Luis Irrazábal
Encyclopedia
The Colonel Luis Irrazabal Barboza was born in Encarnación
City, in Itapúa Department
, Paraguay
, on August 8, 1891 and died in 1958.
He went to elementary school in Encarnación and to high school in Asunción
, capital of Paraguay.
and from the first moment he remained true to his duty, forces from which Irrazábal was part of. Later he would be fighting to defend the Paraguayan Chaco from the invasion of Bolivia
.
. He came back to the country with a gold medal, the first one given to a foreign officer.
Later, he was sent to the garrison in Paraguarí, where he dedicated to the creation of the regiment of cavalry No. 1 “Valois Rivarola”. On February 10, 1926 he was designated to command it.
He was also, the creator of the equitation school and he worried for the intellectual and technical formation of his subordinates.
He also created the Polo club in Paraguarí
and the festivities in the near cities were famous with the shows of cavalry he directed.
, “one of this people who was born to be leader”.
“The command obeyed with convincement of the superiority of moral or intellect, searching with it the conscientious subordination, is the kind of power that is rarely found”. Much has been said about the Colonel Luis Irrazábal. It is know of his severity and his efforts to be true to his calling of service to his country, as well as his characteristic as a true friend and comrade of the men at his command. It is proverbial the effort he put into caring for his subordinates, being them officers or members of the troop, to make the bearable the hard conditions in the front of the battle.
Those characteristics were respected and valued by his subalterns.
Coronel Irrazábal was sent to Belgium in a mission to prosecute the studies of Estado Mayor when the things were calmer, thanks to diplomatic help until July 31, 1932, the day that Bolivian people took over Fortín Boquerón, which cause the war on Chaco soil.
On September, 1932, back in the country, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Forces that operated in the area of Fortín Nanawa; 2 months later, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the DI 5, a unit that was organizing when the Bolivians decided to attack this sector.
The ways of access to Nanawa were filled with bodies but General Hans Kundt
, who was in charge of the Bolivian forces ordered to continue the attacks.
Surrounded by the enemy, without possibility to receive help by land, the Colonel Luis Irrazábal Barboza ordered the construction of a landing runway, which made possible the audacious maneuvers of the Paraguayan pilots, which risked to land and take off in the middle of the fire, to transport ammunitions and weaponry to the besieged soldiers, who counted with only 5 cartridges for each one. The order of Irrazábal was clear: “Once we ran out of ammunitions we will engage in one on one combat, but we will not retreat from Fortín Nanawa”.
That made him deserving of the acknowledgment of “Cruz del Chaco”.
The Commanding Officer Irrazábal, appointed Commander of the 3rd Brach of the Army, had to face an army much bigger in number and technically superior, resisting 3 days of combat. The following days were bloody and difficult. The 3rd Branch of the Army confronted an unstoppable offensive of the Bolivians.
Emiliano R. Fernández
compose music in which he sang to Commanders Irrazábal and Brizuela, to honor them for the good job they did during the battle in Fortín Nanawa, and all the difficult combats they had to engage in the Chaco.
After the war he was appointed Military Attaché in Buenos Aires
, later in Santiago de Chile and Peru
.
Luis Irrazábal, hero of Nanawa, died in Asunción, on March 16, 1958.
Encarnación, Paraguay
Encarnación is the capital city of the Paraguayan department of Itapúa, located at the south of the department, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná River, opposite Posadas, Argentina...
City, in Itapúa Department
Itapúa Department
Itapúa is a department in the southern region of Paraguay. The capital is the city of Encarnación. It is divided into 30 districts, making it the department with the most districts in the country.-History:...
, 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...
, on August 8, 1891 and died in 1958.
He went to elementary school in Encarnación and to high school in Asunción
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
, capital of Paraguay.
Beginnings
On April 1, 1913, at the age of 22, he joined the National ArmyParaguayan army
The Paraguayan Army is an institution of the State of Paraguay, organized into three divisions and 9, and several commands and directions, went to war on two occasions, in the War of the Triple Alliance v Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and Chaco War v Bolivia.- Mission :* Maintaining the sanctity...
and from the first moment he remained true to his duty, forces from which Irrazábal was part of. Later he would be fighting to defend the Paraguayan Chaco from the invasion of Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Career
In the peace that followed after the revolution, Irrazábal was sent to continue his studies in ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. He came back to the country with a gold medal, the first one given to a foreign officer.
Later, he was sent to the garrison in Paraguarí, where he dedicated to the creation of the regiment of cavalry No. 1 “Valois Rivarola”. On February 10, 1926 he was designated to command it.
