Editing Football War (section)

==War==
[[File:Mensaje FSH.JPG|thumb|right|A declaration made by Salvadoran President [[Fidel Sánchez Hernández]] regarding the war.]]
[[File:Chance-Vought F4U-5N Corsair (VH-III) taxiing during the 2015 Warbirds Downunder Airshow at Temora.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Vought F4U Corsair]] of the [[Honduran Air Force]], a type of aircraft used during the war.]]

The war began on 14 July 1969 at around 6 PM,<ref name=":2" /> when the FAS attacked Honduran airfields using [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51 Mustangs]],<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":4" /> as well as [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-47 Skytrains]] and civilian aircraft hastily converted into bombers.<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McKnight |first=Michael |date=2019-06-03 |title=The truth about 'The Soccer War' |url=https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/06/03/football-war-honduras-el-salvador |access-date=2024-07-16 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us}}</ref> They mainly targeted [[Toncontín International Airport]], where the FAH kept half of its aircraft.<ref name=":11" /> The [[Salvadoran Army]] then launched a two-front invasion of Honduras; one contingent headed to secure the prosperous [[Sula Valley]], while the other marched along the [[Pan-American Highway]] toward Tegucigalpa.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Cable |first=Vincent |year=1969 |title=The 'Football War' and the Central American Common Market |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/tomzgroup/pmwiki/uploads/1206-1969-Cable-a-JHS.pdf |journal=[[International Affairs (journal)| International Affairs]] |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)| Wiley]] |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=658–671 |doi=10.2307/2613335 |jstor=2613335 |via=Stanford University}}</ref>{{Rp|page=662}}<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Rouquié |first1=Alain |last2=Vale |first2=Michel |year=1973 |title=HONDURAS – EL SALVADOR, THE WAR OF ONE HUNDRED HOURS: A CASE OF REGIONAL 'DISINTEGRATION' |url=https://cooperative-individualism.org/rouquie-alain_honduras-el-salvador-1973-fall.pdf |journal=International Journal of Politics |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=17–51 |jstor=27868774 |via=The School of Cooperative Individualism}}</ref>{{Rp|page=20}} Troops were supported by [[M3A1 Stuart]]s, as well as bulldozers and trucks using [[Improvised vehicle armour|improvised vehicle armor]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Hills |first=Andrew |date=27 February 2020 |title=Light Tank M3A1 Stuart in El Salvadoran Service |url=https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/el-salvador/m3a1-stuart-salvadoran-service/ |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=The Online Tank Museum}}</ref> Initial progress was swift, with ''[[La Prensa Gráfica]]'' claiming they advanced {{Convert|40|km|mi}} in a single day.<ref name="baja">{{Cite web |date=13 July 2009 |title=100 Horas de Combate |trans-title=100 Hours of Combat |url=http://especiales.laprensagrafica.com/2009/guerradelascienhoras/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527110733/http://especiales.laprensagrafica.com/2009/guerradelascienhoras/ |archive-date=27 May 2017 |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=La Prensa Gráfica |language=es}}</ref> 

On 15 July, the FAH commenced bombings using their own fleet of [[World War II]]-era aircraft, mainly consisting of [[Vought F4U Corsair|F4U Corsairs]].<ref name=":5" />{{Rp|page=21}}<ref>{{cite book |title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |date=2009 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781851096725 |editor-last=Tucker |editor-first=Spencer C. |edition=illustrated |page=2463}}</ref> Sortie targets included the [[Ilopango International Airport]] and oil facilities in [[Acajutla]] and {{illm|Port Cutuco|es|Puerto Cutuco}}.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":8" /> El Salvador lost 20% of its fuel reserves in the raids. However, despite the operation's success, the FAH went on the defensive for the rest of the war following a second FAS attack on Toncontín.<ref name=":11" />

On 16 July, in the only major battle of the war, Salvadoran troops led by Colonel Mario (“El Diablo”) Velázquez Jandres, reached and surrounded [[Nueva Ocotepeque]], pressing defenses in what [[TIME]] described as a "narrow defile". Following artillery barrages, Honduran forces retreated alongside civilians, leading to the town's capture.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=TIME>{{Cite magazine |date=1969-07-25 |title=Central America: A Population Explosion |url=https://time.com/archive/6637203/central-america-a-population-explosion/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |magazine=TIME }}</ref> Both fronts stalled later that day due to an ammunition shortage and increasing Honduran resistance.<ref name=troop#/>

One of the last engagements of the war took place on the afternoon of 17 July, a dogfight which involved 4 Corsairs and 2 Mustangs. Captain [[Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez]], a Salvadoran, was killed;<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Lerner |first=Preston |date=1 September 2015 |title=The Last Piston-Engine Dogfights |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/last-piston-engine-dogfights-180956250/ |access-date=2019-02-08 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> he was the highest-ranking casualty of the war.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cornejo Escobar |first=Douglas A. |title=Biografia del Capitan P.A. Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez |trans-title=Biography of Captain P.A. Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez |url=http://www.fas.gob.sv/cima/biografia_cortez.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202221809/http://www.fas.gob.sv/cima/biografia_cortez.html |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |access-date=December 1, 2012 |website=Fuezera Aerea El Salvador |publisher= |language=Spanish}}</ref> The Football War was the last conflict in which piston-engined fighters fought each other.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite magazine |last1=Lyford |first1=Chuck |last2=Tillman |first2=Barret |date=1 December 2012 |title=Corsairs vs. Mustangs: the last dogfight |url=https://www.flightjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Soccer-War.pdf |access-date=16 July 2024 |magazine=[[Flight Journal]] |pages=16–24 |issue=}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Nate |date=25 June 2010 |title=Document Friday: The Football War |url=https://unredacted.com/2010/06/25/document-friday-the-football-war/ |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=Unredacted |publisher=[[National Security Archive]]}}</ref>