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Despite Paraguayan numerical superiority and initial success, the allies soon upped their game and Paraguay eventually found itself surrounded. Despite constant defeat on the field by the allies, the Paraguayans did not capitulate until Lopez had been killed in 1870, in the Battle of Cerro Corá, having been on the run with his 200 remaining men.
As of 2016, the Paraguayan Army had a total strength of 10,600 personnel, including 2,500 conscripts.
The Paraguayan Army is composed of Presidential Guard Regiment, organized into a regimental HQ, two battalions (infantry and military police), an armored squadron and a battery of field artillery (plus the Mounted Ceremonial Squadron "Aca Caraya"). The regimental equipment includes three Argentine modified M4 Sherman tanks, four EE-9 armored cars, four EE-11 armored personnel carriers (APCs), three M9 halftracks mounting 20mm guns and four M-101 105 mm howitzers. Arguably, this "flagship" unit is structurally and physically the strongest of the whole of the Army. The REP is independent from other commands. The EP features two field artillery groups (GAC 1–12 88 mm QF-25 and GAC 2–12 105mm M-101) and one air defense artillery group (GAA 13 40 mm L 40/60, Oerlikon 20 mm cannons, and six M-55 4×12, 7.0 mm).
Six battalions of combat engineers, one communications battalion, one Special Forces battalion, seven regiments of infantry and six regiments of cavalry comprise the rest of the force. There is little organic aviation available to it.
Each corps has a weapons school run by its command. The logistical command manages and addresses materials, mobilization, health care, etc. The command of the Army Institute of Education administers three schools, commissioned and noncommissoned officers, a military academy and the CIMEFOR (a center for pre-military study that trains Reserve officers).
Each of the nine divisions that make up the three corps has one or two regiments of infantry or cavalry, its platoon of engineers, its communications section, military police units, etc.
| width=14% | Name | width=20% | Image | width=14% | Type | width=12% | Origin | width=10% | Quantity | width=06% | Status | width=24% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3 Stuart | Light tank | 10[2] | 10 operational as of 2014, 4 more in storage | ||||||||||
| M2 half-track | 8[3] | ||||||||||||
| M3 half-track | 23[4] | ||||||||||||
| M8 Greyhound | 12[5] | ||||||||||||
| EE-9 Cascavel | Armored Car | 28 | Upgraded in Brazil in 2008. | ||||||||||
| EE-11 Urutu | Armored personnel carrier | 12 |
| Land Rover Defender | Utility vehicle | 90 | 110 and 130 | |||
| Ford Ranger | Utility vehicle | 19 | ||||
| Agrale Marruá[6] | Utility vehicle | 17 | ||||
| Chevrolet S-10 | Utility vehicle | 104 | ||||
| M151[7] | Utility vehicle | |||||
| ARGO 8×8 | Amphibious all-terrain vehicle | 12 | ||||
| Mitsubishi L200 | Utility vehicle | +11 | ||||
| Trucks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz Unimog | 4x4 truck | |||||
| Mercedes-Benz Atego | 4x4 truck | |||||
| Mercedes-Benz 1414/51 | 4x4 truck | |||||
| MAN KAT1 | 4x4 truck | 20 | Ordered in 2013 | |||
| Ford Cargo 17-22 | 6x6 truck | 78+ | ||||
| M54 | 6x6 truck | |||||
| width=14% | Name | width=20% | Image | width=14% | Type | width=12% | Origin | width=10% | Quantity | width=06% | Status | width=24% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field artillery | |||||||||||||
| M101 | 105 mm howitzer | 20/26 | |||||||||||
| M30 mortar[8] | 107 mm mortar | 8 | |||||||||||
| width=14% | Name | width=20% | Image | width=14% | Type | width=12% | Origin | width=10% | Quantity | width=06% | Status | width=24% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oerlikon GAI-BO1 | Autocannon | 3 | 20mm autocannon | ||||||||||
| Bofors L/60 | Autocannon | 13 | 40mm autocannon |
| width=16% | Name | width=21% | Image | width=15% | Type | width=12% | Origin | width=10% | Caliber | width=26% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M72A7 LAW | Rocket-propelled grenade launcher | 66mm | 80 guns in service. | ||||||||
| M20 Super Bazooka | Rocket-propelled grenade | 88mm | 136 guns in service. | ||||||||
| M20[9] | Recoilless rifle | 105mm | 32 guns in service. |
It is important to note that the two most famous military leaders of Independent Paraguay, Francisco Solano López (during his own lifetime) and José Félix Estigarribia (after his death) were distinguished with the rank of Field Marshal of the Paraguayan Armies. However, this rank is just a "honorific distinction" for these two individuals who led the nation during the largest military conflicts Paraguay had to face, the Paraguayan War and the Chaco War.
Moreover, it is unknown if they ever had the garments of a Field Marshal. Solano López only received a "Marshal's Baton" but he kept wearing the uniform of a General of the Army while Estigarribia, apparently, never got nor received any type of Marshal's garments other than the honorific rank.
Officially, both Solano López and Estigarribia held the rank of General of the Armies of Paraguay.