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BATTLE OF JUÁREZ
May 8-11, 1911
Battleground
Border Town Ciudad Juárez
This Battle of Juárez
is also called the
First Battle of Juárez
and was part of the
 Mexican Revolution.
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As stated on the
picture above, people in El Paso, Texas, enjoyed
their ringside seats just across the Rio Grande - picnic and all.
...
which was, according to Oscar J.
Martínez, the reason why El Pasoans
were hoping for a reenactment of the
spectacle the next year.
However, "they expressed disappointment
when
Pascual Orozco
took Juárez in a bloodless coup on
February 27, 1912, labeling
the event a "big flop."
Back
to the First Battle of Juárez.
Who fought the First Battle of
Juárez?
The revolutionaries, more or less led by
Francisco I. Madero, fought
against the Federal troops of president
Porfirio Diaz.
The feds were led by
General Juan J. Navarro.
Fighting alongside the federals were
citizen volunteers.
Fighting alongside Madero was
Pascual Orozco,
José de la Luz Blanco, Ben J. Viljoen,
Francisco
"Pancho" Villa,
and Giuseppe Garibaldi Jr, who
was also called José
or Peppino Garibaldi. He was the grandson of famous
Giuseppe
Garibaldi.
EXPERIENCED BOER OFFICER: GENERAL BEN JOHANNIS VILJOEN
Library of Congress (?)
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Who won the First
Battle of Juárez? Who lost?
The feds lost. The revolutionaries won
and captured Juárez.
Battle of Juárez - Insurrectos on
irrigation ditch
Library of Congress
Timeline of the Battle
of Juárez - Sunday, May 7, 1911
In the morning, Madero tells his troops to get ready to march at 4
PM. But later that afternoon it is decided to attack Juárez at
midnight instead.
A message from Mexico City reaches
Madero. Apparently, President Diaz had publicly declared that he was willing to
resign from office. Madero immediately decides to abandon the attack on Juárez.
Timeline of the Battle
of Juárez - Monday, May 8, 1911
Madero is back on the horn with the Diaz representatives
Oscar Braniff,
Toribio Esquivel Obregon, and
Francisco S. Carbajal. They
agree to a ceasefire that would last until 4 PM today, and schedule a
meeting at 4 PM to discuss further actions.
11 AM: Out of the blue, shooting
starts. Madero doesn't have a clue what is going on and calls
Navarro. Navarro says the rebels have commenced an attacked and have already
taken the outer trenches along the right bank of the river. Madero
tells Navarro that this was not according to plan and that he will tell his men to withdraw. Navarro
agrees to order his men to
cease fire so that Madero's men can retreat.
1 PM: Madero orders his trigger happy
men to cease fire. They tell him to get lost and advance even
further, taking advantage of Navarro's cease fire order. Navarro
resumes the fight.
At "Peace Grove," approximately a mile
and a half up the river from Juárez, Madero addresses the part of
his army that is currently not involved in the battle, including
Villa, Blanco, and Orozco. He tells them to sit tight until he
orders otherwise.
Shortly after Madero's little speech a large part of the
audience disappears to join the battle.
Juárez - FORTIFICATION OF ADOBES
DURING BATTLE
Library of Congress
6.30 PM: Madero and Navarro are on the phone again.
Madero explains his predicament. Navarro agrees to
cease fire once more to give Madero's men a second chance to retreat. It didn't work. The second Navarro ceased fire, Madero's men
advanced further. Navarro resumed the fight.
9.00 PM: Madero's officers inform
him that they will not retreat full stop. Especially now that they
have managed to place themselves in such strategically advantageous
positions. The decision has been made for Madero. Madero picks up
the phone, calls Navarro, and tells him to brace himself as he intends
to attack him with all he got.
Water and power was cut off on Monday
night, meaning the federals would be without water on Tuesday
morning.
Timeline of the Battle of Juárez -
Tuesday, May 9, 1911
Madero's men take the city
house by house, bombing their way through town.
1 PM: The rebels ask the federals to
surrender. The federals ignore the demand.
The revolutionaries decide to burn
house after house to force the retreat of the enemy. Private
houses and offices burned as well as the post office and the public
library. It worked. The federals retreated from most areas but were
still occupying the church Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Juárez - Library After Battle
Library of Congress
Timeline of the Battle of Juárez -
Wednesday, May 10, 1911
Two hours of fierce fighting
around the old church this morning. The federals finally retreat to
their barracks.
Shortly after noon, Navarro orders to
raise a white flag. The soldiers ceased fire.
The rebel leaders meet with General Navarro
and his staff to discuss further proceedings.
The grave diggers have their hands
full.
Left to right: PASCUAL OROZCO,
OSCAR BRANIFF
(? see note below),
PANCHO VILLA, GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI JR.
Library of Congres
EK received mail...
... from a family member of
Armando E. Landois, claiming that it is in fact Landois on the photo above and
not Oscar Braniff.
What else?
Madero's victory at the First Battle
of Juárez led to the
Treaty
of Ciudad Juárez, which was signed on May 21, 1911.
The
Second Battle of Juárez
was fought June 15 - 16, 1919.
Check out the
List of all battles of the Mexican Revolution
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