Battle of Chihuahua (1913)

The Battle of Chihuahua, also called the Siege of Chihuahua was an engagement of the Mexican Revolution and was fought between October–November 22, 1913. Villa launched an attack upon Chihuahua city itself, the state capitol. The garrison was commanded by Pascual Orozco, who had previously rebelled against Francisco Madeo, and now worked for president Victoriano Huerta. The attack was only an diversion and allowed Villa to capture his real target, Ciudad Juárez.

Battle of Chihuahua
Part of the Mexican Revolution
DateOctober–November 22, 1913
Location
Chihuahua City, Chihuahua
Result

Government victory

  • Villa captures Juárez
Belligerents

Constitutionalists

Government

Commanders and leaders
Pancho Villa
Rodolfo Fierro
E.L Holmdahl (WIA)		 Pascual Orozco
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

Battle

Following Villas victory in the First Battle of Torreón against General Eutiquio Munguía, his Division del Norte acquired a large volume of arms and ammunition, which enabled the formation of a substantial artillery company. Villa used captured trains to move his army to Chihuahua City. His old enemy Pascual Orozco, now allied with Huerta was commanding the garrison there. Villa sent him a demand for surrender, and Orozco replied "Come and take us, you son—of—a—bitch." Enraged Villa ordered his men to attack.[1]

Villa sent the infantry under the command of the American soldier if fortune, E.L Holmdahl to lead the assault. The Villistas launched wave after wave of cavarly in an attempt to capture the city, however all attacks were easily repelled with heavy loses, while Holmdahl was wounded with a bullet in the leg.[2]

The attack was only a diversion, as Villa left a small force to surround Chihuahua City and keep up desultory fire,[3] Villa secretly loaded the bulk of his army on trains, abandoned the city and the hated Orozco and sped towards Juárez. At each station along the 500-mile-journey, he sent a phony message to Juárez, reporting the progress of a federal train filled with reinforcements. Then he cut the telegraph wires, while the garrison bought the ruse and on November 15 the Trojan horse pulled into the border city without opposition and captured the town. By the following day, Villa had captured the surprised 300-man garrison, and Villa's self styled executioner Rodolfo Fierro shot them all. Villa methodically looted the many banks, gambling halls, whorehouses, and saloons in the city. With a large war chest, Villa bought fresh supplies of guns and ammunition that had been smuggled across the nearby US border.[4]

Once Orozco discovered the ruse, he sallied from Chihuahua, and easily routed the small force of men left to besiege the city.

Aftermath

Huerta would later be defeated at the Battle of Zacatecas and then exiled, where he died two years later.

References
  1. Guzmán. Memoirs of Pancho Villa.
  2. Soldier of Fortune: Adventuring in Latin America and Mexico with Emil Lewis Holmdahl By Douglas V. Meed, page 102
  3. Chisholm, Hugh, "Chihuahua
  4. Soldier of Fortune: Adventuring in Latin America and Mexico with Emil Lewis Holmdahl By Douglas V. Meed, page 103

Sources
  • Meed, Douglas (2003). Soldier of Fortune: Adventuring in Latin America and Mexico with Emil Lewis Holmdahl. Houston, Texas: Halycon Press Ltd.
  • Guzmán, Luis Guzmán. Memoirs of Pancho Villa.
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chihuahua (city)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.