Mexican Army
Encyclopedia
The Mexican Army is the combined land
and air
branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, (the Mondragón rifle), in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue weapons, in 1908. The Mexican Army has an active duty force of 192,000 (2009 est.).
Mexico has no foreign nation-state adversaries and little ambition to impose itself upon other nations. It repudiates the use of force to settle disputes and rejects interference by one nation in the affairs of another. Although it has not suffered a major terrorist incident, Mexico considers itself a potential target for international terrorism.
In the prehispanic era there lived many indigenous tribes and highly developed city-states in what is now known as central Mexico. The most advanced and powerful kingdoms were those of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan
which comprised populations of the same ethnic origin and were politically linked by an alliance known as the Triple Alliance
; colloquially these three states are known as the Aztec
. They had a center for higher education called the Calmecac
in Nahuatl
, this was where the children of the Aztec priesthood and nobility receive rigorous religious and military training and conveyed the highest knowledge such as: doctrines, divine songs, the science of interpreting codices, calendar skills, memorization of texts, etc. In Aztec society it was compulsory for all young male nobles, as well as commoners, to form part of the armed forces beginning at the age of 15.
Itzcoatl
"Obsidian Serpent" (1381–1440), fourth king of Tenochtitlán, organized the army that defeated the Tepanec
of Atzcapotzalco
, freeing his people from the their dominion. His reign began with the rise of what would become the largest empire in Mesoamerica
. Then Moctezuma Ilhuicamina "The arrow to the sky" (1440–1469) came to extend the domain and the influence of the monarchy of Tenochtitlán. He began to organize trade to the outside regions of the Valley of Mexico
. This was the Mexica ruler who organized the alliance with the lordships of Texcoco and Tlacopan to form the Triple Alliance.
The Aztec came to establish the Flower Wars as a form of worship, which unlike the wars of conquest, aimed at obtaining prisoners for sacrifice to the sun. Combat orders were given by kings (or Lords) using drums or blowing into a sea snail shell which gave off a sound like a horn. Giving out signals using coats of arms was very common. For combat that took place outside their cities they would organize several groups in which only one was in action while the others remained on alert. When warfare was carried on to cities these were usually attacked in three different parts, or flanks, all at once and in equal numbers of assault groups. This tactic was used in order to know which division of warriors laying siege would distinguish themselves the most in combat.
and a small army equipped with swords, spears, slingshots and sticks. Captain General Ignacio Allende
was the military brain of the insurgents in the first phase of the War of Independence which had several victories over the Spanish Royal Army. Their troops were about 5,000 strong and were latter joined by squadrons of the Queen's Regiment where its members in turn contributed infantry battalions and cavalry squadrons to the insurrection cause.
The Spaniards saw that it was important to defend the fortified plaza in Guanajuato named Alhóndiga de Granaditas
which kept the flow of water, weapons, food and ammunition for the Spanish Royal Army. The insurgents then entered the town of Guanajuato and proceeded to lay siege on the Alhóndiga. In this attack the insurgents suffered heavy casualties until there came Juan Jose de los Reyes, the Pípila, who fitted a slab of rock on his back to protect himself from enemy fire and crawled to the large wooden door of the Alhóndiga with a torch in hand to set it on fire. With this stunt the insurgents managed to bring down the door and enter the building and overrun it. Hidalgo then latter arrived at Valladolid (now Morelia
) without encountering resistance. The Insurgent Army by then was over 60,000 strong but was mostly formed of poorly armed men with arrows, sticks, tillage tools and very few guns which they had taken from the Spaniard's stocks.
In Aculco
the Royal Spanish forces under the command of the Royalist Felix Maria Calleja, Count of Calderón, and Don Manuel de Flon with 200 infantrymen, 500 cavalry troops and 12 cannons defeated the insurgents whose loses included many men and the artillery they had obtained at Battle of Monte de las Cruces
. On November 29, 1810 Hidalgo made his entrance to Guadalajara, the capital of Nueva Galicia
, where he organized the government and the Insurgent Army. There is where he formally promulgated the abolition of slavery.
At Calderon Bridge (Puente de Calderón) near the city of Guadalajara Jalisco, insurgents held a hard-fought battle
with the royalists. During the fierce fighting a wagon full of ammunition in the side of the insurgents exploded, which led to their defeat. All their artillery was lost as well as much of their equipment and the lives of many men.
