Mexican Border War

Border War
Part of the Mexican Revolution, Banana Wars and World War I

Mexico-US border marker
Date20 November 1910 – 16 June 1919
(8 years, 6 months, 3 weeks and 6 days)
Location
Mexican–American border states
Result

Status quo ante bellum[1]

Belligerents

Mexico

Supported by:
 Germany		  United States
Commanders and leaders
Álvaro Obregón
Venustiano Carranza
Pancho Villa
Felipe Ángeles
Aniceto Pizana
Luis de la Rosca		 Herbert J. Slocum
John J. Pershing
Frank Tompkins
Frederick J. Herman
Casualties and losses
867 soldiers, militia, and insurgents killed[a]
400+ civilians killed[b]		 123 soldiers killed
427 civilians killed[14]

The Mexican Border War,[15] also known as the Border Campaign,[16] refers to a series of military engagements which took place between the United States military and several Mexican factions in the Mexican–American border region of North America during the Mexican Revolution. It was the last major conflict fought on U.S. soil.

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 regular federal troops. 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 a 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 smaller operations into Mexican territory until after the American victory in the Battle of Ambos Nogales in August 1918, which led to the establishment of a permanent border wall.[17] Conflict was not limited to battles between Villistas and Americans; Maderistas, Carrancistas, Constitutionalistas and Germans also engaged with American forces in that period. The Bandit War[18] in Texas was part of the Border War.

The German Empire, a major trading partner with Mexico and a rival of the United States and its allies, was involved. In 1914, the United States occupied Veracruz, aiming to cut off supplies of ammunition from the German Empire to Mexico at the start of World War I. In 1917, the British government intercepted a German telegram which offered the Mexican President financial support in recapturing the territories acquired by the United States through the Texas annexation and the Mexican 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 the Battle of Ambos Nogales.

  1. ^ Parra 2010, pp. 16–17
  2. ^ Parra 2010, pp. 23–24
  3. ^ Hickman, Kennedy (1 July 2019). "Chasing Pancho Villa: The US Punitive Expedition". ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017.
  4. ^ Dávila, Doralicia Carmona (14 March 1916). "La expedición punitiva enviada por Estados Unidos, cruza la frontera para capturar y fusilar a Francisco Villa". Memoria Política de México.
  5. ^ Malpica, Toño (2009). Villa y La Expedición Punitiva (PDF) (in Spanish). Sán Angel, México: Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México.
  6. ^ a b Pershing, John J. (10 October 1916). "Appendix M". Punitive Expedition (Report). Colonia Dublan, Mexico: Headquarters Punitive Expedition, U. S. Army. p. 97.
  7. ^ Beede, Benjamin R., ed. (1994). The War of 1898 and US interventions, 1898 - 1934: an encyclopedia. Military history of the United States. New York, NY: Garland. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-8240-5624-7.
  8. ^ Rosales, Francisco A. (1999). ¡Pobre Raza!: Violence, Justice, and Mobilization among México Lindo Immigrants, 1900-1936. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 15. doi:10.7560/770942. ISBN 978-0-292-79935-6.
  9. ^ De Quesada, A. M. (2012). The Hunt for Pancho Villa: The Columbus Raid and Pershing's Punitive Expedition 1916–17. Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-84908-568-7.
  10. ^ Finley, James P. (1996). "Buffalo Soldiers at Huachuca: The Battle of Ambos Nogales". Huachuca Illustrated. Vol. 2. Part 6. ISSN 1091-0166. LCCN 93-206790.
  11. ^ 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. ISBN 978-968-16-5083-4.
  12. ^ McPherson, Alan L. (2013). Encyclopedia of U.S. military interventions in Latin America. Santa Barbara (Calif.): ABC-CLIO. p. 393. ISBN 978-1-59884-259-3.
  13. ^ Finley 1996
  14. ^ Boessenecker, John (2016). Texas Ranger: the epic life of Frank Hamer, the man who killed Bonnie and Clyde. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-250-06998-6.
  15. ^ Weber 2008, p. 84
  16. ^ "Mexican Border Campaign Veterans' Card File Indexes". Pennsylvania State Archives. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  17. ^ "August 27, 1918: The Battle of Ambos Nogales brings the Fence to the Border | The Daily Dose". The Daily Dose. 28 August 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Raiders attack Norias Division of King Ranch". Texas State Historical Association. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2011.


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