The rise of the Alfredo Baldomir government had disastrous effects for South America but during the early days the only people that were being threatened were anyone even that was a vague threat to the regime, and they knew it. Every Uruguayan leftist immediately tried to flee the country mostly to Argentina though some fled to Brazil. However, not every leftist had the same ability to flee with those in the country being able to get a few hours of preparation before fleeing as jackbooted soldiers tore down the road from Montevideo in Montevideo it was very different. The initial coup had been met with no resistance but once the fervently anti-communist views of the regime were expressed the leftists in the capital rose up because it was either that or death. Across the city barricades were raised by local leftists while others seized all boats they could to escape across the Río de la Plata to Argentina. The battles that raged across Montevideo's streets deserve a lecture of themselves they are that brutal but one interesting one is the Battle of the Argentine Embassy. The elite forces used in the coup had been detached to secure the Communist stronghold but on their trip to the embassy they had to fight through several blockades raised by local leftists this gave the Argentineans enough time to flee the Embassy to the nearby French Embassy. When the Uruguayan forces stormed the embassy, they found it empty save for a few guards who had stayed behind to present a façade of force while the ambassador escaped. The failure of his troops to capture the Communists enraged Baldomir and he ordered that his troops crush the Communist rebels along the harbour front and as he put it 'Hang the traitors from every streetlamp'. His forces were more than willing to do so, and the final offensive began. Throwing their forces against the weakening barricades the plasma equipped elites managed to push through the last defenders and reached the harbour. Now this is when the most internationally well-known event of the Uruguayan coup happened the Red Flight. When the government forces broke through the last of the barricades the leftists who had already been securing boats for their evacuation immediately began to grab anything that could float threw into the harbour and began to swim. Every woman and child was evacuated while the men stayed behind to hold off the government forces for as long as possible. For four hours the last holdout held out against the overwhelming forces of the government, but it fell, and the Coup was successful. All in all, it had taken 32 hours for the coup to secure Montevideo and another two weeks for all of Uruguay to fall under their control but they did not waste that time no far from it for during those two weeks they rescinded acknowledgment of the Argentine People's Republic and recognized the exiled military government, opened talks with the military regimes of Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia, and founded the International Anti-Communist Volunteer Corps.
The most immediate actions were the recognition of the Argentine Military Government and the foundation of the International Anti-Communist Volunteer Corps. The recognition of the Argentinian Military Government gave them much more legitimacy and they withdrew from the Canary Islands much to the pleasure of King Jaime I. The return of the Argentina Military Government to South American soil and moving into the abandoned Argentine Embassy as the temporary Parliament was met with great thoroughfare and celebration. With the first Brigade of the International Anti-Communist Volunteer Corps leading the parade. Which brings us on to the International Anti-Communist Volunteer Corps which is probably the most controversial force in the South American Inferno since it was made up of soldiers from across the world who were all fervently anti-Communist which is why there was such a strong Russian Presence in the force. The formation of the International Anti-Communist Volunteer Corps was met with formal indifference but informal support as despite the actions of the Argentine military government and the democratic nature of Argentina the world still hated communism. From across the world people joined the International Anti-Communist Volunteer Guard while the majority were ex-Military there was a reasonable civilian presence who were all placed in roles behind the lines.
Now the final topic I will touch on is the Uruguayan regime's diplomatic efforts as they established the South American League consisting of Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and the Argentine Military Government all of which were under fiercely reactionary military dictatorships. Alfredo Baldomir seized on the opportunity and in secret negotiations held in La Paz he managed to establish an alliance between the five powers. While the most common ideology attached to the La Paz Pact has been Anti-Communism another major aspect was revanchism all of the member states had lost land to them unfairly. Peru had lost land to Ecuador and although they had been granted economic concessions that had not been enough, and the military had taken control. Bolivia had lost land to Paraguay in what they viewed an unfair war that they would have won if not for Brazil intervening. Last but not least Colombia had lost Panama to an American puppet regime so that a canal could be built, and the military regime used that as the fulcrum of their propaganda alongside militarist ideas of Gran Colombia. The La Paz Pact divided South America with plans to conquer all lands ever held by the Spanish Empire in South America under the banner of Anti-Communism. The opening plan was their invasion of Argentina to reinstate the Military Government. Then invasions of the states that had stolen land from them in this case Chile, Paraguay, and Ecuador were all on the target list. The third phase was planned to be the invasion of Venezuela and then they would launch their greatest strike. The final and greatest aim of the La Paz pact was the invasion and dismemberment of the Empire of Brazil and securing dominance over South America for all time. How they planned to win a war against a state which held Interstellar Warships is unknown their planning documents for Operation Icarus never said. However, that is in the South American Inferno, which is next lecture, but the kindling was most definitely laid from the 31st of March to the 7th of July 1947.
-Transcript of a lecture given by Dr. Siegfried Sasse on the establishment of the Uruguayan Regime