At the Wells of Baján (Norias de Baján) near Monclova
, Coahuila
, a former royalist named Ignacio Elizondo
who had joined the insurgent cause betrayed them and seized the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, José Mariano Jiménez and the rest of the entourage. They were brought to the city of Chihuahua where they were tried by a military court and executed by firing squad on July 30, 1811. Hidalgo's death resulted in a political vacuum for the insurgents until 1812. Meanwhile the royalist military commander, General Félix María Calleja, continued to pursue rebel troops. Then Insurgent fighting evolved into guerrilla warfare and eventually the next major leader to arise for the rebel's cause was the priest José María Morelos y Pavón who had formerly led the insurgent movement alongside with Hidalgo before his execution. Morelos then went on to fortify the port of Acapulco
and took the city of Chilpancingo
. Along the way Morelos was joined by Leonardo Bravo, his son Nicholas, his brothers Max, Victor and Miguel Bravo.
Morelos then went on to conduct several campaigns in the south managing to conquer much of the region as he gave orders to the insurgents to promote the writing of the first constitution for the new Mexican nation: the Constitution of Apatzingan which was drafted in 1814. In 1815 Morelos was apprehended and executed by firing squad. With his death concluded the second phase of the Mexican War for Independence. From 1815 to 1820 the independence movement became sluggish but was briefly reinvigorated by Francisco Javier Mina
and Pedro Moreno
who were quickly apprehended and executed as well.
It was not until late 1820 when one of the most bloodthirsty enemies of the insurgents, Agustín de Iturbide
, established relations with Vicente Guerrero
through the courts by signing the document called El Plan de Iguala which formed the Ejército Trigarante
, or The Army of the Tree Guarantees, to obtain the much desired freedom of the Mexican people. With this new alliance they were able to enter Mexico City on September 27, 1821 which concluded the Mexican War for Independence.
The Pastry War was the first French intervention in Mexico. Following the widespread civil disorder that plagued the early years of the Mexican republic, the fighting in the streets destroyed a great deal of personal property. Foreigners whose property was damaged or destroyed by rioters or bandits were usually unable to obtain compensation from the government, and began to appeal to their own governments for help.
In 1838 a French pastry
cook, Monsieur Remontel, claimed that his shop in the Tacubaya
district of Mexico City had been ruined by looting Mexican officers in 1828. He appealed to France
's King Louis-Philippe
(1773–1850). Coming to its citizen's aid, France demanded 600,000 pesos in damages. This amount was extremely high when compared to an average workman's daily pay, which was about one peso. In addition to this amount, Mexico had defaulted on millions of dollars worth of loans from France. Diplomat Baron Deffaudis gave Mexico an ultimatum to pay, or the French would demand satisfaction. When the payment was not forthcoming from president Anastasio Bustamante
(1780–1853), the king sent a fleet under Rear Admiral Charles Baudin
to declare a blockade of all Mexican ports from Yucatán
to the Rio Grande
, to bombard the Mexican fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, and to seize the port of Veracruz
. Virtually the entire Mexican Navy was captured at Veracruz by December 1838. Mexico declared war on France.
With trade cut off, the Mexicans began smuggling imports into Corpus Christi
, Texas
, and then into Mexico. Fearing that France would blockade Texan
ports as well, a battalion of men of the Republic of Texas
force began patrolling Corpus Christi Bay to stop Mexican smugglers. One smuggling party abandoned their cargo of about a hundred barrels of flour on the beach at the mouth of the bay, thus giving Flour Bluff its name. The United States, ever watchful of its relations with Mexico, sent the schooner Woodbury to help the French in their blockade. Talks between the French Kingdom
and the Texan nation occurred and France agreed not to offend the soil or waters of the Republic of Texas. With the diplomatic intervention of the United Kingdom
, eventually President Bustamante
promised to pay the 600,000 pesos and the French forces withdrew on 9 March 1839.
U.S. territorial expansion of the 19th century under Manifest Destiny
had reached the banks of the Rio Grande which prompted Mexican president José Joaquín de Herrera to form an army of 6,000 men to defend the Mexican northern frontier from the expansion of the neighboring country. In 1845, Texas, a former Mexican territory that had broken away from Mexico by rebellion, was annexed into the United States. In response to this action the minister of Mexico in the U.S., Juan N. Almonte
called for his Letters of Recognition and returned to Mexico, hostilities promptly ensued. On April 25, 1846 a Mexican force under colonel Anastasio Torrejon surprised and defeated an American squadron at the Rancho de Carricitos in Matamoros
in an event that would latter be known as the Thornton Skirmish
; this was the pretext that U.S. president James K. Polk used to persuade the U.S. congress into declaring a state of war against Mexico on May 13, 1846. U.S. Army captain John C. Frémont
, with about sixty well-armed men, had entered the California territory in December 1845 before the war had been official and was marching slowly to Oregon when he received word that war between Mexico and the U.S. was imminent thus began a chapter of the war known as the Bear Flag Revolt.
