1910 • with his troops in 1910Revolutionary activity breaks out in Mexico. • United States Army deploys to several more
border 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. • In late 1910,
Francisco Madero issues the
Plan of San Luis Potosí, a proclamation which called for Mexican citizens to rise up against the federal government of
Porfirio Díaz, in
San Antonio,
Texas. • On 20 November, Madero planned to attack the border town of
Ciudad Porfirio Diaz,
Coahuila, across the border from
Eagle Pass, Texas. Due to the lack of reinforcements, Madero canceled the operation and left to
New Orleans,
Louisiana, to prepare another plan.
1911 • 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 1911
Magonistas began campaigning in northern
Baja California in February. They
captured the Mexican border town of
Mexicali on 11 February and then marched to
Tijuana where they
defeated the federal
garrison. The Mexican government retaliated and attacked Tijuana in June, forcing the rebels to cross the border and surrender to the United States Army at
San Ysidro, California. • In March, Francisco Madero led 130 troops at the
Battle of Casas Grandes in
Chihuahua. 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 at
Agua Prieta, Sonora, in April. United States troops across the border in
Douglas, 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 and
Pascual Orozco attacked federal forces at the major
Battle of Ciudad Juárez from 7 April to 10 May. The American garrison at
El 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. • Fighting breaks out between rebel factions.
1912 • 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 establish
Fort Tijuana along the international border with California in response to the Magonista campaign.
1913 • and
Pancho Villa with American General
John J. Pershing. Second row, far right: Pershing aide Lt. (future General)
George S. Patton. At
Fort Bliss, Texas, 1913.
Nogales, Sonora, was
attacked by General Obregón's army of over 2,000 Constitutionalists in 1913. Defending federal forces under General
Emilio Kosterlitzky collapsed and surrendered to the United States Army garrison of
Nogales, Arizona. • The
Battle of Naco is fought. Álvaro Obregón's rebel army defeated the federal Mexican border town garrison of
Naco, Sonora. United States troops watched the battle from across the border. • American troops in Naco, Arizona, begin construction of
Fort Naco, one of 12
forts built by the United States Army along the border for protection against warring Mexican forces. • General John Pershing and Pancho Villa meet at
Fort Bliss, Texas, and would meet again later in 1914 at
Ojinaga,
Chihuahua.
1914 • On 9 April, the
Tampico Affair, an incident in
Tampico,
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,
President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to approve an armed invasion of Mexico. • Congress approves the invasion. The United States Navy's Atlantic fleet under
Admiral Frank Fletcher was sent to the port of
Veracruz and
occupied the city after an
amphibious assault and a street battle with Mexican defenders. • The longest battle of the Mexican Revolution was fought at
Naco, 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 Army
Buffalo 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 and
Emiliano Zapata capture Mexico City but soon after are forced to retreat by Álvaro Obregón's army.
1915 •
Carrancistas draft the
Plan de San Diego, an operation to overthrow the state governments of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California by starting a
race war. The plan was discovered by the Americans after a
Carrancista 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 of
artillery and insufficient supplies. During the siege the United States
12th Infantry garrison of Nogales, Arizona, was attacked by
Villistas and in turn skirmished for a half hour. One American was killed along with several of Villa's rebels. •
Villistas and Constitutionalists
fought 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 disastrous
Battle 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.
1916 • , after Pancho Villa's attack on the border townThe January 1916
San Isabel massacre occurred. Villistas stopped a train near
Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, and killed around 17 American passengers from the
ASARCO company of
Tucson, Arizona. • Now losing the war, Pancho Villa decided to
raid 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 the
Villistas who burned several of the town's buildings. Sixty to eighty
Villistas 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 the
Pancho Villa Expedition. • , a staging area for the Pancho Villa ExpeditionOn 5 May, Villa's rebels attacked two more American border towns,
Glenn Springs, Texas, and
Boquillas, Texas. Over 200 troops under
Rodriguez Ramirez and
Natividad Álvarez crossed the Texas border with the intention of capturing supplies. At Glenn Springs, a United States Army squad of nine soldiers resisted the
Villista attack for several hours but eventually, the raiders set fire to the adobe building the Americans were held up in and forced the
14th 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, from Glenn Springs, the Americans there captured Álvarez and discovered he was a
lieutenant colonel in Pancho Villa's
División del Norte and was a veteran of the
Battle of Celaya. • The 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 from
Marathon, Texas, and was under the command of
Colonel Frederick W. Sibley and Colonel
George T. Langhorne. The rebels were held up at
El 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., in 1916 • In May 1916, President Wilson ordered the
National Guard to reinforce the United States Army garrisons at the borderline. 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 the
Battle of Parral in Chihuahua. When United States troops under
Major Frank Tompkins attempted to leave the city of
Parral, they were attacked by
Carrancista 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. • in 1916 which was deployed during the expeditionIn June, Buffalo Soldiers of the
10th Cavalry suffered a defeat at the
Battle of Carrizal. Federal Mexican troops attacked 150 cavalrymen when they attempted to enter the town of
Carrizal. 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 at
San 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 General
George S. Patton of the
8th Cavalry conducted America's first assault with
armored vehicles at a ranch near
San Miguelito. Three Mexicans were killed, including the
Villista General
Julio Cárdenas. Patton is said to have carved notches into the pistols he carried, representing the troops he killed with them.
1917 • Due 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. • The
Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted by the
British in 1917. In the telegram, the German government formally requested that Mexico join
World War I on the side of the
Central Powers if the United States declared war on Germany. The Germans asked the Mexicans to attack the
southwestern United States and promised to return the land to Mexico that was lost to the United States during the
Mexican–American War and the
Gadsden Purchase.
1918 • troops on 9 January 1918, after the skirmish in Bear Valley, ArizonaUnited States Army Intelligence stationed at
Fort 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. • Revolutionary
Yaqui Native Americans established a base in
Bear 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 patrol
attacked 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 Colonel
Frederick J. Herman received an anonymous message from a Mexican revolutionary about a possible attack on
Nogales, 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 the
Battle of Ambos Nogales. Reinforcements from both sides rushed to the border to fight; soldiers of the
35th 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. After the battle, German military activity in Sonora ceased. The
Battle of Ambos Nogales was the last major engagement of the Border War.
1919 • American and Mexican forces skirmished near
El Paso, Texas, on the border on 16 June in what was known as the
Battle of Ciudad Juárez. This conflict is singular in the fact that the Mexican army and the American army joined forces to fight the
Villistas led by
Pancho 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, although there were other incursions such as the US military crossings into Mexico during the
Candelaria border incursion of 1919. • The
Treaty 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. This was also known as the most important peace treaty of World War 1. == The Borderlands ==