Editing Chaco War (section)

=== First Paraguayan offensive ===
{{further|Battle of Boquerón}}
Fortín Boquerón was the first target of the Paraguayan offensive. The Boquerón compound was guarded by 619 Bolivian troops and resisted a 22-day siege by a 5,000-man Paraguayan force. An additional 2,500 Bolivians attempted to relieve the siege from the southwest but were beaten back by 2,200 Paraguayans, who defended the accesses to the siege area. A few Bolivian units managed to enter Fortín Boquerón with supplies, and the [[Bolivian Air Force]] dropped food and ammunition to the besieged soldiers. Having begun on 9 September, the siege ended when Fortín Boquerón finally fell on 29 September 1932.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=History |first=Military |date=2024-05-07 |title=Into the Green Hell: The Chaco War, 1932-1935 {{!}} The Past |url=https://the-past.com/feature/into-the-green-hell-the-chaco-war-1932-1935/ |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=the-past.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

After the fall of Fortín Boquerón, the Paraguayans continued their offensive and executed a [[pincer movement]], which forced some of the Bolivians to surrender. The Paraguayans had expected to lay a new siege on Fortín Arce, the most advanced Bolivian outpost in the Chaco, but when they got there, they found it in ruins. The 4,000 Bolivians who were defending Arce had retreated to the southeast to [[Fortín Alihuatá]] and [[Saveedra]].