On September 20, 1846 the Americans launched an attack on Monterrey
which fell after 5 days. After the U.S. victory in Monterrey hostilities were suspended for 7 weeks allowing Mexican troops to leave the city with their flags displayed in full honors as U.S. soldiers regrouped and regained their losses. On August 1846 Commodore David Conner
with his squadron of ships in Veracruzian waters tried unsuccessfully to seize the Fort of Alvarado
which was defended by the Mexican Navy forcing the Americans to leave and relocate to Antón Lizardo
. In confronting resistance and fortifications at the port of Veracruz
, the U.S. Army and marines implemented an intense bombardment of the city from March 22–26, 1847 causing about five hundred civilian deaths and significant damage to homes, buildings, and merchandise. General Winfield Scott
and Commodore Matthew C. Perry capitalized on this civilian suffering; by refusing to allow the consulates of Spain and France to assist in civilian evacuation, they pressed Mexican Gen. Juan Morales to negotiate surrender.
American commodore Matthew C. Perry, who had already captured the town of Frontera, in Tabasco
, tried to seize San Juan Bautista (modern Villahermosa
), but he was repelled three times by a Mexican garrison of just under three hundred men. U.S. troops were also sent to the California territories with the intentions to seize it. After squads of U.S. troops occupied the City of Los Angeles Mexican authorities were forced to move to Sonora
; but by the end of September 1846 commander José María Flores
was able to gather 500 Mexicans who managed to defeat the U.S. garrison at Los Angeles and then sent detachments to Santa Barbara
and San Diego.
After putting up a fierce defense against the U.S. invasion the Mexican positions along the state of Chihuahua began to fall. These forces had been organized by general José Antonio de Heredia and governor Ángel Trías Álvarez. The cavalry of the latter made several desperate charges against the U.S. that nearly achieved victory, but his inexperience in fighting was evident and, in the end, all the positions gained were lost.
The French intervention in Mexico was an invasion of Mexico by an expeditionary force
sent by the Second French Empire
, supported in the beginning by the United Kingdom
and the Kingdom of Spain. It followed President
Benito Juárez
's suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered Mexico's major creditors: Spain, France and Britain.
Napoleon III of France
was the instigator. His foreign policy was based on a commitment to free trade. For him, a friendly government in Mexico provided an opportunity to expand free trade by ensuring European access to important markets, and preventing monopoly by the United States. Napoleon also needed the silver that could be mined in Mexico to finance his empire. Napoleon built a coalition with Spain and Britain at a time the U.S. was engaged in a full-scale civil war
. The U.S. protested but could not intervene directly until its civil war was over in 1865.
The three powers signed the Treaty of London
on October 31, to unite their efforts to receive payments from Mexico. On 8 December the Spanish fleet and troops from Spanish-controlled Cuba
arrived at Mexico's main Gulf
port, Veracruz
. When the British and Spanish discovered that the French planned to invade Mexico, they withdrew.
The subsequent French invasion resulted in the Second Mexican Empire
, which was supported by the Roman Catholic clergy, many conservative elements of the upper class, and some indigenous communities; when the presidential terms of Benito Juárez
(1858–71) were interrupted by the rule of the Habsburg monarchy in Mexico (1864–67). Conservatives, and many in the Mexican nobility
, tried to revive the monarchical form of government (see: First Mexican Empire
) when they helped to bring to Mexico an archduke from the Royal House of Austria, Maximilian Ferdinand, or Maximilian I of Mexico
(who married Charlotte of Belgium, also known as Carlota of Mexico), with the military support of France. France had various interests in this Mexican affair, such as seeking reconciliation with Austria
, which had been defeated during the Franco-Austrian War
, counterbalancing the growing U.S. power by developing a powerful Catholic neighbouring empire, and exploiting the rich mines in the north-west of the country.
sent 6,500 federal troops to the state of Michoacán
to end drug violence there. This action is regarded as the first major retaliation made against the cartel violence, and is generally viewed as the starting point of the war between the government and the drug cartels. As time progressed, Calderón continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, in which there are now about 45,000 troops involved along with state and federal police forces.
In recent times, the Mexican military has largely participated in efforts against drug trafficking. The Operaciones contra el narcotrafico (Operations against drug trafficking), for example, describes its purpose in regards to "the performance of the Mexican Army and Air Force in the permanent campaign against the drug trafficking is sustained properly in the faculties that the Executive of the Nation grants to him, the 89 Art. Fracc. VI of the Constitution of the Mexican United States, when indicating that it is faculty of the President of the Republic to have the totality of the permanent Armed Forces, that is of the terrestrial Army, Navy military and the Air Force for the inner and outer security of the federation.
is a branch of the Mexican Army. As of 2009 starting salary for Mexican army recruits was $6,000 Mexian pesos, or about $500 US dollars per month, with an additional lifetime $10,000 peso monthly pension.
