TheMexican Border War,[14] also known as theBorder Campaign,[15] refers to a series of military engagements which took place between the United States military and several Mexican factions in theMexican–American border region ofNorth America during theMexican Revolution.
From the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, theUnited States Army was stationed in force along the border and, on several occasions, fought with Mexican rebels or regularfederal troops. The height of the conflict came in 1916 when revolutionaryPancho Villaattacked the American border town of Columbus, New Mexico. In response, the United States Army, under the direction ofGeneralJohn J. Pershing, launcheda punitive expedition into northern Mexico, to find and capture Villa. Although Villa was not captured, the US Army found and engaged theVillista rebels, killing Villa's two top lieutenants. The revolutionary himself escaped, and the American army returned to the United States in January 1917.
Conflict at the border continued, however, and the United States launched several smaller operations into Mexican territory until after the American victory in theBattle of Ambos Nogales in August 1918, which led to the establishment of a permanent border wall.[16] Conflict was not limited to battles between Villistas and Americans;Maderistas,Carrancistas,Constitutionalistas andGermans also engaged with American forces in that period. TheBandit War[17] in Texas was part of the Border War.
TheGerman Empire, a major trading partner with Mexico and a rival of the United States and its allies, was involved. In 1914, theUnited States occupied Veracruz, aiming to cut off supplies of ammunition from the German Empire to Mexico at the start ofWorld War I. In 1917, the British government intercepted aGerman telegram which offeredthe Mexican President financial support in recapturing the territories acquired by the United States through theTexas annexation and theMexican Cession. In exchange, the German Empire wanted Mexico's formal support in anticipation of a hypothetical United States entry into the war in Europe. While the offer was not accepted, a small German military presence could be observed in later battles along the border, such as theBattle of Ambos Nogales.
Mexican statesman, revolutionary and soon-to-be presidentFrancisco Madero with his troops in 1910Revolutionary activity breaks out in Mexico.
United States Army deploys to several moreborder towns to protect American lives and property and to ensure that fighting between rebel and federal forces remains on the Mexican side of the border.
Porfirio Díaz pressured the United States government into issuing orders for Madero's arrest. Madero escapes across the border back into Mexico on 14 February.
In March, Francisco Madero led 130 troops at theBattle of Casas Grandes inChihuahua. The rebels lost the battle, but later the federals retreated which left Madero's army in control. Madero then began smuggling arms and ammunition on a large scale from across the border.
On 16 March, rebel saboteurs in Ciudad Juárez bombed the barracks and homes of the Mexican Army garrison. A large nitroglycerin explosion was seen from the American side of the border. Two days later, a large cannon which sat in the town square of El Paso, Texas, disappeared and was presumably taken to Ciudad Juárez.
Maderista rebels fought federal troops loyal to Porfirio Díaz atAgua Prieta, Sonora, in April. United States troops across the border inDouglas, Arizona, were attacked by Mexican forces, and in response the Americans intervened which left the rebels in control of the town.
Madero's rebels under Pancho Villa andPascual Orozco attacked federal forces at the majorBattle of Ciudad Juárez from 7 April to 10 May. The American garrison atEl Paso,Texas, exchanged fire with rebels resulting in minor casualties on both sides.
Porfirio Díaz exiled. Francisco Madero becomes President of Mexico and calls for an end to warfare in the country. He offered to pay rebels of different factions but only if they would lay down their arms or join his new federal Army.
United States Army continues garrisoning American border towns.
El Paso slows guns and ammunition exports into Mexico almost completely due to the increase of undercover Mexican and American Secret Service agents and informants throughout Mexico's border cities.
This was bad for Pascual Orozco and President Madero due to El Paso being one of the largest recruiting centers for volunteers on both sides of the rebellion.
This caused General Orozco to travel further to gain ammunition and weapons. But, in the spring of 1912, General Orozco and his troops had more than 5 million rounds of ammunition.
General Pasqual Orozco rebels against President Madero and begins a campaign in the border state of Chihuahua. Madero responds by sending an army that defeated Orozco's troops in three major battles. Villa rebels against the Madero government soon after.
The United States liked President Madero and was a huge help in preventing the rebellion from General Orozco. This ultimately gave the Mexican government' "probably the most effective Mexican intelligence network on the border during the revolution."
