User:Ajbriscoe21/Mexican Border War (1910–1919)

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The Mexican Border War, or the Border Campaign, refers to the military engagements which took place in the Mexican–American border region of North America during the Mexican Revolution. The war's time period encompassed World War I, during which Germany sent the Zimmerman telegram to Mexico and asked for an alliance and take back the land that the United States took from Mexico. The Border War was the fifth and latest major conflict fought on American soil, whereas its predecessors were the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the American Civil War. The end of the Mexican Revolution on December 1, 1920, marked the close of the American Frontier. The Bandit War in Texas was part of the Border War. 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 federals. 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 the "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 additional, though smaller operations into Mexican territory until after the American victory in the Battle of Ambos Nogales in August 1918, leading to the establishment of a permanent border wall. Conflict was not only subject to Villistas and Americans; Maderistas, Carrancistas, Constitutionalistas and Germans also engaged in battle with American forces during this period.

It is also stated that during the Mexico Border Wars, the United States wanted to control the flow of immigrants into the U.S. to counter rebel raids in U.S. territory. But in 1914, the United States occupy Veracruz and was aiming to cut off supplies of ammunition from Germany to Mexico during the rise of World War I.

1912

 * United States Army continues garrisoning American border towns.
 * El Paso slows guns and ammunition exports into Mexico almost completely due to the increase of undercover Mexican and American Secret Service agents and informants throughout Mexico's border cities.
 * This was bad for Pasqual Orozco and President Madero due to El Paso being one of the largest recruiting centers for volunteers on both sides of the rebellion.
 * This caused General Orozco to travel further to gain ammunition and weapons. But, in the spring of 1912, General Orozco and his men had more than 5 million rounds of ammunition.
 * General Pasqual Orozco rebels against President Madero and begins a campaign in the border state of Chihuahua. Madero responds by sending an army which defeated Orozco's troops in three major battles. Villa rebels against the Madero government soon after.
 * The United States liked President Madero and was a huge help in preventing the rebellion from General Orozco. This ultimately gave the Mexican government' "probably the most effective Mexican intelligence network on the border during the revolution."
 * Federal forces of President Francisco Madero establish Fort Tijuana along the international border with California in response to the Magonista campaign.

1917

 * Due to the defeat at Carrizal, President Wilson ordered General Pershing to withdraw from Mexico and end the expedition. By January, most of the American expeditionary troops had left Mexican territory and were back at garrison duty along the border.
 * At this time Germany started sinking merchant ships by U-boat with Europeans and Americans on board. This worried Germany because they thought that the United States would attack and they tried a last ditch effort.
 * The Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted by the British in 1917. In the telegram the German government formally requested that Mexico join World War I on the side of the Central Powers if the United States declared war on Germany. The Germans asked the Mexicans to attack the southwestern United States and promised to return land to Mexico that was lost to the United States during the Mexican–American War and the Gadsden Purchase.

1919

 * American and Mexican forces skirmished near El Paso, Texas, on the border on 16 June in what was known as the Battle of Ciudad Juárez. This conflict is singular for the fact that the Mexican army and the American army joined forces to fight the Villistas led by Pancho Villa. It was the second-largest battle of the Mexican Revolution involving the United States, and is considered the last battle of the Border War. Although there were other incursions like the US military crossings into Mexico during the Candelaria border incursion of 1919.
 * The treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28 at the Palace of Versailles which stated that Germany and all opposing nations agree on peace and war reparations be made due to all of the damage done to cities and innocent people. This was also known as the most important peace treaty of World War 1.

The Borderlands
For years, the people around the border of Mexico and the United States have been fighting for land and people but around 1910 and for a couple years after, there were hundreds if not thousands of lynching's on the border. In late 1910, there was a man in jail who had been forced out of jail and was burned alive. This was the start of many outbreaks throughout Texas. From 1910 to 1920, there was approximately 20 percent of all the lynching's towards the Mexican population and this was due to the lower class Americans being afraid of them. Texans along the border were worried that the new and well able Mexican Americans were going to take their jobs and threatened the normal life of the people around them. This caused the upset and frustration of Texans against thousands of Mexicans that were entering the United States to skyrocket. In 1911, a large mob of Americans surrounded a west Texas jail and forced a Mexican man to confess to a murder or they would kill him. Even though he did not do it, the young man was hung 3 years later in 1914. It is widely stated that the start of the Mexico border wars in 1910 was due to outrages from rebels and gang members in Mexico which supposedly ignited American agents and forces to station around the border. But these story's tell a different narrative and shows a different side of the story that tells us that the killings illustrated a violent turn in longstanding anti-Mexican sentiments.

World War I
World War I, also known as the Great War (1914-18) was the first war that involved most if not all major countries throughout the world such as Germany, Turkey and Austria-Hungary which were the enemy forces and France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan and later on the United States that made up the allied forces. In 1914, Germany demanded that Russia immobilize their forces and France to do nothing of Germany invades Russia and neither countries agreed. This altercation on August 1, 1914 started the declaration of war against Russia and France and started the mobilization of armed forces from Germany. Entering 1915, the allied forces were accomplishing nothing and the central powers were still strong. For the next 2 years, nothing outstanding happened until Germany started sinking merchant ships (unrestricted submarine warfare) around 1917 that had United States citizens aboard. This caused the United States to enter World War I on the allied side on April 6, 1917. With defeat eminent and multiple central power empires collapsing, the leader of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm was forces to resign on November 9, 1918. The end of World War I ultimately caused the collapse of the Russian Empire, German Empire, Austria-Hungary Empire, the Ottoman Empire and most dictatorships throughout the world at the time.

The Banana Wars
The Banana Wars was similar to the Mexican Border Wars and the Mexican Revolution. The only difference was that the Banana Wars were due to United States forces and Franklin D. Roosevelt trying to gain control over the trading throughout Central America and the surrounding tropical countries. These conflicts started around 1898 right after the end of the Spanish–American War and the signing of the Treaty of Paris which gave the United States control over Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam and the Philippines. In 1914, Mexico arrested some American sailors that were in the wrong part of the city. After they were released, Mexican authorities forgot a 21 gun salute which then led to a 7 month occupation of Veracruz that killed hundreds on both sides of the conflict. These conflicts throughout the tropical countries ended around 1934 after the United States occupied Haiti for 19 years and ended the ban of land ownership by non-Haitians. This ban could then allow any U.S. citizen to own land in Haiti and use their soil. The style of conflict that the United States forces were using helped them create a manual called Small Wars Operations in 1935 that, "remained the reference on counter-insurgency, with some minor modifications, during the early portions of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, until being replaced by Counterinsurgency in 2006."

The Mexican Revolution
During the Mexican Border Wars, there was a series of revolutionary attacks on the Mexican Government and Military that started in 1910 and was most prolific throughout 1920. Francisco I. Madero challenged Porfirio Díaz in the election, who has been a longtime Mexican president but recently sent the citizens into economic struggles. Madero lost to an unfair ballot and this caused uprisings throughout Mexico which made Diaz lose control and overthrew him in 1911. After Madero gained control, he had to defend himself from other powerful leaders such as Bernardo Reyes and Victoriano Huerta. They believed that Madero was attacking for the wrong reasons and were able to end his leadership in 1913. This caused a series of attacks against powerful regional leaders throughout Mexico for the next 7 years. In 1914, leaders such as Venustiano Carranza and Pancho Villa overthrew Huerta and Reyes' regime until 1915. Carranza later betrayed Pancho Villa and by 1917, Carranza created the Constitution of Mexico and the Land reform in Mexico as well as other important documents and increased the power of the federal government.