The principal units of the Mexican army are nine infantry brigades and a number of independent regiments and infantry battalions. The main maneuver elements of the army are organized in three corps, each consisting of three infantry brigades, all based in and around the Federal District. Distinct from the brigade formations, independent regiments and battalions are assigned to zonal garrisons (45 in total) in each of the country's 12 military regions. Infantry battalions, composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone, and certain zones are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or an artillery regiment.
México is divided into twelve Military Regions composed of forty-four sub-ordinate Military Zones [the 2007 ed. of the IISS lists 12 regions, 45 zones], the enumeration is for nominal designation. There is no fixed number of zones in a region, therefore operational needs determine how many or how few, with corresponding increases and decreases in troop strength.
Usually on the secretary of defence's recommendation. The senior zone commander also is commander of the military region containing the military zone. A military zone commander has jurisdiction over every unit operating in his territory, including the Rurales
(Rural Defense Force) that occasionally have been Federal political counterweight to the power of state governors. Zone commanders provide the national defence secretary with socio-political conditions intelligence about rural areas. Moreover, they traditionally have acted in co-ordination with the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) on planning and resources deployment.
Military Zones
The primary units of the Mexican army are six brigade
s and a number of independent regiments
and infantry battalions
.
The Brigades, all based in and around the Federal District
(encompassing the Mexico City
area), are the only real maneuver elements in the army. With their support units, they are believed to account for over 40 percent of the country's ground forces. According to The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies
, the army has six brigade
s: one armored, two infantry, one motorized infantry, one airborne, and the Presidential Guard
Brigade, the presidential bodyguard brigade has a reaction group, (grupo de reaccion inmediata y potente, G.R.I.P.), its members are trained in martial arts such as karate, aikijutsu, tae kwon do, kick boxing, kung fu, judo, and silat, furthermore, they are trained in techniques and tactics in order to protect high ranking officials and civil servants, such as the President. The Third military police
brigade was transferred to the Federal Preventive Police
in 2008. The armored brigade is one of two new brigades formed since 1990 as part of a reorganization made possible by an increase in overall strength of about 25,000 troops. The brigade consists of three armored and one mechanized infantry regiment
.
Distinct from the brigade formations are independent regiments (all regiments are battalion sized) and battalions assigned to zonal garrisons. These independent units consist of one armored cavalry regiment, nineteen motorized cavalry regiments, one mechanized infantry regiment, seven artillery regiments, and three artillery and eighteen infantry battalions. Infantry battalions are small and are each composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone. Certain zones also are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or one of the seven artillery regiments. Smaller detachments often are detailed to patrol more inaccessible areas of the countryside, helping to maintain order and resolve disputes.
and several Amphibious Special Forces Groups.
The Special Forces Brigades consist of nine SF battalions. The 1st Brigade has the 1st, 2nd and 3rd SF Battalions, The 2nd Brigade has the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and the 3rd Brigade has the 4th and 9th Battalions and a Rapid Intervention Force group. The High Command GAFE
is a group with no more than 100 members, they are specially trained in counter-terrorist tactics. They receive orders directly from the President of Mexico Felipe de Jesus Calderón Hinojosa.
The Amphibious Special Forces Groups are trained in amphibious warfare, they give the army extended force to the coastal lines.
(Presidential Guard) is a specific agency of the Mexican Army that is responsible for the safety and well being of the President in the practice of all of the activities of his office. On March 24, 1985 President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado reformed the regulation of the presidential guard and published it in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on April 4, 1986. In this version the responsibilities of this agency included assisting the President in obtaining general information, planning the President's activities under security and preventive measures for his safety. This regulation was in force during the administrations of Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon. On January 16, 2004 during the administration of President Vicente Fox Quesada a new regulation of the Presidential Guard was issued and published by the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 23 of that same year. This ordinance updated the structure, organization and operation of the Presidential guard as a technical military body and administrative unit of the Presidency to facilitate the implementation of the powers of his office.
Rank badges have a band of colour indicating branch:
Since the early first decade of the 21st century the Army has been steadily modernising to become competitive with the armies of other American countries and have also taken certain steps to decrease spending and dependency on foreign equipment in order to become more autonomous such as the domestic production of the FX-05 rifle designed in Mexico and the commitment to researching, designing and manufacturing domestic military systems such as military electronics and body armor.
The Mexican Military counts on three of the following departments to fulfill the general tasks of the Army and Air Force
:
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
and air
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, (the Mondragón rifle), in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue weapons, in 1908. The Mexican Army has an active duty force of 192,000 (2009 est.).
