La toma de Zacatecas
“La toma de Zacatecas”
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Picture taken from
http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/redescolar/act_permanentes/historia/html/cantando_revolucion/mascorridos.htm
History of the battle of Zacatecas
The battle of Zacatecas,
a.k.a ‘La toma de Zacatecas’, is considered the bloodiest and most gruesome
of the battles pertaining to the Mexican revolution. The dictator Victoriano
Huerta and his army of huertistas’ faced off
against Venustiano Carranza
and his band of revolutionaries. These
revolutionaries, led by famous generals like Pánfilo
Natera with his Central Division and Pancho Villa with his Division of the North, obtained the
victory on many battlefields advancing from Torreón
to Mexico City. As the revolutionary armies made headway,
the protection of Zacatecas grew increasingly
important in the eyes of Huerta. He
would need the victory at Zacatecas to salvage what
was left of his decaying reputation.
On June 11, 1914, the 89th and 90th
battalions lead by generals Juan G. Soberanes and
Alberto Rodriguez Cerrillo, occupied the state of Zacatecas. Their mission was to protect Zacatecas from Gen. Natera and
his 7000 men who, since the 9th of June, were gaining ground in La
Bufa, El Grillo, and El
Padre. Natera
was not prepared for the arrival of Benjamín Argumedo and his huertista
reinforcements on the 14 of June.
These men, together with the troops of Gen. Luis Medina Barrón, managed to thwart Natera’s
attempt to take Zacatecas, an act that Natera himself assured Carranza
he could carry out without the help of Pancho
Villa. Carranza,
realizing Natera’s failure, ordered Villa to send a
portion of his Division of the North to Natera’s
aid, insisting that they not be lead by Villa himself.
Villa obeyed initially, but after
careful consideration he decided to bring the entire Division of the North to
Zacatecas.
This act of defiance would further widen the growing gap of discord
between Villa and Carranza. Villa would later comment on the event
affirming that Carranza merely wanted to use his
[Villa’s] resources to advance the military career of Natera. Such an act would only sacrifice the entire
operation and the lives of many soldiers.
On June 16, the huertistas numbered 12,000 men, of whom 4600 were under
the command of Benjamín Argumedo. The following day, the first wave of troops
from the Division of the North, led by Gen. Felipe Angeles, left for Calera, Zacatecas, bringing with them a convoy of singers,
photographers, musicians, reporters and prostitutes. These men, together with Natera’s troops, numbered 20,000 strong. After leaving 5000 reserve troops in
Calera, Ángeles with his artillery unit and the
brigades from the Division of the North, prepared
themselves for battle. Among these men
were Villa’s select and famous “dorados”, the best
equipped troops of the Division who according to Cauhtémoc
Esparza Sánchez who knew no fear.
On June 22, Villa arrived at
Calera after being delayed by a train derailment. Pleased with the situation in the hands of Ángeles, he gave the order that the following day at 10am, the artillery and the entire Division
of the North would attack Zacatecas without
mercy. The canons of the huertistas were no match for Ángeles’
artillery and the zones of La Bufa, Loreto, La Sierpe, El Grillo, El Padre,
and Clérigos were quickly conquered. Many huertistas
tried to escape, but few succeeded.
Among the escapees were Gen. Luis Medina Barrón,
Juan N. Vázquez, Juan Guerra, Marcelo Caraveo, Antonio G. Olea, and Benjamín Argumedo. Argumedo managed
to escape by disguising himself as a coal burner. When the revolutionaries ceased fire at 6pm, 6000 huertistas,
1500 villistas, and 2000 civilians had fallen. The villistas
gained a considerable booty of 12,000 ‘máuseres’
and machine guns, 19 canons, a countless number of explosives, and 5000
federal prisoners. This battle ended
the ‘huertismo’ and inspired the creation of many
versions of the corrido titled “La toma de Zacatecas”.
Continue to “La toma de Zacatecas”
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