In the early morning of that hectic September 16, a military truck slowly approached the Gualeguay airfield with its lights off. Next to the landing strip, a group of revolutionary officers waited expectantly.
The vehicle, driven by Colonel Eduardo Arias Duval, stopped and several people got out of it. They were General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu, Colonel Eduardo Señorans, Second Lieutenant Carlos B. Chasseing and Arias Duval himself, not counting the heavily armed soldiers who traveled in the back.
Those waiting next to the runway approached the new arrivals and after exchanging a few words, they headed towards the single-engine Piper that, under the command of First Lieutenant Enrique Méndez, was waiting with its engines on at the head, ready to take off.
The individuals loaded the luggage and weapons and immediately after boarded the machine, taking their position inside.
As soon as he started the engine, Méndez realized that he was overweight and that's why he ordered to unload everything that was dispensable. The crew unloaded several packages that they piled up next to the runway and immediately boarded again, verifying with dismay that the machine was still overloaded and, therefore, unable to take off. This is how Méndez explained it to General Aramburu and he told him that as his pilot, he would be in charge of deciding.
Señorans, who was listening to the conversation, turned to Dr. Eduardo Bergalli, radical leader and only civilian on board, and asked him to get off. The man tried to resist but, due to his condition, he was required to descend quickly because they were late and did not want to delay the departure any longer.
Much to his chagrin, the leader abandoned the aircraft and First Lieutenant Catani did the same next to him, as he was the youngest officer.
Once free of the overload, the plane closed its doors and, giving maximum power to its engine, began to taxi along the runway, just at the moment when the police from the province of Entre Ríos arrived at high speed with the aim of prevent his departure.
The plane was gaining speed when the agents got out of their mobile phones and opened fire, hitting the fuselage and wounding frigate captain Aldo Molinari in the leg.
The single-engine rose without problems and when it began to light up on the horizon, its pilot headed towards the neighboring province of Corrientes, more precisely to Curuzú Cuatiá, one of the two cities founded by General Belgrano during his expedition to Paraguay.
Molinari was holding his leg when he warned his companion that he was bleeding. Arias Duval, who was traveling in the passenger seat, got up and stood next to him to make a tourniquet with two handkerchiefs and in this way momentarily stopped the bleeding.
At 08:05 the plane stabilized and almost immediately, Lieutenant Méndez noticed that a storm front was forming in front of them with threatening dark clouds, which is why he turned on the radio to listen to the weather report.
At that time, the announcer's voice transmitted an official message that reported on the military uprising in the province of Córdoba, that it was beginning to be controlled by loyal forces and that calm reigned in the kingdom of the country. The crew looked at each other in surprise just as Méndez began a detour to avoid the storm by turning slightly to the left, a maneuver that allowed them to see the town of Rosario del Tala in the distance.
They were flying over the course of the Mocoretá River, when Colonel Señorans explained to the passengers that according to what was agreed upon when planning the operation, the signal that would confirm that the place was in rebel hands was an ambulance parked next to the landing strip.
Twenty minutes later, the single-engine vehicle began to descend although with very little visibility due to the dense layer of clouds that covered the sector and almost immediately they spotted the airfield, noticing a strange stillness and what was worse, no ambulance stopped next to it.
The aircraft began to fly in a circle while its occupants discussed the situation. Aramburu, who was traveling sitting in the back, had remained silent throughout the trip and only spoke when his comrades realized the situation, asking Molinari what his opinion was. The sailor responded that in his opinion, the best thing to do was to land and move forward with the plans. After listening to it, the general meditated for a moment and after a few seconds of meditation, he ordered the landing.
On the mainland, the determined Major Juan José Montiel Forzano had everything ready to start the uprising at the agreed time. He had been moving rapidly since the 14th, informing the rebellious officers and civilians of the plans, among them Sapadores Major Constantino Passoli, Captains Eduardo Rezzonico, Claudio Mas, José Eduardo Montes, Joaquín Vallejos and Francisco Balestra, Pedro E. Ramírez (son of the former president of the Nation Pedro Pablo Ramírez), Julio César and José Rafael Cáceres Monié (brothers of the military man), Mario de León, Juan Labarthe and Enrique Arballo.