Federal forces of President Francisco Madero establishFort Tijuana along the international border with California in response to the Magonista campaign.
TheBattle of Naco is fought. Álvaro Obregón's rebel army defeated the federal Mexican border town garrison ofNaco, Sonora. United States troops watched the battle from across the border.
American troops in Naco, Arizona, begin construction ofFort Naco, one of 12forts built by the United States Army along the border for protection against warring Mexican forces.
On 9 April, theTampico Affair, an incident inTampico,Tamaulipas, between United States Navy sailors and Mexican troops, occurred. It resulted in the severing of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States.
In response to the Tampico Affair,PresidentWoodrow Wilson asked Congress to approve an armed invasion of Mexico.
Congress approves the invasion. The United States Navy's Atlantic fleet underAdmiralFrank Fletcher was sent to the port ofVeracruz andoccupied the city after anamphibious assault and a street battle with Mexican defenders.
The longest battle of the Mexican Revolution was fought atNaco, Sonora, across the border from Fort Naco and Naco, Arizona. Pancho Villa's troops attacked General Obregón's garrison on 17 October. During the 119 following days of siege warfare, Villa was defeated. Also during the battle several United States ArmyBuffalo Soldiers stationed in Naco, Arizona, were wounded by rebels shooting into their camp. Eight soldiers were wounded but they did not return fire and were later recognized for their good discipline.
Pancho Villa andEmiliano Zapata capture Mexico City but soon after are forced to retreat by Álvaro Obregón's army.
Carrancistas draft thePlan de San Diego, an operation to overthrow the state governments of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California by starting arace war. The plan was discovered by the Americans after aCarrancista leader was arrested in Texas though some fighting did occur in the form of raids, launched by rebels into Texas territory.
Pancho Villa attacks General Obregón's Constitutionalist garrison at Nogales, Sonora. Villa initiated a siege but over time was defeated due to the lack ofartillery and insufficient supplies. During the siege the United States12th Infantry garrison of Nogales, Arizona, was attacked byVillistas and in turn skirmished for a half hour. One American was killed along with several of Villa's rebels.
Villistas and Constitutionalistsfought again at Agua Prieta in November. Later, Villa attributed his defeat to large searchlights used during the battle by the United States Army garrison of Douglas, Arizona. The battle ended in defeat for Villa and led to the more disastrousBattle of Hermosillo on 15 November. At this time, Villa's forces pillaged the city instead of fighting the garrison, resulting in a repulse. Constitutionalist forces were allowed access to American railways for troop movement.
Now losing the war, Pancho Villa decided toraid Columbus, New Mexico, for supplies on 9 March 1916. The raid did not go as planned and Villa's 500 cavalrymen were defeated by over 300 United States infantry and cavalrymen, who were stationed in a border fort outside of town. Columbus was heavily damaged by theVillistas who burned several of the town's buildings. Sixty to eightyVillistas were killed along with over a dozen American troops and civilians.
In response to the attack on Columbus, President Wilson ordered General John J. Pershing to proceed into Mexico with over 5,000 soldiers to capture or kill Pancho Villa, thus beginning thePancho Villa Expedition.
The expanded United States Army fort atColumbus, New Mexico, a staging area for the Pancho Villa ExpeditionOn 5 May, Villa's rebels attacked two more American border towns,Glenn Springs, Texas, andBoquillas, Texas. Over 200 troops underRodriguez Ramirez andNatividad Álvarez crossed the Texas border with the intention of capturing supplies. At Glenn Springs, a United States Army squad of nine soldiers resisted theVillista attack for several hours but eventually, the raiders set fire to the adobe building the Americans were held up in and forced the14th Infantry soldiers to retreat. Three of the United States troops were killed and four others were wounded. One young American boy was also killed by the Mexicans. At Boquillas, 12 mi (19 km) from Glenn Springs, the Americans there captured Álvarez and discovered he was alieutenant colonel in Pancho Villa'sDivisión del Norte and was a veteran of theBattle of Celaya.