Mexico has no foreign nation-state adversaries and little ambition to impose itself upon other nations. It repudiates the use of force to settle disputes and rejects interference by one nation in the affairs of another. Although it has not suffered a major terrorist incident, Mexico considers itself a potential target for international terrorism.
Prehispanic Origins
Tlacopan
Tlacopan , also called Tacuba, was a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city-state situated on the western shore of Lake Texcoco.Founded by Tlacomatzin, Tlacopan was a Tepanec kingdom subordinate to nearby Azcapotzalco...
which comprised populations of the same ethnic origin and were politically linked by an alliance known as the Triple Alliance
Aztec Triple Alliance
The Aztec Triple Alliance, or Aztec Empire began as an alliance of three Nahua city-states or "altepeme": Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan...
; colloquially these three states are known as the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
. They had a center for higher education called the Calmecac
Calmecac
The Calmecac was a school for the children of Aztec nobility in the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history, where they would receive rigorous religious and military training. The calmecac is to be contrasted with the Tēlpochcalli where mostly commoners received military training...
in Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
, this was where the children of the Aztec priesthood and nobility receive rigorous religious and military training and conveyed the highest knowledge such as: doctrines, divine songs, the science of interpreting codices, calendar skills, memorization of texts, etc. In Aztec society it was compulsory for all young male nobles, as well as commoners, to form part of the armed forces beginning at the age of 15.
Itzcoatl
Itzcóatl
Itzcoatl was the fourth emperor of the Aztecs, ruling from 1427 to 1440, the period when the Mexica threw off the domination of the Tepanecs and laid the foundations for the eventual Aztec Empire.- Biography :...
"Obsidian Serpent" (1381–1440), fourth king of Tenochtitlán, organized the army that defeated the Tepanec
Tepanec
The Tepanecs or Tepaneca are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries. The Tepanec were a sister culture of the Aztecs as well as the Acolhua and others—these tribes spoke the Nahuatl language and shared the same general pantheon, with...
of Atzcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco (altepetl)
Azcapotzalco was a pre-Columbian Nahua altepetl , capital of the Tepanec empire, in the Valley of Mexico, on the western shore of Lake Texcoco.The name Azcapotzalco means "at the anthill" in Nahuatl...
, freeing his people from the their dominion. His reign began with the rise of what would become the largest empire in Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
. Then Moctezuma Ilhuicamina "The arrow to the sky" (1440–1469) came to extend the domain and the influence of the monarchy of Tenochtitlán. He began to organize trade to the outside regions of the Valley of Mexico
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
. This was the Mexica ruler who organized the alliance with the lordships of Texcoco and Tlacopan to form the Triple Alliance.
The Aztec came to establish the Flower Wars as a form of worship, which unlike the wars of conquest, aimed at obtaining prisoners for sacrifice to the sun. Combat orders were given by kings (or Lords) using drums or blowing into a sea snail shell which gave off a sound like a horn. Giving out signals using coats of arms was very common. For combat that took place outside their cities they would organize several groups in which only one was in action while the others remained on alert. When warfare was carried on to cities these were usually attacked in three different parts, or flanks, all at once and in equal numbers of assault groups. This tactic was used in order to know which division of warriors laying siege would distinguish themselves the most in combat.
Independence
The Army of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was the first militant group that initiated the independence movement in the early morning of September 16, 1810. He was followed by his loyal companions among them Mariano AbasoloMariano Abasolo
Mariano Abasolo was a Mexican revolutionist, born at Dolores, Guanajuato. He participated in the revolution started by Hidalgo in 1810 and rose to be a major-general. He fought at Puente de Calderón, was taken prisoner by the Spaniards, was tried at Chihuahua, and was sentenced to ten years'...
and a small army equipped with swords, spears, slingshots and sticks. Captain General Ignacio Allende
Ignacio Allende
Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga , born Ignacio Allende y Unzaga, was a captain of the Spanish Army in Mexico who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement. He attended the secret meetings organized by Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, where the possibility of an independent New Spain was...
was the military brain of the insurgents in the first phase of the War of Independence which had several victories over the Spanish Royal Army. Their troops were about 5,000 strong and were latter joined by squadrons of the Queen's Regiment where its members in turn contributed infantry battalions and cavalry squadrons to the insurrection cause.