At 0 hours on September 16, he proceeded to capture the headquarters of the town's Armored Exploration Detachment and arrest its main authorities, led by lieutenant colonels Carlos Frazer, Julio César Uncal y Carvajal and majors Tomás Rodolfo Orsi, Nadal , Hogan, Rodríguez and Idelbo Eleodoro Voda along with several captains and lieutenants. Immediately afterwards, he gathered the 180 non-commissioned officers of the unit in the main courtyard of the Exploration Detachment, and invited them to join the uprising, which the majority rejected. Faced with such a situation, he ordered their arrest, dismantling them and locking them in the materials warehouse in front of which he ordered to set up a strong guard to assume command immediately afterwards, distributing charges among his followers.
Everything was under control when the plane in which General Aramburu was traveling touched the ground, with the exception of the Armored Group, its School and its workshops, with its complement of 50 tanks and half-track vehicles, located at one end of the town, with the Curuzú Cuatiá stream in the middle.
Montiel Forzano dispatched Major Eduardo Samyn there at the head of a group of officers while the civilian commandos occupied the Municipality, the police station, the Post Office, the railway station, the Bank and the telephone office, without encountering opposition.
The School and the Armored Group fell without bloodshed and in this way, an entire Division, with its cannons, mortars and tanks, was left in the power of the rebel forces. Shortly after, Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Orfila, head of the Military District, subordinated himself to Montiel Forzano, placing the police and civil commands under his command.
Without loss of time, he dispatched a section under the command of Lieutenant José Luis Picciuolo to the airfield, with instructions to receive General Bengoa and immediately take him to the Detachment. The high officer had to lead the rebel forces, board the trains and head towards Paraná first and Rosario later, to gather the troops that, under the orders of General Lonardi, would march from Córdoba towards the Federal Capital, but once again The senior officer never appeared.
At 10:00 a.m., Colonel Héctor Solanas Pacheco arrived at the air station, coming from the “El Carmen” ranch to learn what was happening, and after hearing that nothing was known about Bengoa, he began his return.
The one who was greatly surprised by what was happening in the Curuzú Cuatiá School Armored Group was its commander, Colonel Ernesto Sánchez Reinafé, when shortly after arriving in Buenos Aires, he learned from General Francisco Antonio Imaz that his garrison had revolted.
He was ordered to return immediately and, together with General Carlos Salinas and Colonel José Eduardo Tabanera, commanders of the Armored Division and Artillery of the Mechanized Corps respectively, take charge of the situation. Thus, without wasting time, they headed to the Metropolitan Airport and once there they boarded a twin-engine LV civil plane and left for Corrientes.
Sánchez Reinafé had been the victim of a distraction maneuver by Montiel Forzano, who had sent him a message ordering him to urgently appear in Buenos Aires for a meeting at the Ministry of the Army.
The plane leading to Salinas and Sánchez Reinafé took off from the capital around 12:00 and an hour later, it flew over Curuzú Cuatiá dropping government pamphlets announcing the failure of the uprising. That and the official statements issued by the radios, announcing that the loyal forces were prevailing, caused confusion to spread in the armored garrison, to such an extent that several officers, including Captain Nicolás Granada and Lieutenants Alberto Rueda, Shefferd and Juan Rocamora, rebels until that moment, abandoned the plot and rushed to free the 180 non-commissioned officers they were guarding.
What until now had been a peaceful movement turned into a bloodbath. The noncommissioned officers, alienated, left the workshops in which they had been locked up and, shouting insults and cheers at Perón, ran to the arsenals to obtain weapons, previously reducing the officers Rubén Molli and Carlos Zone, who at that time were standing guard. From that point they headed towards the access gates, taking over the main entrance, thereby controlling access to the unit.
Seeing this, Major Samyn ran to the town where the rebel high command was meeting and informed them of what was happening1.
Extremely agitated, Samyn reported that the garrison had returned to loyal hands and that chaos and confusion dominated the Group, so Detang advised Solanas not to wait any longer and immediately take charge of the situation while Montiel Forzano hurriedly left to catch up. in front of his troops.
The circumstances were extremely complex since it was General Aramburu and not Bengoa who had presented himself to take command in Corrientes and that made the situation more confusing.
Ignoring and continuing with what had been planned, Montiel Forzano led a column of seven half-track vehicles, four cannons, personnel from Sappers and the Exploration Detachment and at the head of it he crossed the town to reach the end. opposite, when the loyal troops, on the other side of the stream, were carrying out preparations.
