The Road to Armageddon : University of Calgary Press : 9781552388099 : 1552388093 : 30 Dec 2017 : "In 1864 Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano Lâopez seized the Brazilian steamer, the Marquães de Olinda, initiating what became the most significant war ever fought in South America. By 1866 Lâopez's offensive had ended, replaced by a brutal and protracted Allied siege of Paraguay. Whigham's study takes the story of this epic conflict from this point, describing not only key personalities and various military engagements but also explaining how the war shaped society, how men and women mobilized only to suffer on an unimaginable scale. He shows how thousands of Brazilian, Argentine, and Uruguayan soldiers were killed by 1870 and many more left wounded or broken. On their side, the Paraguayans saw their population fall to less than half its pre-war figure, and the country's economy more or less ceased to function. Yet, for all the devastation it unleashed, the Triple Alliance War also act