The Chaco War

Bolivia and Paraguay fought over the dry scrubland of the Gran Chaco from 1932 to 1935, partly in the hope of finding oil. Perhaps 90,000 soldiers died, many from thirst and disease. Paraguay, led by José Félix Estigarribia, won most of the disputed land, a war fought across the territory of the Chaco's Indigenous peoples. Bolivia's defeat helped bring on its 1952 revolution.