Alhóndiga de Granaditas
The Alhóndiga de Granaditas is an old grain storage building in Guanajuato City, Mexico. This historic building was created to replace an old granary near the city's river. Its construction lasted from 1798 to 1809, by orders of Juan Antonio de Riaño y Bárcena, a Spaniard who was the quartermaster...
which kept the flow of water, weapons, food and ammunition for the Spanish Royal Army. The insurgents then entered the town of Guanajuato and proceeded to lay siege on the Alhóndiga. In this attack the insurgents suffered heavy casualties until there came Juan Jose de los Reyes, the Pípila, who fitted a slab of rock on his back to protect himself from enemy fire and crawled to the large wooden door of the Alhóndiga with a torch in hand to set it on fire. With this stunt the insurgents managed to bring down the door and enter the building and overrun it. Hidalgo then latter arrived at Valladolid (now Morelia
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
) without encountering resistance. The Insurgent Army by then was over 60,000 strong but was mostly formed of poorly armed men with arrows, sticks, tillage tools and very few guns which they had taken from the Spaniard's stocks.
In Aculco
Aculco
Aculco de Espinoza is a town and the seat of the municipality called Aculco in Mexico State.-History:Aculco was founded approximately in 1110 A.D. by the Otomies, despite the fact that its name comes from Nahuatl...
the Royal Spanish forces under the command of the Royalist Felix Maria Calleja, Count of Calderón, and Don Manuel de Flon with 200 infantrymen, 500 cavalry troops and 12 cannons defeated the insurgents whose loses included many men and the artillery they had obtained at Battle of Monte de las Cruces
Battle of Monte de las Cruces
The Battle of Monte de las Cruces was one of the pivotal battles of the early Mexican War of Independence. It was fought between the insurgent troops of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Ignacio Allende against the royalist troops of General Torcuato Trujillo in the Sierra de las Cruces mountains...
. On November 29, 1810 Hidalgo made his entrance to Guadalajara, the capital of Nueva Galicia
Nueva Galicia
El Nuevo Reino de Galicia or Nueva Galicia was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was named after Galicia in Spain...
, where he organized the government and the Insurgent Army. There is where he formally promulgated the abolition of slavery.
At Calderon Bridge (Puente de Calderón) near the city of Guadalajara Jalisco, insurgents held a hard-fought battle
Battle of Calderón Bridge
The Battle of Calderón Bridge was a decisive battle in the Mexican War of Independence, fought on the banks of the Calderón River east of Guadalajara in present day Zapotlanejo, Jalisco. Almost 100,000 Mexican revolutionists contributed to the attack, commanded by Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende,...
with the royalists. During the fierce fighting a wagon full of ammunition in the side of the insurgents exploded, which led to their defeat. All their artillery was lost as well as much of their equipment and the lives of many men.
At the Wells of Baján (Norias de Baján) near Monclova
Monclova
On the other hand, temperatures during late spring and summer can have bouts of extreme heat, with evenings above 40°C for many consecutive days. In recent decades the hottest records have climbed as high as 43°C on July 13, 2005 and 45°C on May 4, 1984. However nighttime low temperatures are...
, Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
, a former royalist named Ignacio Elizondo
Ignacio Elizondo
Francisco Ignacio Elizondo Villarreal, , was a New Leonese royalist general, mostly known for his victorious plot to seek to capture important insurgency precursors of the Mexican War of Independence such as Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende, and Juan Aldama in Baján, Coahuila in...
who had joined the insurgent cause betrayed them and seized the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, José Mariano Jiménez and the rest of the entourage. They were brought to the city of Chihuahua where they were tried by a military court and executed by firing squad on July 30, 1811. Hidalgo's death resulted in a political vacuum for the insurgents until 1812. Meanwhile the royalist military commander, General Félix María Calleja, continued to pursue rebel troops. Then Insurgent fighting evolved into guerrilla warfare and eventually the next major leader to arise for the rebel's cause was the priest José María Morelos y Pavón who had formerly led the insurgent movement alongside with Hidalgo before his execution. Morelos then went on to fortify the port of Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
and took the city of Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo de los Bravo is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. It is located at . In the 2005 census the population of the city was 166,796. Its surrounding municipality, of which it is municipal seat, had a population of 214,219 persons...
. Along the way Morelos was joined by Leonardo Bravo, his son Nicholas, his brothers Max, Victor and Miguel Bravo.
Morelos then went on to conduct several campaigns in the south managing to conquer much of the region as he gave orders to the insurgents to promote the writing of the first constitution for the new Mexican nation: the Constitution of Apatzingan which was drafted in 1814. In 1815 Morelos was apprehended and executed by firing squad. With his death concluded the second phase of the Mexican War for Independence. From 1815 to 1820 the independence movement became sluggish but was briefly reinvigorated by Francisco Javier Mina
Francisco Javier Mina
Francisco Javier Mina was a Spanish lawyer and army officer and a Mexican revolutionary.-Biography:...
and Pedro Moreno
Pedro Moreno
Pedro Moreno . He was an insurgent in the Mexican War of Independence....
who were quickly apprehended and executed as well.
