The battle of Cerro Corá was fought on 1 March 1870 on a hill-surrounded valley of the same name, in the north-east of Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

. This was the last battle in the War of the Triple Alliance

War of the Triple Alliance

The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...

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Estimatives claim that Solano López's personal guard had from 100 to 250 soldiers. The Brazilian troops were composed of a battalion of about 4,000 men. At the margin of the Aquidaban-Nigui stream Solano Lopez's troops were surrounded and defeated.

Lopez was surprised by Brazilian troops and killed by Brazilian Imperial Army Grenadier Corporal José Francisco Lacerda, better known as Chico Diabo, as he attempted to swim to safety across the Aquidaban River.