But his position was less unfavourable than might be supposed upon a comparison of the resources of the contending countries, for he had an excellent army and the country between the Parana and the Paraguay was admirably adapted to defensive operations. It was densely wooded and liable to floods which often made it impassable. As long as he could hold Humaita, where he had erected batteries to stop the Brazilian fleet, it would be impossible for the allies to make an effective advance. They had an army of forty thousand men concentrated near the town of Corrientes, and by April, 1866, they had forced the passage of the Parana and were in Paraguay. On May 24th they were attacked by twenty-five thousand Paraguayans and a desperate battle ensued, which ended in the victory of the allies. The Paraguayans lost five thousand killed and wounded, and their opponents, who lost about two thousand, were so severely crippled that they could not advance upon Humaita--a movement which might have ended the war. The army was devoted to Lopez and the Paraguayan made a fine soldier, while the allies, encamped in unhealthy swamps, lost heavily from disease. Mitre at last began an onward movement, but on September 22nd he was repulsed with great slaughter at Curupaiti, and the war came to a standstill. There was a long pause, for the difficulties of the allies were enormous and cholera broke out in their camp. It was not till November, 1867, that the Brazilian army succeeded in crossing the Paraguay north of Humaita, and this clever movement of the Brazilian Marshal Caxias decided the fate of the war. The allied armies began to close round Humaita and Brazilian warships forced their way beyond Curupaiti. Lopez fought with remarkable determination and skill, but his embarrassments rapidly increased, and on February 18, 1868, the Brazilian fleet ran the batteries at Humaita, and this entirely disorganised the transport system of Lopez, who relied chiefly upon his waterways. All through the year fighting continued, but on December 27, 1868, Lopez received a crushing defeat at Angostura, south of Asuncion, and he was compelled to fly into the interior. A few days later the Brazilians occupied Asuncion. But the irrepressible Lopez proclaimed a new capital at Peribebuy and made desperate efforts to carry on the war. After much fighting the allies succeeded in capturing the town in August, 1869, and pursuing Lopez, defeated him at Campo Grande, the last pitched battle of the war. He fled into the forest with his mistress, Madame Lynch, his children, and numerous faithful followers. Even in this extremity he still kept the field, until at last, on March 1, 1870, while he was encamped far to the north on the river Aquidaban, his men were thrown into a panic by the approach of the enemy. In the confusion Lopez and his staff attempted to escape, but the General's horse stuck in a swamp; he refused to surrender, and was killed by a spear-thrust. Thus died this