It was not until late 1820 when one of the most bloodthirsty enemies of the insurgents, Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
, established relations with Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence, who fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and served briefly as President of Mexico...
through the courts by signing the document called El Plan de Iguala which formed the Ejército Trigarante
Army of the Three Guarantees
At the end of the Mexican War of Independence, the Army of the Three Guarantees was the name given to the army after the unification of the Spanish troops led by Agustín de Iturbide and the Mexican insurgent troops of Vicente Guerrero, consolidating Mexico's independence from Spain...
, or The Army of the Tree Guarantees, to obtain the much desired freedom of the Mexican people. With this new alliance they were able to enter Mexico City on September 27, 1821 which concluded the Mexican War for Independence.
Pastry War
In 1838 a French pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
cook, Monsieur Remontel, claimed that his shop in the Tacubaya
Metro Tacubaya
Metro Tacubaya is a station on Lines 1, 7 and 9 of the Mexico City Metro system. It is located in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, west of the city centre....
district of Mexico City had been ruined by looting Mexican officers in 1828. He appealed to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
's King Louis-Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
(1773–1850). Coming to its citizen's aid, France demanded 600,000 pesos in damages. This amount was extremely high when compared to an average workman's daily pay, which was about one peso. In addition to this amount, Mexico had defaulted on millions of dollars worth of loans from France. Diplomat Baron Deffaudis gave Mexico an ultimatum to pay, or the French would demand satisfaction. When the payment was not forthcoming from president Anastasio Bustamante
Anastasio Bustamante
Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera was president of Mexico three times, from 1830 to 1832, from 1837 to 1839 and from 1839 to 1841. He was a Conservative. He first came to power by leading a coup against president Vicente Guerrero...
(1780–1853), the king sent a fleet under Rear Admiral Charles Baudin
Charles Baudin
Charles Baudin , was a French admiral, whose naval service extended from the First Empire through the early days of the Second Empire....
to declare a blockade of all Mexican ports from Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
to the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
, to bombard the Mexican fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, and to seize the port of Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
. Virtually the entire Mexican Navy was captured at Veracruz by December 1838. Mexico declared war on France.
With trade cut off, the Mexicans began smuggling imports into Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and then into Mexico. Fearing that France would blockade Texan
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
ports as well, a battalion of men of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
force began patrolling Corpus Christi Bay to stop Mexican smugglers. One smuggling party abandoned their cargo of about a hundred barrels of flour on the beach at the mouth of the bay, thus giving Flour Bluff its name. The United States, ever watchful of its relations with Mexico, sent the schooner Woodbury to help the French in their blockade. Talks between the French Kingdom
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
and the Texan nation occurred and France agreed not to offend the soil or waters of the Republic of Texas. With the diplomatic intervention of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, eventually President Bustamante
Anastasio Bustamante
Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera was president of Mexico three times, from 1830 to 1832, from 1837 to 1839 and from 1839 to 1841. He was a Conservative. He first came to power by leading a coup against president Vicente Guerrero...
promised to pay the 600,000 pesos and the French forces withdrew on 9 March 1839.
U.S. Invasion
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
had reached the banks of the Rio Grande which prompted Mexican president José Joaquín de Herrera to form an army of 6,000 men to defend the Mexican northern frontier from the expansion of the neighboring country. In 1845, Texas, a former Mexican territory that had broken away from Mexico by rebellion, was annexed into the United States. In response to this action the minister of Mexico in the U.S., Juan N. Almonte
Juan Almonte
Juan Nepomuceno Almonte was a 19th century Mexican official, soldier and diplomat. He was a veteran of the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution...
called for his Letters of Recognition and returned to Mexico, hostilities promptly ensued. On April 25, 1846 a Mexican force under colonel Anastasio Torrejon surprised and defeated an American squadron at the Rancho de Carricitos in Matamoros
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...
in an event that would latter be known as the Thornton Skirmish
Thornton Affair
The Thornton Affair, also known as the Thornton Skirmish, Thornton's Defeat, or Rancho Carricitos was a battle between the military forces of the United States and Mexico. It served as the primary justification for U.S. President James K. Polk's declaration of war against Mexico in 1846,...
; this was the pretext that U.S. president James K. Polk used to persuade the U.S. congress into declaring a state of war against Mexico on May 13, 1846. U.S. Army captain John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, with about sixty well-armed men, had entered the California territory in December 1845 before the war had been official and was marching slowly to Oregon when he received word that war between Mexico and the U.S. was imminent thus began a chapter of the war known as the Bear Flag Revolt.
