Battle of Ojinaga

Last updated
Battle of Ojinaga
Part of the Mexican Revolution
Francisco Villa y sus Dorados.png
Pancho Villa and Siete Leguas in front of their Dorados
Date10–11 January 1914
Location
Ojinaga, Chihuahua
29°33′0″N104°24′0″W / 29.55000°N 104.40000°W / 29.55000; -104.40000
Result Revolutionary victory
Belligerents

Flag of Mexico (1916-1934) alternative version.svg Constitutionalists

Flag of Mexico (1893-1916).svg Government

Commanders and leaders
Pancho Villa Salvador Mercado
Strength
5,500 4,500
Casualties and losses
35 3,500

The Battle of Ojinaga, also known as the Taking of Ojinaga, was one of the battles of the Mexican Revolution and was fought on January 11, 1914. The conflict put an end to the last stronghold of the Federal Army in Northern Mexico.

Contents

After the rebel Generals Toribio Ortega Ramírez and Pánfilo Natera García could not finish the place off, Pancho Villa arrived in Ojinaga with a large army, thus displacing the forces of Salvador Mercado from the city. The bodies had to be burned to prevent a typhus epidemic.

Background

The first phase of the revolution, which began in 1910, ended with the victory of the revolutionaries: President Porfirio Díaz, who resigned in 1911, was later replaced by the revolutionary Francisco Ignacio Madero. However, in early 1913, with the help of the betrayal of Victoriano Huerta, the followers of the old system murdered Madero, and Huerta became the new president. Against him, a nationwide coalition developed among former revolutionaries and Governor Venustiano Carranza of Coahuila appointed himself commander-in-chief of the entire uprising.

Villa returned to Mexico with only 8 companions from the United States in the spring, but as the months passed, more and more people joined him and acquired more and more weapons. After being appointed head of the revolutionary movement in Chihuahua, Pancho Villa reorganized the Northern Division, thus having more than 5,000 men integrating troops of infantry, cavalry and artillery weapons, in addition to having support services such as health, transportation and food. After fighting several battles, they captured Ciudad Juárez and moved on to Chihuahua, In order to take the city of Chihuahua, Francisco Villa pressured the federals in a battle, finishing these troops. The city became chaos and was sacked by Pascual Orozco's troops, so General Salvador Mercado ordered the evacuation of the city at the end of November 1913 and headed for Ojinaga, a border point with the United States, which allowed Villa to occupy the state capital on December 8 of the same year. General Mercado withdrew from the city of Chihuahua, for the interests of businessmen who saw in the federal forces a security for their money against the constitutionalists. [1] When leaving for Ojinaga, Mercado refused to start combat with the villistas, foreseeing that if Pancho Villa pursued him to the border, he would be helped by the North Americans and thus could return to the capital of the country.

Villa first sent Panfilo Natera's forces to occupy Ojinaga. On 31 December 1913, they arrived near the town, which was protected by Mercado's 4,500-strong force, including no less than 12 generals. On Villa's advice, Natera tried night attacks for three days, then attacked again at dawn on January 4, but had to retreat due to a counterattack by José Inés Salazar's horsemen, and even 130 revolutionaries were captured and immediately shot dead by the Huertists. Natera's camp was then weakened by internal debates. [2]

The defeated troops informed Pancho Villa in the afternoon of the situation, who in those days was preoccupied not only with military issues but also with an unusual topic: his men negotiated with American film companies and offered to watch and film Villa's operations in exchange for part of their proceeds, in addition to receiving horse and food during this time. Only one company showed interest in the offer: Mutual Film, led by Harry Aitken: a contract was signed with them on January 5, stipulating that revolutionaries would receive an advance of $25,000 and a fifth of subsequent revenues. The contract was signed in El Paso, in the absence of Villa, by Eugenio Aguirre Benavides, and on behalf of the other party by Gunther Lessing, a lawyer, on behalf of Thayer. The Huertist newspaper El País wrote about the case of Villa “speculating on the blood of Mexicans.” [3]

