Editing Chaco War (section)

===Armor, artillery, and motorized forces===
{{See also|Tank warfare in the Chaco War}}
At the insistence of the Minister of War General [[Hans Kundt]], Bolivia purchased a number of light tanks and tankettes for support of infantry forces. German instructors provided training to the mostly-Bolivian crews, who received eight weeks' training. The [[Vickers 6-Ton|Vickers light tanks]] bought by Bolivia were the Vickers Type A and Type B, commissioned into the Bolivian army in December 1932 and were originally painted in camouflage patterns.

Hampered by the geography and difficult terrain of the Gran Chaco, combined with scarce water sources and inadequate logistical preparations, the Bolivian superiority in vehicles (water-cooled), tanks, and towed artillery did not prove decisive in the end. Thousands of truck and vehicle engines succumbed to the thick Chaco dust, which also jammed the heavy water-cooled machine guns employed by both sides.<ref name="SEV"/> Having relatively few artillery pieces of its own, Paraguay purchased a quantity of [[Brandt Mle 27/31|Stokes-Brandt Model 1931 mortars]]. Highly portable (each of three parts could be carried by a soldier) and accurate, with a range of 3,000 yards, the ''angu'as'' ("corn-mashers" or "mortar" in Guarani) caused many casualties among Bolivian troops.<ref name="SEV"/> In the course of the conflict, Paraguayan factories developed their own type of pyrotechnic-ignater [[Grenade#Fragmentation grenade|hand grenade]], the pineapple shaped  ''carumbe'i'' (Guaraní for "little turtle")<ref>{{Cite web |title=Subfusil Erma Mp-35, Calibre 9mm Parabellum Heinrich Vollmer, Un – ID:5c5356346fa2e |url=https://xdoc.mx/documents/subfusil-erma-mp-35-calibre-9mm-parabellum-heinrich-vollmer-un-5c5356346fa2e |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=xdoc.mx |language=es}}</ref><ref>[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5n-Cj-wWUYQ/TdVkm1clL9I/AAAAAAAABHo/DOzqMHhSHa4/s1600/GRANADA+DE+MANO+O+CARUMBEI.JPG Bodies of Paraguayan ''carumbe'i'' grenades] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227024655/http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5n-Cj-wWUYQ/TdVkm1clL9I/AAAAAAAABHo/DOzqMHhSHa4/s1600/GRANADA+DE+MANO+O+CARUMBEI.JPG |date=27 February 2014 }} Museum "Villar Cáceres"</ref> and produced trailers, mortar tubes, artillery grenades, and aerial bombs. The Paraguayan war effort was centralized and led by the state-owned national dockyards, managed by [[José Bozzano]].<ref name="boz">[http://www.histarmar.com.ar/InfHistorica-2/AstCarmeloNDF-3DirectNav.htm ''Astillero Carmelo de MDF SA''] {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>Cardozo, Efraím (1964). ''Hoy en Nuestra Historia''. Ed. Nizza, p. 15</ref> The Paraguayan Army received its first consignment of ''carumbe'i'' grenades in January 1933.<ref name="gonz">González, Antonio E. (1960). ''[http://www.bvp.org.py/biblio_htm/gonzalez2/001_cap001.pdf Yasíh Rendíh]{{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}''. Editorial el Gráfico, p. 61 {{in lang|es}}</ref>