Paraguayan Army

The Paraguayan Army, in Spanish the Ejercito Paraguayo, is the ground force branch of the Armed Forces of Paraguay. It was formally established in 1811, the year of the country's independence, and was reformed under the dictator Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, who limited its power and capped officer rank at captain. Under Carlos Antonio Lopez and his son Francisco Solano Lopez it grew into one of the largest armies in South America, with 44 infantry battalions, 46 cavalry regiments and four artillery regiments by 1864, the year it fought its first real war against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in the War of the Triple Alliance. It later fought Bolivia in the Chaco War and the ongoing Paraguayan People's Army insurgency. It is organized into three corps and nine divisions and had a strength of about 10,600 personnel in 2016, including conscripts.