When Villa learned of the defeat of the Naterá in Ciudad Juárez on the January 4, he immediately began to prepare for another attack. While Rosalío Hernández put a brigade called Leales de Camargo on standby, Villa telegraphed Maclovio Herrera to the south by telegram and then took a train to Chihuahua on January 5 at 2pm in the company of Raúl Madero and Luis Aguirre Benavides. From there, they continued their journey on a railway line that was not yet fully completed, and then on horseback in the extreme cold. There were a total of 1,500 of them, traveling without food for three days, eating the meat of cattle procured from the area without salt. When Villa appeared in the San Juan hacienda, where the division camped, enthusiasm immediately increased. [4]

The battle

On January 10, at 6 a.m., the trumpet sounded and a review began. Ammunition was distributed, approx. 200 pieces, and then the assembling military council ordered them to approach the city out of range. The task of the brigades of Hernández, Toribio Ortega, and Herrera was to lock Ojinaga in a semicircle, leaving only the side facing the United States free. It was planned that the attack would be carried out without a hat, the password would be the individual number, and whoever ran away from them would be shot. [5]

In the evening, the attackers took up their positions, the artillery was located 2,500 meters from the settlement. The next day, with tense anticipation, they prepared for a night attack. About 700 of Natera's men, the Morelos and Contreras brigades, were left in reserve. The fight started around 6 in the evening, the two halves starting to shoot each other with cannons and rifles. Herrera and Hernández's men penetrated the city through the cemetery, in the direction of the watchtower, to squeeze the defenders toward the Río Bravo border river, while in the north, Trinidad Rodríguez approached from a ranch called San Francisco. During his attack, some villagers infiltrated the city and moved aside to climb the church bell tower. In a matter of hours, the revolutionaries swept away the defense of the city, the Confederates fled their rifles, threw themselves into the river, and tried to swim across to the other side, the Texas Presidium. [5]

With the taking of Ojinaga, the constitutionalist struggle was able to secure the northern border by focusing its struggle on the interior of the country. [1]

Aftermath

Pascual Orozco, an ally associated with Shafter, fled to San Antonio, where his wife was waiting, but many of the fugitives were arrested in the United States. 3352 soldiers (including 8 generals) and 1607 women accused of violating the Neutrality Act were captured and transported first to Marfa and then to Fort Bliss. [6]

Only 35 of the revolutionary army lost their lives, and the loot was enormous: they also acquired 14 cannons, 100,000 rounds of ammunition, and 2,000 Mauser rifles. [7] It is conceivable, but not at all certain, that the American writer Ambrose Bierce, who was with the revolutionaries, also lost his life in the battle of Ojinaga. [8]

Films made in those days were soon shown in New York, but nothing from the battle was visible. The show was also attended by the father of the Madero brothers, who didn't even know Raúl's son was involved in the fighting, but he discovered him in the film. The discovery uncomfortably affected him, and his other son, Alfonso, had to reassure him. [9]

Personalities involved in the battle

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco I. Madero</span> President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913

Francisco Ignacio Madero González was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'etat in February 1913, and assassinated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pancho Villa</span> Mexican revolutionary general and politician (1878–1923)

Francisco "Pancho" Villa was a general in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced out President Porfirio Díaz and brought Francisco I. Madero to power in 1911. When Madero was ousted by a coup led by General Victoriano Huerta in February 1913, he led anti-Huerta forces in the Constitutionalist Army 1913–14. The commander of the coalition was civilian governor of Coahuila Venustiano Carranza. After the defeat and exile of Huerta in July 1914, Villa broke with Carranza. Villa dominated the meeting of revolutionary generals that excluded Carranza and helped create a coalition government. Emiliano Zapata and Villa became formal allies in this period, but it was only in principle. Like Zapata, Villa was strongly in favor of land reform, but his plans were not implemented when he had power. At the height of his power and popularity in late 1914 and early 1915, the U.S. considered recognizing him as Mexico's legitimate authority. Civil war broke out when Carranza challenged Villa. Villa was decisively defeated by Constitutionalist General Álvaro Obregón in summer 1915, and the U.S. aided Carranza directly against Villa in the Second Battle of Agua Prieta in November 1915. Much of Villa's army left after Villa's defeat on the battlefield and for his lack of resources to buy arms and pay soldiers' salaries. Angered at the U.S. aid to Carranza, Villa conducted a raid on the border town of Columbus, New Mexico to goad the U.S. to invade Mexico in 1916–17. Despite a major contingent of soldiers and the latest military technology, the U.S. failed to capture Villa. When President Carranza was ousted from power in 1920, Villa negotiated an amnesty with interim President Adolfo de la Huerta and was given a landed estate, on the condition he retire from politics. He was assassinated in 1923. Although his faction did not prevail in the Revolution, he is one of its most charismatic and prominent figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Revolution</span> Nationwide armed struggle in Mexico (1910–1920)

