President Enrique Hertzog was at the peak of his career. Here you have, the man who brought respect to Bolivia and its military prowess. The man responsible for restoring pride to the nation that was lost so long ago. After a sad selection of partitions, failed military campaigns and unsuccesful wars leading to the annexation of parts of Bolivia bit by bit, Finally, Bolivia has a once in a lifetime opportunity to reverse this trend. With the armed forces resolute on his side to deliver the final blow, one last war against the perfidious Paraguayan to reconquer the Chaco in its entirety and destroy the Paraguayan army, there is nothing in the world that could stop Bolivia from reclaiming its birthright, All it takes is for one massive attack and the might of the Bolivian will to fight and its strength in numbers, will prevail over Paraguay’s wounded and bleeding elan.

At least thats what Hertzog thinks. The reality of the situation is far less glamourous. The successful Paraguayan counteroffensive in late 1947 shook the military brass and feared the Paraguayan resolve and superior imported technology and mechanization would in fact push the Bolivians back. Hertzog has to sink tremendous amounts of political capital to convince both the military in continuing to prosecute the war, rearm, regroup and modernize and reassure the oligarchical class who grew war weary over the possibility of the United States starting to notice and risking their bottom line. Successful diplomatic maneuvering by Hertzog managed to keep Peru and Argentina’s borders open to trade and arms imports despite publically supporting the Quito Pact’s arms embargo. The political opposition in the shape of Victor Paz Estenssoro initially supported the war but as Bolivia was pushed back, he began questioning the war effort and the need to continue prosecuting this war to the finish which would entail the conscription of tens of thousands more, building support for the anti oligarch movement and labor movements across the country.

The Bolivian counteroffensive into the Chaco in November 1948 stood to regain confidence within the government and military’s ability to fight. The overwhelming numbers of the Bolivians did indeed claim victories all over the front with the Paraguayans being slowly pushed back. Nevertheless the advances were at heavy cost and the Paraguayans grew increasingly more adept at mobile defensive tactics. The United States considered the Bolivian counterattack as evidence that the Quito Pact’s blockade is failing at its job to contain Bolivian expansionism and has thus resorted to more heavy handed tactics, freezing all assets, stopping trade and dropping interest rates on Bolivian bonds, holding them hostage with one demand: cease all military operations and come to peace negotiations. The change in behaviour quickly sent the Bolivian oligarchy into a panic demanding the government act and stop the conflict at once before the country’s economy collapses. President Hertzog refused to heed to their calls.

The situation worsened with the front seemingly stalled at Mariscal Estigarriaba and the Paraguayans launched an armored assault towards the city almost threatening to encircle the Santa Cruz Division only to be stopped by Bolivian shock troops. The battle spooked Bolivian high command and the public grew increasingly wary. Victor Paz Estenssoro now escalated his calls for peace as the Bolivian economy languished and recession loomed believing that the war despite just was proving far too costly for the people of Bolivia to stomach. The oligarchs for their part,, they, alongside with prominent commanders themselves part of such oligarchic class, informed Vice President Mamerto Urriolagoitia of their complete support to launch a palace coup against Hertzog due to their fears of Hertzog failing to uphold their interests and prosecuting what they believe to be a useless slaughter. The threat of an intervention by the Quito Pact was the final nail in the coffin for Hertzog’s ambitions for the Chaco. On April 27th 1949, Troops and police loyal to General Hugo Ballivian surrounded the presidential palace and installed a curfew in La Paz, effective immediately. An impeachment vote against Hertzog was launched and passed on the same day and President Hertzog is to be stripped of his credentials and presidency and placed under house arrest. Mamerto Urriolagoitia effective immediately has been sworn in as the new president of Bolivia. He pledged before the Chamber of Deputies to restore relations to the United States and seek peace in the Chaco region.