He was also, the creator of the equitation school and he worried for the intellectual and technical formation of his subordinates.
He also created the Polo club in Paraguarí
Paraguarí
Paraguarí is a city, distrito and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country’s capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.- Toponymy :...
and the festivities in the near cities were famous with the shows of cavalry he directed.
A short story
Being Commandant of the 3rd Branch of the Army, the Colonel Luis Irrazábal was, according to the Coronel Alfredo Ramos, a subaltern in the War of ChacoChaco War
The Chaco War was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil. It is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed in literary circles for being fought in the semi-arid Chaco...
, “one of this people who was born to be leader”.
“The command obeyed with convincement of the superiority of moral or intellect, searching with it the conscientious subordination, is the kind of power that is rarely found”. Much has been said about the Colonel Luis Irrazábal. It is know of his severity and his efforts to be true to his calling of service to his country, as well as his characteristic as a true friend and comrade of the men at his command. It is proverbial the effort he put into caring for his subordinates, being them officers or members of the troop, to make the bearable the hard conditions in the front of the battle.
Those characteristics were respected and valued by his subalterns.
Difficult times
In 1928, his unit was sent to cover the area of Bahía Negra when the tension was about to unleash the war in this part of the continent.Coronel Irrazábal was sent to Belgium in a mission to prosecute the studies of Estado Mayor when the things were calmer, thanks to diplomatic help until July 31, 1932, the day that Bolivian people took over Fortín Boquerón, which cause the war on Chaco soil.
On September, 1932, back in the country, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Forces that operated in the area of Fortín Nanawa; 2 months later, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the DI 5, a unit that was organizing when the Bolivians decided to attack this sector.
The first battle of Nanawa
On January 20, 1933 started the battle of Nanawa, during the first days of the battle the Bolivians suffered more than 2.000 deaths, against the 248 Paraguayan deaths, the Bolivians attacked and the Paraguayan defended.The ways of access to Nanawa were filled with bodies but General Hans Kundt
Hans Kundt
Hans Kundt was a German military officer from a family of military officers...
, who was in charge of the Bolivian forces ordered to continue the attacks.
Surrounded by the enemy, without possibility to receive help by land, the Colonel Luis Irrazábal Barboza ordered the construction of a landing runway, which made possible the audacious maneuvers of the Paraguayan pilots, which risked to land and take off in the middle of the fire, to transport ammunitions and weaponry to the besieged soldiers, who counted with only 5 cartridges for each one. The order of Irrazábal was clear: “Once we ran out of ammunitions we will engage in one on one combat, but we will not retreat from Fortín Nanawa”.
That made him deserving of the acknowledgment of “Cruz del Chaco”.
Second Nanawa
The commander of the Bolivian forces, the German Hans Kundt, wanted to revenge the failure of January, 1933 and prepared another attack, on July 4, he ordered the biggest frontal attack of the war. The Bolivians caved a tunnel and put on an extreme a powerful bomb, near the focal point of the Paraguayan resistance, the bomb exploded at 9:00 and give signal to the massive attack: 7.000 Bolivians, with air force included and 30 cannons, tanks and flamethrowers. But by doing this, he sent his men in the line of defense of the Paraguayan and the result was a massacre. The lack of coordination of the Bolivians made them victims of their own artillery.The Commanding Officer Irrazábal, appointed Commander of the 3rd Brach of the Army, had to face an army much bigger in number and technically superior, resisting 3 days of combat. The following days were bloody and difficult. The 3rd Branch of the Army confronted an unstoppable offensive of the Bolivians.
Emiliano R. Fernández
Emiliano R. Fernández
Emiliano R. Fernández was born on August 8, 1894, in Yvysunu, Guarambare, Paraguay. His parents were Silvestre Fernandez and Bernarda Rivarola.-Childhood and youth:He is the author of more than 2,000 poems...
compose music in which he sang to Commanders Irrazábal and Brizuela, to honor them for the good job they did during the battle in Fortín Nanawa, and all the difficult combats they had to engage in the Chaco.
Dismissal
The triumphs of the Paraguayan army resulted in the promotion of Estigarribia to the position of Commander in Chief of the Army and Irrazábal resent it. He said to Estigarribia: “You keep going, being promoted, General, we will continue, in our positions in combat, so you could keep winning medals”. This phrase cost him his charge.After the war he was appointed Military Attaché in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, later in Santiago de Chile and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Luis Irrazábal, hero of Nanawa, died in Asunción, on March 16, 1958.