The Mexican Revolution was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction of the Federal Army and its replacement with a revolutionary army, as well as the transformation of Mexican culture and government. The northern Constitutionalist faction prevailed on the battlefield and drafted the present-day Constitution of Mexico, which aimed to create a strong central government. Revolutionary generals held power from 1860 to 1940. The revolutionary conflict was primarily a civil war, but foreign powers, having important economic and strategic interests in Mexico, figured in the outcome of Mexico's power struggles. The United States played an especially significant role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoriano Huerta</span> President of Mexico from 1913 to 1914

José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero with the aid of other Mexican generals and the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. His violent seizure of power set off a new wave of armed conflict in the Mexican Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pascual Orozco</span> Mexican politician

Pascual Orozco Vázquez, Jr. was a Mexican revolutionary leader who rose up to support Francisco I. Madero in late 1910 to depose long-time president Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911). Orozco was a natural military leader whose victory over the Federal Army at Ciudad Juárez was a key factor in forcing Díaz to resign in May 1911. Following Díaz's resignation and the democratic election of Madero in November 1911, Orozco served Madero as leader of the state militia in Chihuahua, a paltry reward for his service in the Mexican Revolution. Orozco revolted against the Madero government 16 months later, issuing the Plan Orozquista in March 1912. It was a serious revolt which the Federal Army struggled to suppress. When Victoriano Huerta led a coup d'état against Madero in February 1913 during which Madero was murdered, Orozco joined the Huerta regime. Orozco's revolt against Madero somewhat tarnished his revolutionary reputation, but his subsequent support of Huerta compounded the repugnance against him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venustiano Carranza</span> President of Mexico from 1917 to 1920

José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February 1913 right-wing military coup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional Army</span> Military unit

The Constitutional Army was the army that fought against the Federal Army, and later, against the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican Revolution. It was formed in March 1913 by Venustiano Carranza, so-called "First-Chief" of the army, as a response to the murder of President Francisco I. Madero and Vice President José María Pino Suárez by Victoriano Huerta during La Decena Trágica of 1913, and the resulting usurpation of presidential power by Huerta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Battle of Rellano</span>

The First Battle of Rellano was an engagement on 24 March 1912 during the Mexican Revolution at the Rellano railroad station, in the state of Chihuahua. It was fought between government troops loyal to Francisco I. Madero, led by General José González Salas, and rebel troops under Pascual Orozco. The battle was a victory for Orozco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Inés Salazar</span>

José Inés Salazar was a leading Orozquista General in the Mexican Revolution who later fought with Pancho Villa. He was a native of Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Zacatecas (1914)</span> Battle of the Mexican Revolution

The Battle of Zacatecas, also known as the Toma de Zacatecas, was the bloodiest battle in the campaign to overthrow Mexican President Victoriano Huerta. On June 23, 1914, Pancho Villa's División del Norte decisively defeated the federal troops of General Luis Medina Barrón defending the town of Zacatecas. The great victory demoralized Huerta's supporters, leading to his resignation on July 15. However, the Toma de Zacatecas also marked the end of support of Villa's Division of the North from Constitutionalist leader Venustiano Carranza and US President Woodrow Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Ciudad Juárez</span> 1911 treaty during the Mexican Revolution

The Treaty of Ciudad Juárez was a peace treaty signed between the President of Mexico, Porfirio Díaz, and the revolutionary Francisco Madero on May 21, 1911. The treaty put an end to the fighting between forces supporting Madero and those of Díaz and thus concluded the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ciudad Juárez (1911)</span> Battle during the Mexican Revolution

The First Battle of Ciudad Juárez took place in April and May 1911 between federal forces loyal to President Porfirio Díaz and rebel forces of Francisco Madero, during the Mexican Revolution. Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa commanded Madero's army, which besieged Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. After two days of fighting the city's garrison surrendered and Orozco and Villa took control of the town. The fall of Ciudad Juárez to Madero, combined with Emiliano Zapata's taking of Cuautla in Morelos, convinced Díaz that he could not hope to defeat the rebels. As a result, he agreed to the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, resigned and went into exile in France, thus ending the initial stage of the Mexican Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacinto B. Treviño</span> Mexican miltary officer (1883–1971)

