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Paraguay Army

The army was the largest service [as of 2005] with 7,600 personnel, including 1,500 conscripts. Six military regions cover the country, encompassing three corps headquarters and nine division headquarters (six infantry and three cavalry). Principal army units include nine infantry regiments, three horse cavalry regiments, three mechanized cavalry regiments, a Presidential Guard, 20 frontier detachments, three artillery groups, one air defense artillery group, and six engineer battalions. Army reserve forces include 14 infantry and four cavalry regiments.

The Paraguayan Army is primarily responsible for the security of the nation’s territory to deter or defeat internal threats and provide disaster relief missions. In addition, the Army assists other Paraguayan security services, such as the National Police, with law enforcement support.

Despite inadequate, antiquated equipment on almost every level, the Paraguayan Army conducts limited training exercises. All Army officers are trained at the Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez Military College located in the city of Asunción. Non-commissioned officer training is limited to some specialties, such as infantry and logistics.

The Paraguayan army has existed since independence in 1811, when it consisted of two infantry battalions backed up by a militia. It was built up under Francia to include cavalry and artillery elements and was also backed by a reserve force. The army continued to occupy an important position under the presidencies of both Lopezes, who devoted considerable resources to training, organization, and weaponry. During the 1860s, under the younger Lopez, the army grew to be the largest in Latin America, maintaining fixed artillery positions around Asuncion and in other fortresses in the country.

In 1864 during the lead-up to the War of the Triple Alliance, the army was large enough to invade Argentina and Brazil, one invasion force numbering as high as 25,000. Eventually, a force estimated at 50,000 was mobilized during the war—far more than the nation was able to train or arm adequately. The army was overwhelmed by the larger and better equipped armies of its opponents, which by the war's end in 1870 had reduced the Paraguayan army to a few remnants.

The army was reestablished after the Brazilian occupation ended in 1876, but until the turn of the century it consisted mainly of small units assigned to defend the frontiers or to act as ceremonial forces in the capital. Less a professional institution than a collection of forcibly conscripted troops, the army during the late 1800s came under the shifting commands of officers allied with whatever government was currently in power.

Efforts to improve matters met with uneven results. Most of the new equipment acquired during the 1895-1904 period was lost in 1904 during the Liberal revolt. The Liberals were backed by a well-equipped armed force, the personnel and equipment of which were then incorporated into a 2, 000-strong army reorganized by the new government. The army again underwent reorganization after the 1922 civil war. It grew only slightly until the late 1920s, when tensions with Bolivia prompted a mobilization, and new battalions were formed. Approximately 140,000 men saw service during the three-year Chaco War, after which the army was reduced dramatically to little more than its prewar level.

The factional split of the army during the 1947 civil war was followed by a large turnover in personnel. After operations were "regularized," the army was expanded. The greatest buildup came in the engineer arm, which began to be used extensively in civicaction work. A cavalry division was also organized. After Stroessner became president in 1954, he enlarged the army again, the most important new element being the Presidential Escort Battalion (later expanded to a regiment). The army inventory grew more slowly. A small quantity of light and medium tanks, armored personnel carriers, and armored cars were acquired during the 1960s and 1970s, mostly from the United States and Brazil. These acquisitions barely kept pace with deletions of obsolete and broken-down equipment, however.

By one account, the army in 2005 had 12 M–4A3 tanks, 43 reconnaissance vehicles, and 10 armored personnel carriers, as well as more than 40 towed artillery pieces, 80 mortars, one LAW rocket launcher, one M–20 recoilless launcher, and 60 air defense guns.

Major ground force arms in the 1980s were heterogeneous in origin. Much was obsolete United States equipment, most of which was obtained third-hand from Argentina and Brazil. The small armor inventory consisted of twelve M-4A3 medium and twelve M-3A1 light tanks. It was unclear how many of the United States-made tanks were operable. The army also had twelve United States-made M-8 and M-3 armored cars; twenty Brazilian-made Cascavel armored vehicles; three United States-made M-2 armored personnel carriers (APCs), and ten Brazilian-made Urutu APCs. Artillery pieces included 75mm and 105mm howitzers of French and Swedish manufacture, plus six British-made 152mm coastal guns. The army used French-made 81mm and United States-made 107mm mortars and United States-made 75mm antitank guns. Also in the army's inventory were eight light transport aircraft and three helicopters. The army's conscripts were trained initially in the unit to which they were assigned. A variety of specialty schools, including the Armaments School, the Signals School, and the Engineer School, offered advanced training.