Battle of Ambos Nogales - Background - U.S.-Mexico Relations in Ambos Nogales During The Mexican Revolution

U.S.-Mexico Relations in Ambos Nogales During The Mexican Revolution

The outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 against the long-time rule of President Porfirio Díaz initiated a decade-long period of high-intensity military conflict along the U.S.-Mexico border as different political/military factions in Mexico fought for power. The access to arms and customs duties from Mexican communities along the U.S.-Mexico border made towns like Nogales, Sonora, important strategic assets. The capture of the key border city of Ciudad Juárez in 1911 by Mexican revolutionaries led by Francisco I. Madero (and his military commanders Francisco "Pancho" Villa and Pascual Orozco) led to the downfall of President Diaz and the elevation of Madero as President. The violent aftermath of Madero's assassination during a coup in 1913 again highlighted the importance of the U.S.-Mexico border as battles for control of Mexican Nogales between Villistas and Carrancistas which led to American involvement because of cross border firing into the United States. This took place during the Battle of Nogales (1913) and again for the Battle of Nogales (1915). The inability of the various political factions in Mexico to reach consensus on fundamental political, social, and economic reforms prevented the conclusion of the Mexican Revolution until a significant time after the 1918 Battle of Ambos Nogales.

During the November 1915 Battle of Nogales fought between the forces of Francisco Villa and Venustiano Carranza (led by General Alvaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles), one U.S. serviceman, Private Stephen B. Little, was killed by a stray bullet as U.S troops guarded the border in Nogales from the violence in Mexico. The carrancista forces won the battle over Villa forces despite three way firing across the border. Carrnacista forces had received diplomatic recognition from the U.S. government as the legitimate ruling force in Mexico. Villa, who had previously courted U.S. recognition, then attacked the American rural community of Columbus, New Mexico. This led directly to further border tensions as U.S. President Woodrow Wilson unilaterally dispatched the Punitive Expedition into the state of Chihuahua, under General John Pershing to apprehend or kill Villa. Although the manhunt against Villa was unsuccessful, small-scale confrontations in the communities of Parral and Carrizal nearly brought about a war between Mexico and the United States in the summer of 1916. Additionally, the National Guard units of various states were deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, including Nogales, Arizona, to bolster border security as the Punitive Expedition continued its operations in Chihuahua. The militarization of the border region during this time has led to this period - which includes the Mexican Revolution, the Punitive Expedition, and the U.S. entry into World War I - being termed as the so-called Border War.

Despite its initial policy of neutrality, various factors such as unrestricted submarine warfare and the publication of the Zimmerman Telegram caused the United States to declare war on Germany in April 1917, entering World War I on the side of the Allied Powers.

After the U.S. entered World War I, the 10th Cavalry was based at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, with elements of that regiment also being stationed in Camp Stephen Little, the army post just north of Nogales, Arizona. The training and operations Pershing and his forces received during the Punitive Expedition prepared him and his units for combat in the Western Front as the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF); consequently many of the national guard units deployed to guard the border during the Punitive Expedition were sent to other areas, including the European theater. To fill in the gap, different U.S. military units were deployed to the border, including the celebrated "Buffalo Soldiers" of the 10th Cavalry. The presence of the Tenth Cavalry in Nogales is significant as this unit was a key participant in the Battle of Carrizal which could have served as the spark for a U.S.-Mexico War during the Punitive Expedition. Additionally, the presence of the battle-tested 10th Cavalry in the border community of Ambos Nogales - as opposed to joining the AEF at the Western Front - is also suggestive of the racial/social priorities of the U.S. at the time.

Besides the obvious concern with spill-over violence along the border, U.S. military leaders along the border carried out surveillance of German espionage activities. With the British interception of the Zimmerman Telegram in 1917, the United States knew well of the German Empire's attempt to bring Mexico into the war on the side of the Central Powers. U.S. anxiety over Germany's overtures to Mexico notwithstanding, the war-weary Mexican nation was in a markedly disadvantaged position from which to engage in the sort of military reconquest of the U.S. Southwest (an area that had been Mexican national territory prior to the 1846-1848 U.S.-Mexico War and its peace, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) that was envisioned in the Zimmerman Telegram. The seemingly interminable Mexican Revolution saw the devastation of the overall Mexican economy, causing food shortages throughout the nation (including northern Sonora) and a mass migration of Mexicans into the United States through ports of entry such as Nogales. Additionally, the 1916-1917 Punitive Expedition vividly exposed the differences between the U.S. and Mexico in terms of logistics. Though recognized as the legitimate leader of the Mexican Republic, President Venustiano Carranza was unable to rule large swaths of territory - such as the regions held by Generals Francisco Villa and Emiliano Zapata. Moreover, the U.S. use of motor vehicles, and two airplanes during the Punitive Expedition stood in stark contrast to the conditions existing within the Mexican Federal Army and the various disparate militias where weapons, bullets, uniforms, and even food could often be in very short supply.