General Jacinto Blas Treviño González was a Mexican military officer, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Border War (1910–1919)</span> Mexican-American military engagements

The Mexican Border War, or the Border Campaign, refers to the military engagements which took place in the Mexican–American border region of North America during the Mexican Revolution. The war's time period encompassed World War I, during which Germany attempted to have Mexico attack the United States and engaged in hostilities against American forces there itself. The Border War was the fifth and latest major conflict fought on American soil, whereas its predecessors were the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the American Civil War. The end of the Mexican Revolution on December 1, 1920, marked the close of the American Frontier. The Bandit War in Texas was part of the Border War. From the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, the United States Army was stationed in force along the border and on several occasions fought with Mexican rebels or federals. The height of the conflict came in 1916 when revolutionary Pancho Villa attacked the American border town of Columbus, New Mexico. In response, the United States Army, under the direction of General John J. Pershing, launched the "Punitive expedition" into northern Mexico, to find and capture Villa. Although Villa was not captured, the US Army found and engaged the Villista 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 additional, though smaller operations into Mexican territory until after the American victory in the Battle of Ambos Nogales in August 1918, leading to the establishment of a permanent border wall. Conflict was not only subject to Villistas and Americans; Maderistas, Carrancistas, Constitutionalistas and Germans also engaged in battle with American forces during this period.

Felix A. Sommerfeld was a German secret service agent in Mexico and the United States between 1908 and 1919. He was chief of the Mexican secret service under President Francisco I. Madero, worked as a diplomat and arms buyer for Venustiano Carranza and Francisco "Pancho" Villa, and ran the Mexican portion of Germany's war strategy in North America between 1914 and 1917.

The Second Battle of Ciudad Juárez, also known as the Capture of Ciudad Juárez or “Villa’s Trojan Train” was a decisive rebel victory over the forces of Mexican president Victoriano Huerta. The federal garrison of the border city of Juárez was tricked into allowing 2,000 revolutionaries to enter the city on board a hijacked coal train. The revolutionaries crept out of the train under the cover of darkness and easily overcame the federal forces with a surprise attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Battle of Torreón</span>

The First Battle of Torreon, also known as the Capture of Torreon, which lasted from September 27 to October 1, 1913, was one of the battles of the Mexican Revolution, where revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa occupied a city protected by Huertist federal forces. The victory in his first large battle of the Mexican Revolution brought Villa not only a huge increase in prestige, but also considerable spoils of war in the form of urgently needed military equipment of all kinds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of Torreón</span>

The Second Battle of Torreón, which lasted from March 21 to April 2, 1914, was one of the major battles of the Mexican Revolution, where revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa occupied a city protected by Huertist federal forces.

The Third Battle of Torreón from December 21 to 23, 1916, was one of the battles of the Mexican Revolution, where troops led by Pancho Villa occupied the city, protected by Carrancist forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamín Argumedo</span>

Benjamín Argumedo Hernández was a Mexican Brigadier General. He participated in the anti-reelectionist side at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, but in 1912 he joined the opposition against Francisco I. Madero and supported the coup d'état of Victoriano Huerta. Also known as the Lion of the Lagoon. He is considered the most tenacious adversary of Francisco Villa in the bloody battles that were carried out for the lands of Durango and Coahuila, because it was said of him that he was never afraid. During the first captured of Torreon that occurred between May 13 and 15 of 1911, Argumedo gave the order to "kill all Chinese", after which they were massacred 303 residing Chinese in the city, who were falsely accused of having shot against the Maderista hosts that Argumedo commanded together with Sixto Ugalde, Jesús Agustín Castro and Epitacio Rea, among others.

References

  1. 1 2 "10 de enero de 1914 Batalla de Ojinaga" (in Spanish). Secretariat of National Defense. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013.
  2. ↑ Taibo 2007, p. 265.
  3. ↑ Taibo 2007, pp. 265–266.
  4. ↑ Taibo 2007, p. 266.
  5. 1 2 Taibo 2007, p. 267.
  6. ↑ Taibo 2007, pp. 267–268.
  7. ↑ Taibo 2007, p. 268.
  8. ↑ Taibo 2007, pp. 272–274.
  9. ↑ Taibo 2007, p. 269.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.