Editing Chaco War (section)

=== Pitiantuta Lake incident ===
[[File:Recuperación fortin CA López 15 jul 1932.jpg|thumb|Sketch showing the Paraguayan counterattack on Pitiantutá Lake]]

On 15 June 1932, a Bolivian detachment captured and burned to the ground the Fortín Carlos Antonio López at Pitiantutá Lake. The captain in charge had disobeyed explicit orders by Bolivian President [[Daniel Salamanca]] to avoid provocations in the Chaco region. One month later, on 16 July, a Paraguayan detachment drove the Bolivian troops from the area. The lake had been discovered by Paraguayan explorers in March 1931, but the Bolivian High Command was unaware of that when one of its aircraft spotted the lake in April 1932.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerio de Defensa Nacional :: Pitiantuta, el inicio de la Guerra del Chaco |url=https://www.mdn.gov.py/index.php/noticias/pitiantuta-el-inicio-de-la-guerra-del-chaco |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=www.mdn.gov.py |archive-date=7 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707145352/https://www.mdn.gov.py/index.php/noticias/pitiantuta-el-inicio-de-la-guerra-del-chaco |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After the initial incident, Salamanca changed his status quo policy over the disputed area and ordered the outposts of Corrales, Toledo, and [[Fortín Boquerón]] to be captured. All three were soon taken, and in response, Paraguay called for a Bolivian withdrawal. Salamanca instead demanded that they were included in a "zone of dispute". On a [[memorandum]] directed to Salamanca on 30 August, Bolivian General [[Filiberto Osorio]] expressed his concerns over the lack of a plan of operations and attached one that focused on an offensive from the north. Quintanilla also asked for permission to capture two additional Paraguayan garrisons: Nanawa and Rojas Silva. In August, Bolivia slowly reinforced its 4,000-men First Bolivian Army, which was already in the conflict's zone, with 6,000 men.

The breaking of the fragile ''status quo'' in the disputed areas of the Chaco by Bolivia convinced Paraguay that a diplomatic solution on agreeable terms was impossible. Paraguay gave its general staff orders to recapture the three forts. In August, Paraguay mobilized over 10,000 troops and sent them into the Chaco region. Paraguayan Lieutenant Colonel [[José Félix Estigarribia]] prepared for a large offensive before the Bolivians had mobilized their whole army.