Luis Irrazábal The Colonel Luis Irrazabal Barboza was born in Encarnación City , in Itapúa Department , Paraguay , on August 8 , 1891 and died in 1958 . He went to elementary school in Encarnación and to high school in Asunción , capital of Paraguay . Beginnings . On April 1 , 1913 , at the age of 22 , he joined the National Army and from the first moment he remained true to his duty , forces from which Irrazábal was part of . Later he would be fighting to defend the Paraguayan Chaco from the invasion of Bolivia . Career . In the peace that followed after the revolution , Irrazábal was sent to continue his studies in Chile . He came back to the country with a gold medal , the first one given to a foreign officer . Later , he was sent to the garrison in Paraguarí , where he dedicated to the creation of the regiment of cavalry No . 1 “ Valois Rivarola ” . On February 10 , 1926 he was designated to command it . He was also , the creator of the equitation school and he worried for the intellectual and technical formation of his subordinates . He also created the Polo club in Paraguarí and the festivities in the near cities were famous with the shows of cavalry he directed . A short story . Being Commandant of the 3rd Branch of the Army , the Colonel Luis Irrazábal was , according to the Coronel Alfredo Ramos , a subaltern in the War of Chaco , “ one of this people who was born to be leader ” . “ The command obeyed with convincement of the superiority of moral or intellect , searching with it the conscientious subordination , is the kind of power that is rarely found ” . Much has been said about the Colonel Luis Irrazábal . It is know of his severity and his efforts to be true to his calling of service to his country , as well as his characteristic as a true friend and comrade of the men at his command . It is proverbial the effort he put into caring for his subordinates , being them officers or members of the troop , to make the bearable the hard conditions in the front of the battle . Those characteristics were respected and valued by his subalterns . Difficult times . In 1928 , his unit was sent to cover the area of Bahía Negra when the tension was about to unleash the war in this part of the continent . Coronel Irrazábal was sent to Belgium in a mission to prosecute the studies of Estado Mayor when the things were calmer , thanks to diplomatic help until July 31 , 1932 , the day that Bolivian people took over Fortín Boquerón , which cause the war on Chaco soil . On September , 1932 , back in the country , he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Forces that operated in the area of Fortín Nanawa ; 2 months later , he was appointed Commanding Officer of the DI 5 , a unit that was organizing when the Bolivians decided to attack this sector . The first battle of Nanawa . On January 20 , 1933 started the battle of Nanawa , during the first days of the battle the Bolivians suffered more than 2 . 000 deaths , against the 248 Paraguayan deaths , the Bolivians attacked and the Paraguayan defended . The ways of access to Nanawa were filled with bodies but General Hans Kundt , who was in charge of the Bolivian forces ordered to continue the attacks . Surrounded by the enemy , without possibility to receive help by land , the Colonel Luis Irrazábal Barboza ordered the construction of a landing runway , which made possible the audacious maneuvers of the Paraguayan pilots , which risked to land and take off in the middle of the fire , to transport ammunitions and weaponry to the besieged soldiers , who counted with only 5 cartridges for each one . The order of Irrazábal was clear : “ Once we ran out of ammunitions we will engage in one on one combat , but we will not retreat from Fortín Nanawa ” . That made him deserving of the acknowledgment of “ Cruz del Chaco ” . Second Nanawa . The commander of the Bolivian forces , the German Hans Kundt , wanted to revenge the failure of January , 1933 and prepared another attack , on July 4 , he ordered the biggest frontal attack of the war . The Bolivians caved a tunnel and put on an extreme a powerful bomb , near the focal point of the Paraguayan resistance , the bomb exploded at 9 : 00 and give signal to the massive attack : 7 . 000 Bolivians , with air force included and 30 cannons , tanks and flamethrowers . But by doing this , he sent his men in the line of defense of the Paraguayan and the result was a massacre . The lack of coordination of the Bolivians made them victims of their own artillery . The Commanding Officer Irrazábal , appointed Commander of the 3rd Brach of the Army , had to face an army much bigger in number and technically superior , resisting 3 days of combat . The following days were bloody and difficult . The 3rd Branch of the Army confronted an unstoppable offensive of the Bolivians . Emiliano R . Fernández compose music in which he sang to Commanders Irrazábal and Brizuela , to honor them for the good job they did during the battle in Fortín Nanawa , and all the difficult combats they had to engage in the Chaco . Dismissal . The triumphs of the Paraguayan army resulted in the promotion of Estigarribia to the position of Commander in Chief of the Army and Irrazábal resent it . He said to Estigarribia : “ You keep going , being promoted , General , we will continue , in our positions in combat , so you could keep winning medals ” . This phrase cost him his charge . After the war he was appointed Military Attaché in Buenos Aires , later in Santiago de Chile and Peru . Luis Irrazábal , hero of Nanawa , died in Asunción , on March 16 , 1958 .