American troops of the 16th Infantry rest for the night on 27 May 1916The raiders of Glenn Springs and Boquillas took two captives with them when they withdrew across the border, Jesse Deemer and Monroe Payne, who were later rescued by American Army forces during a small cavalry expedition into Mexico. The expedition of eighty men, two wagons, and a car began on 8 May fromMarathon, Texas, and was under the command ofColonelFrederick W. Sibley and ColonelGeorge T. Langhorne. The rebels were held up atEl Pino, Chihuahua, and at first Colonel Langhorne negotiated for the release of the two Americans; when this failed, he ordered his troops to embark his personal car and head for El Pino. Upon their arrival, the Villistas fled and Deemer and Payne were freed. During the operation which ended on 21 May, five Mexicans were killed in skirmishes with no American losses.American infantry in a skirmish line nearDeming, New Mexico, in 1916
In May 1916, President Wilson ordered theNational Guard to reinforce the United States Army garrisons at the borderline.[18] By August, an estimated 117,000 guardsmen were stationed along the border in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
On 12 April, American forces and Carrancistas fought theBattle of Parral in Chihuahua. When United States troops underMajorFrank Tompkins attempted to leave the city ofParral, they were attacked byCarrancista riflemen. The Americans returned fire, and over the course of several hours, 45 Mexicans lay dead along with two Americans. The engagement marked the furthest penetration into northern Mexico by American forces, Parral is over 500 miles from the border.
The1st Aero Squadron in 1916 which was deployed during the expeditionIn June, Buffalo Soldiers of the10th Cavalry suffered a defeat at theBattle of Carrizal. Federal Mexican troops attacked 150 cavalrymen when they attempted to enter the town ofCarrizal. The most famous battle of the Border War was fought and ended with the deaths of 45 Mexicans and more than 100 Americans. Forty-four other Mexicans and Americans were wounded.
Raids on American border towns continued during and for years after the Pancho Villa Expedition. On 15 June, raiders killed four American soldiers atSan Ygnacio, Texas. On 31 July, another soldier and a United States customs inspector were killed in a second raid. During both engagements, Mexicans were killed or wounded but their casualties are not known.
Future GeneralGeorge S. Patton of the8th Cavalry conducted America's first assault witharmored vehicles at a ranch nearSan Miguelito. Three Mexicans were killed, including theVillista GeneralJulio Cárdenas. Patton is said to have carved notches into the pistols he carried, representing the troops he killed with them.
United States Army troops returning to the U.S. in January 1917Due to the defeat at Carrizal, President Wilson ordered General Pershing to withdraw from Mexico and end the expedition. By January, most of the American expeditionary troops had left Mexican territory and were back at garrison duty along the border.
At this time Germany started sinking merchant ships by U-boat with Europeans and Americans on board. This worried Germany because they thought that the United States would attack and they tried a last-ditch effort.
Yaqui prisoners and10th Cavalry troops on 9 January 1918, after the skirmish in Bear Valley, ArizonaUnited States Army Intelligence stationed atFort Huachuca, Arizona, detected a German military presence in Sonora and ordered troops to begin surveillance operations to prepare for war with Mexico. Mexican railways, train stations, and other related enterprises were inspected as possible routes for a large-scale American invasion.
RevolutionaryYaquiNative Americans established a base inBear Valley, Arizona, to store weapons intended to be smuggled into Mexico. When the base was discovered by the United States Army,Blondy Ryder of the 10th Cavalry was ordered to evict the rebel Yaquis. On 9 January, Ryder's patrolattacked the Yaquis in a small half-hour engagement. The camp was destroyed, one Yaqui was killed, and nine others were captured. The United States Cavalry suffered no casualties.
In mid-August, Lieutenant ColonelFrederick J. Herman received an anonymous message from a Mexican revolutionary about a possible attack onNogales, Arizona, by Mexican federal soldiers and a group of German military advisers. On 27 August, a Mexican suspected of gun smuggling crossed the border into Nogales, Sonora, followed by a US Customs agent and two US Army troops. A Mexican soldier watched the incident and fired on the American agent. The shot was a miss but hit one of the soldiers, and the other two Americans returned fire and killed the Mexican soldier. From there, the incident escalated from a small dispute into theBattle of Ambos Nogales. Reinforcements from both sides rushed to the border to fight; soldiers of the35th Infantry Regiment called for aid, and a squadron of 10th Cavalry under Herman responded. When they arrived, they attacked the Mexican positions on top of hills along the other side of the border. The assault was successful and the Mexican troops with their German advisers were defeated. In all, 30–129 Mexicans, two Germans, and seven Americans died in the fighting.[19] After the battle, German military activity in Sonora ceased. TheBattle of Ambos Nogales was the last major engagement of the Border War.
