Football War

The war began on 14 July 1969, when the Salvadoran military launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire on the night of 18 July, which took full effect on 20 July. The roots of the war were issues over land reform in Honduras and immigration and demographic problems in El Salvador.

About Football War in brief

Summary Football WarThe war began on 14 July 1969, when the Salvadoran military launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire on the night of 18 July, which took full effect on 20 July. Salvadoran troops were withdrawn in early August. The roots of the war were issues over land reform in Honduras and immigration and demographic problems in El Salvador. El Salvador dissolved all diplomatic ties with Honduras on 27 June 1969, the day the play-off match took place in Mexico City, saying that 11,700 Salvadorans had been forced to flee Honduras. There was fighting between fans at the first game in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, which Honduras won 1–0. The second game, on 15 June 1969 in San Salvador, was won 3–0 by El Salvador, which was followed by even greater violence. The third game was won the decisive third game 3–2 after extra time. The Salvadoran Army launched major offensives along the two main roads connecting the two nations and invaded Honduras. In 1962 Honduras successfully enacted a new land reform law. Fully enforced by 1967, this law gave the central government and municipalities much of the land occupied illegally by Salvadoran immigrants and redistributed it to native-born Hondurans as specified by the Land Reform Law.

The land was taken from both immigrant farmers and squatters regardless of their claims to ownership or immigration status. Thousands of Salvadoran laborers were expelled from Honduras, including both migrant workers and longer-term settlers. This general rise in tensions ultimately led to a military conflict. The invasion phase was perpetrated by three main contingents: the Chalatenago Theater, the North Theater, and the East Theater. The South Theater was based on the northwest side of El Salvador and close to the border, including the departments of Chalatenango and Santa Ana. The North Theater was composed of a large division of mechanized fighting vehicles such as the M3 Stuart and a large amount of artillery as well as the 105mm M3 Debayo. This Theater was the only one to deploy in the case of Honduran dictator Anastasio Somoayo Debayle, who helped Honduras by providing weapons such as 105mm artillery. The East Theater was formed of a small unit of armored vehicles and alarge amount of manpower.