Caxias's army, en route to Asunción, travels…

Caxias's army, en route to Asunción, travels two hundred kilometers (one hundred and twenty miles) to Palmas, stopping at the Piquissiri river.

Here López has concentrated eighteen thousand Paraguayans in a fortified line that exploits the terrain and supports the forts of Angostura and Itá-Ibaté.

Resigned to frontal combat, Caxias orders the so-called Pikysyry maneuver, considered the most daring and creative strategy of the entire conflict.

After the fall of the Humaitá fortress in July, López had centered his troops in a strong position at the Pikysyry stream, which runs on the left margin of the Paraguay River.

To circumvent it, Caxias decides to build an eleven-kilometer-long road on the right bank of the Paraguay River, passing through the Gran Chaco swamps, and leading to the Paraguayan rear.

With the aid of the Brazilian Imperial Navy, Caxias carries twenty-three thousand troops to the beginning of the road, from where they advance along the right river bank, outflanking the enemy's fortified position.