Two of the armored vehicles headed towards the sector, one under the command of First Lieutenant Jorge Cisternas and the other under the command of Second Lieutenant Juan Carlos González, while a loyal truck driven by Lieutenant Juan Rocamora left at full speed from the neighboring Escuela, violently ramming the side dividing rail to block the bridge. Both forces opened fire and engaged in tough combat with the non-commissioned officers, stationed in the workshops, shooting at the tanks. One of them ran up to Second Lieutenant González's armored vehicle and fired at point-blank range from the turret. The bullet hit a projection inside and that miraculously saved the officer. Lieutenant Villamayor shot down the aggressor from his armored vehicle when the loyalist was about to fire a second shot. The subject fell heavily to the ground at the precise moment when the tanks opened fire with their cannons and 7.65 mm heavy machine guns. One of them shot at Villamayor's carrier at a time when Montiel Forzano was climbing up it. The rebels returned fire and forced their adversaries to retreat as the fighting grew in intensity, even reaching hand-to-hand combat.
The large number of casualties that occurred forced the parties to carry out a tactical withdrawal in order to regroup and evaluate the situation. It was at that precise moment that Montiel Forzano moved to a nearby square and communicated with the Artillery Group to order them to attack the School by firing over the town.
The order was not carried out because at that time Colonel Arias Duval was present in order to request a parliament. He couldn't stand the idea that friends and comrades-in-arms were killing each other and for that reason, he asked for a dialogue. Montiel explained to him that he had requested the bombing of the School and that it would be extremely difficult for him to stop it, but within a few minutes, he managed to establish a new telephone link and contained the action in time.
Arias Duval, former deputy director of the Group, had many friends among the non-commissioned officers and for that reason he tried to establish dialogue. Followed by Captain José Eduardo Montes, he went outside raising a white flag, but upon seeing them advance, the non-commissioned officers shot at them, forcing them to seek cover behind a tree. From that position they made signals by waving the flag and the firing ceased.
Arias Duval and Montes crossed the bridge and after being received by the enemy's advance guards, they headed towards their command post escorted by heavily armed men. Immediately afterwards, they entered the School where the head of the Shooter Company, Captain Nicolás Granada and Lieutenant Mario Benjamín Menéndez2 were waiting for them and they began conversations in a cordial but firm tone in which it was clear that the loyal leaders wanted nothing to do with the revolution. and they demanded the immediate release of Colonel Frazer, detained at the nearby police station.
Arias Duval agreed and sent for the officer who, after a few moments (which were extremely long), showed up to join the negotiations. It was agreed that both the School and the workshops would stay out of the conflict and that the prisoners on both sides would be released.
In the afternoon, the loyal command was meeting in the officers' casino of the VI Cavalry Division, organizing the repression.
It was made up of General Astolfo Giorello and Colonels Sánchez Reinafé and José Bernardo Tabanera, who decided to mobilize the 9th Cavalry Regiment and a support artillery group, previously infiltrating several non-commissioned officers dressed in civilian clothes among the population and the rebel cadres, to obtain information. The latter were efficient in fulfilling their mission and once they returned, they realized that the mutinous forces had not yet been deployed and that they were having some difficulties in organizing themselves.
That was precisely what the loyal leaders wanted to hear and what decided them to set out on Curuzú Cuatiá.
A long column of vehicles, made up of eighteen trucks, ten buses and at least five private cars, started moving from the barracks and was detected by a reconnaissance plane when it was moving near the town of Justino Solari3.
As soon as the pilot transmitted the information, General Aramburu asked Lieutenant Méndez to confirm it, an order that the young officer hurried to carry out, flying over the long line of vehicles minutes later, and even Artillery elements were advancing by train from Paso de los Free.
The news caused confusion among the rebel commanders who, extremely worried, hesitated between waiting for the attack in defensive positions or going out to meet those forces to surprise them on the way. Finally, this last alternative was chosen, preparing fourteen half-track vehicles, seven artillery pieces and several trucks to transport the troops4.
When everything was ready, General Aramburu ordered Colonel Solanas Pacheco to remain in the barracks in charge of the garrison and shortly after he boarded one of the trucks with which he left to confront the loyal forces.