American and Mexican forces skirmished nearEl Paso, Texas, on the border on 16 June in what was known as theBattle of Ciudad Juárez. This conflict is singular in the fact that the Mexican army and the American army joined forces to fight theVillistas led byPancho Villa. It was the second-largest battle of the Mexican Revolution involving the United States, and is considered the last battle of the Border War,[20] although there were other incursions such as the US military crossings into Mexico during theCandelaria border incursion of 1919.
TheTreaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June at the Palace of Versailles which stated that Germany and all opposing nations agree on peace and war reparations be made due to all of the damage done to cities and innocent people.[21] This was also known as the most important peace treaty of World War 1.
The 1910s saw escalated violence between Anglo-Americans and Mexican-Americans in Texas. There were numerous instances of violence, including lynchings, against Mexicans by vigilantes, and law enforcement, such as theTexas Rangers. Violence was at its highest from 1915 to 1919, in response to thePlan de San Diego by Mexican and Tejano insurgents to conquer Texas. This further increased the prevalence of anti-Mexican sentiment.[22] At least 300 Mexican Americans were killed in Texas during the 1910s, with total estimates ranging from hundreds to thousands killed. At least 100 Mexican Americans were lynched in the 1910s, mostly in Texas.[23][22] 20 percent of all recorded lynchings of Mexicans in the United States occurred between 1910 and 1920.[24] About 400 Anglo-Texans were also killed total in unrest and attacks along the border during the 1910s, and much property was destroyed.[25]
TheUnited States occupation of Veracruz (21 April to 23 November 1914) came in the midst of poordiplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, and was related to the ongoingMexican Revolution. Tensions were further escalated by theTampico Affair of 9 April 1914, where nine American sailors landed in a restricted dock area and were subsequently detained for an hour and a half. Following this, "theYpiranga incident—in which the U.S. learned that the SSYpiranga, a German steamer, was about to deliver weapons and munitions to the Mexican government at Veracruz" occurred, violating theunilateralsanction the United States had imposed on Mexico. As a result, the U.S. military seized the port beginning with the Battle of Veracruz and ending seven months later.[26]
During the Mexican Border Wars, there was a series of revolutionary attacks on the Mexican Government and Military that started in 1910 and was most prolific throughout 1920. Francisco I. Madero challengedPorfirio Díaz in the election, who has been a longtime Mexican president but recently sent the citizens into economic struggles. Madero lost to an unfair ballot and this caused uprisings throughout Mexico which made Diaz lose control and overthrew him in 1911. After Madero gained control, he had to defend himself from other powerful leaders such asBernardo Reyes andVictoriano Huerta. They believed that Madero was attacking for the wrong reasons and was able to end his leadership in 1913. This caused a series of attacks against powerful regional leaders throughout Mexico for the next 7 years. In 1914, leaders such asVenustiano Carranza andPancho Villa overthrew Huerta and Reyes' regime until 1915. Carranza later betrayed Pancho Villa and by 1917, Carranza created theConstitution of Mexico and promotedland reform in Mexico as well as other important documents and increased the power of the federal government.
^Malpica, Toño (2009).Villa y La Expedición Punitiva(PDF) (in Spanish). Sán Angel, México: Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México.
^abPershing, John J. (10 October 1916). "Appendix M".Punitive Expedition (Report). Colonia Dublan, Mexico: Headquarters Punitive Expedition, U. S. Army. p. 97.
^García Cantú, Gastón (1996).Las invasiones norteamericanas en México. Vida y pensamiento de México (in Spanish). México, D.F: Fondo de Cultura Económica. p. 276.ISBN978-968-16-5083-4.
^abJohnson, Benjamin Heber (2003).Revolution in Texas: how a forgotten rebellion and its bloody suppression turned Mexicans into Americans. Western Americana series. New Haven, Conn.:Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-10970-2.OCLC60837804.
Parra, Carlos Francisco (Spring 2010). "Valientes Nogalenses: The 1918 Battle Between the U.S. and Mexico that Transformed Ambos Nogales".The Journal of Arizona History.51 (1):1–32.ISSN0021-9053.JSTOR41697262.
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