It was after 6:00 p.m. and the sky was covered by thick clouds when Solanas Pacheco and Roger Detang saw the long line of vehicles moving away towards the road. When she disappeared from sight, the first proceeded to tour the facilities, first visiting Captain Molinari, who was recovering from his wounds satisfactorily at the local hospital (although in quite a bit of pain), and immediately afterwards returning to the barracks. .
Only then did he realize that he was in charge of a heterogeneous troop of soldiers and non-commissioned officers and that confusion was spreading in his ranks, so, according to Ruiz Moreno, he told Detang about the fact, requesting his advice based on his experience as a combatant. of World War II.
-This must be something normal for you but not for me – he told to the Frenchman – I consider the situation extremely difficult.
- I confess to you that it is the most screwed up situation of my life - the one responded - In the war we knew the enemy, but those around us can shoot us at any moment.
While this conversation was taking place, the revolutionary forces continued their advance led by Montiel Forzano's armored vehicle and Major Néstor Vitón, head of the Artillery Group. According to the plan, the column entered a grove of trees that extended to one side of the road and took positions to ambush General Giorello's troops arriving from Mercedes at that point. Aramburu and his staff remained there while Montiel Forzano went forward to explore.
The brave officer reached the enemy lines and, upon seeing his carrier, they retreated at high speed. At that precise moment, a jeep driven by Captain José Eduardo Montes arrived next to him, bringing an order from Aramburu according to which he must return as soon as possible.
Montiel obeyed and once in the presence of his superior, he knew that the vehicles were beginning to run out of fuel and that as it was getting dark, the situation was becoming disadvantageous.
-I consider it convenient to return to the barracks – said Aramburu.
Montiel Forzano felt quite disappointed when he heard those words because he had come to fight and he was willing to do so.
-My general, I ask for your authorization to organize an attack on the enemy positions with five half-tracks. I know where the enemy is.
-I don't know if that's convenient. I have been informed that the loyalist column has stopped in the town of Baibiene and that they are positioning their cannons and machine guns along the road.
-It is possible, but I think they will run away when they feel our shots above their heads.
Aramburu hesitated for a few seconds and finally conceded.
-OK. Proceed5.
Montiel Forzano left determined to fulfill his mission. He had planned to abandon the main road and flank the enemy's positions across the field and attack them from behind and for this he ordered to load fuel and place four machine guns in each armored vehicle.
When the soldiers were engaged in these tasks, a sergeant approached him to inform him that General Aramburu required his presence again. Extremely upset, the officer went to the command post to hear once again, from his superior, that the raid had to be aborted.
-We have analyzed your plan and we believe that it is unfeasible. It has been decided to suspend the attack.
Montiel Forzano was taken aback, but like the good soldier he was, he obeyed the order. That's why there was a general there and there was a reason he made that decision. An event even occurred that seemed to prove Aramburu right: before leaving the barracks, the vehicles that made up the column had loaded fuel but at that time, their tanks were practically empty, reliable proof that they had been sabotaged and that urgent measures had to be adopted to avoid a disaster.
Fulfilling Aramburu's orders, the column turned around and began its return in the middle of the night.
Once in the barracks, the rebels found new evidence of sabotage. The non-commissioned officers had spilled the fuel from the tanks and there was not a single drop of gasoline and to make matters worse, Rolando Hume, who had been sent by Dr. José Rafael Cáceres Monié to the town of Justino Solari to requisition all the diesel oil in the place , had fallen prisoner of the loyalist outposts and there was no news of him. In view of this, Aramburu decided to dispatch Solanas Pacheco to try to turn General Giorello into the revolution, since there were indications that he was inclined to do so.
Accompanied by Detang and Carlos Passeron, Solanas got into a private car and headed towards Baibiene to change his uniforms for civilian clothes there and continue his journey in the middle of the night.
The car was only 30 kilometers from the Curuzú Cuatiá barracks when bursts of machine gun fire forced it to stop. Seeing that several soldiers were approaching them with their weapons pointed at them, Detang descended with his hands raised, shouting in his typical French accent that they were three landowners on a business trip.
The soldiers surrounded the car while a non-commissioned officer opened the rear door of the vehicle and illuminated its interior with a flashlight. Upon recognizing Solanas, he called Colonel Juan José Arnaldi, director of the Cavalry School in charge of the operation, who upon arriving at the scene ordered the occupants of the vehicle to descend immediately.
-The three remain detained! - He said.
Unarmed and under strict surveillance, Solanas Pacheco, Detang and Passeron were taken to three military vehicles in which they were going to be transferred to the town of Mercedes as detainees. The war for them had ended.
Meanwhile, in Curuzú Cuatiá Montiel Forzano, following direct orders from General Aramburu, hurriedly organized the attack on the loyal troops stationed in Paso de los Libres.
The rebel officer was planning the offensive in the Cavalry Exploration Detachment, when around 11:00 p.m. two non-commissioned officers showed up to report that elements of the Artillery Group and the Sapper Battalion had deserted to join the government forces that had just free all the prisoners and that at their head they advanced towards the place, heavily armed.
Montiel Forzano and his companions were unaware that at that precise moment, the loyal non-commissioned officers were surrounding the Casino and preparing to open fire and without wasting time he asked a messenger to immediately go to General Aramburu's command post to tell him that he should retreat. to the Exploration Detachment and prepare to resist the government onslaught. Upon learning the news, the general gathered his officers and informed them of the situation, namely: the loyal troops had been immobilized, there was no fuel and forces from Paso de los Libres, Mercedes and Monte Caseros were converging on the sector. .
-Everything is over. They remain free of action. Whoever wants to go to Córdoba can do so.
To avoid being surrounded, the rebel command hastily deconcentrated while gunshots began to be heard outside.
Aramburu boarded a jeep with Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Ayala and captains Claudio Mas and José Eduardo Montes and left for Paso de los Libres without saying what his next steps would be. Colonel Señorans headed towards the airfield, accompanied by the pilot Enrique Méndez and lieutenants Hernández Otaño and Castelli, to board the plane that had brought them from Buenos Aires and fly to Córdoba, but they found it surrounded by government troops and for that reason , they gained the field and headed towards the ranch of Eduardo Cazes Irigoyen.
The one who decided to remain in his position was Colonel Arias Duval, in his capacity as former deputy director of the Armored School. He knew that he was going to be taken prisoner and that he would suffer the consequences but he was not willing to hand over command to the non-commissioned officers but would do so personally with a competent officer.
He did so and when Major Nadal, head of the group's workshops, was present, Arias Duval proceeded to transfer control of the military unit to him and placed himself at his disposal. Nadal, who was his friend, did not arrange for his arrest but, on the contrary, forced him to get into a jeep and he himself drove him to the limits of the garrison.
Arias Duval escaped at night, across the country and hid in a ranch near the route that led to Monte Caseros, where he remained hidden until September 18 when he boarded a train bound for Paraná, firmly determined to reach Córdoba to join the to the fight.
Montiel Forzano, who until the last moment maintained the hope of carrying out an attack on the enemy forces, gave up his plan and boarded another jeep to head to Goya in the company of several officers, knowing that Captain Francisco Balestra was waiting for them with a plane. individual ready to leave as soon as they arrived.
Ruiz Moreno says that due to exhaustion, Montiel Forzano fell asleep as soon as the jeep started and that he only woke up on the Santa Lucía stream bridge when a Peronist platoon stopped his march and took him prisoner along with the driver and his companions. companions.
Perón's forces won the battle of Curuzú Cuatiá, Colonel Frazer took charge of the Armored Group and the School from him and in this way, the population and its garrison returned to the hands of the government. At 02:00 the next day he handed over command to Colonel Sánchez Reinafé, whose first measure was to send an urgent telegram to the capital, notifying with satisfaction that the military unit was once again in loyal hands.
Notes
- Among those present were Colonel Solanas Pacheco, Major Montiel Forzano and the French World War II veteran, Robert Detang, who at that time were exchanging information with the newly arrived General Aramburu.
- Great-nephew of the general raised in 1951 and son of the eminent doctor and professor of Chañar Ladeado, with the same name and surname, he would become famous, twenty-seven years later, for his unconvincing performance as governor of the Malvinas archipelago during the South Atlantic War.
- The town is named after Mariano I. Loza. The pilot who manned the reconnaissance plane was Julio Delage, a civilian instructor at the Curuzú Cuatiá flying club.
- According to the agreement with the Armored Group, the tanks would not be used.
- Isidoro Ruiz Moreno, op. cit, pp. 145-146.