On September 20, 1846 the Americans launched an attack on Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
which fell after 5 days. After the U.S. victory in Monterrey hostilities were suspended for 7 weeks allowing Mexican troops to leave the city with their flags displayed in full honors as U.S. soldiers regrouped and regained their losses. On August 1846 Commodore David Conner
David Conner (naval officer)
Commodore David Conner was an officer of the United States Navy, whose service included the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. During the 1840s, he served on the Board of Navy Commissioners and as the first Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repair.Conner was born in...
with his squadron of ships in Veracruzian waters tried unsuccessfully to seize the Fort of Alvarado
Alvarado, Veracruz
Alvarado is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located 64 km from the city of Veracruz, Veracruz, on Federal Highways 180 and 125...
which was defended by the Mexican Navy forcing the Americans to leave and relocate to Antón Lizardo
Antón Lizardo
Antón Lizardo is a fishing town located 23 km in the Mexican state of Veracruz.It is located south of the port city of Veracruz, near Boca del Río, in the municipality of Alvarado....
. In confronting resistance and fortifications at the port of Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
, the U.S. Army and marines implemented an intense bombardment of the city from March 22–26, 1847 causing about five hundred civilian deaths and significant damage to homes, buildings, and merchandise. General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
and Commodore Matthew C. Perry capitalized on this civilian suffering; by refusing to allow the consulates of Spain and France to assist in civilian evacuation, they pressed Mexican Gen. Juan Morales to negotiate surrender.
American commodore Matthew C. Perry, who had already captured the town of Frontera, in Tabasco
Tabasco
Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
, tried to seize San Juan Bautista (modern Villahermosa
Villahermosa
Like most of the Tabasco, Villahermosa has a tropical climate. The city specifically features a tropical monsoon climate. Temperatures during spring and summer seasons reach upwards of 40°C , with humidity levels hovering around 30% during the same period...
), but he was repelled three times by a Mexican garrison of just under three hundred men. U.S. troops were also sent to the California territories with the intentions to seize it. After squads of U.S. troops occupied the City of Los Angeles Mexican authorities were forced to move to Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
; but by the end of September 1846 commander José María Flores
José Mariá Flores
General José María Flores was an officer in the Mexican Army and was a member of la otra banda. He was appointed Governor and Comandante General pro tem of Alta California from 1846 to 1847.-Mexican-America War:...
was able to gather 500 Mexicans who managed to defeat the U.S. garrison at Los Angeles and then sent detachments to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
and San Diego.
After putting up a fierce defense against the U.S. invasion the Mexican positions along the state of Chihuahua began to fall. These forces had been organized by general José Antonio de Heredia and governor Ángel Trías Álvarez. The cavalry of the latter made several desperate charges against the U.S. that nearly achieved victory, but his inexperience in fighting was evident and, in the end, all the positions gained were lost.
French Intervention
Expeditionary warfare
Expeditionary warfare is used to describe the organization of a state's military to fight abroad, especially when deployed to fight away from its established bases at home or abroad. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of Rapid Deployment Forces...
sent by the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
, supported in the beginning by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and the Kingdom of Spain. It followed President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
's suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered Mexico's major creditors: Spain, France and Britain.
Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
was the instigator. His foreign policy was based on a commitment to free trade. For him, a friendly government in Mexico provided an opportunity to expand free trade by ensuring European access to important markets, and preventing monopoly by the United States. Napoleon also needed the silver that could be mined in Mexico to finance his empire. Napoleon built a coalition with Spain and Britain at a time the U.S. was engaged in a full-scale civil war
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The U.S. protested but could not intervene directly until its civil war was over in 1865.
The three powers signed the Treaty of London
Treaty of London (1861)
The Treaty of London was a treaty, signed by France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, in 1861. The purpose of the treaty was to agree on a course of action towards obtaining loan repayments from Mexico....
on October 31, to unite their efforts to receive payments from Mexico. On 8 December the Spanish fleet and troops from Spanish-controlled Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
arrived at Mexico's main Gulf
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
port, Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
. When the British and Spanish discovered that the French planned to invade Mexico, they withdrew.
The subsequent French invasion resulted in the Second Mexican Empire
Second Mexican Empire
The Second Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico under the regime established from 1864 to 1867. It was created by Napoleon III of France, who attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times...
, which was supported by the Roman Catholic clergy, many conservative elements of the upper class, and some indigenous communities; when the presidential terms of Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
(1858–71) were interrupted by the rule of the Habsburg monarchy in Mexico (1864–67). Conservatives, and many in the Mexican nobility
Mexican nobility
Mexican nobility refers to the titled nobles and untitled gentry families of Mexico. Most of the descendants of these families still live in Mexico today, but some can be found in Europe and other countries....
, tried to revive the monarchical form of government (see: First Mexican Empire
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire was the official name of independent Mexico under a monarchical regime from 1821 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of New Spain proper...
) when they helped to bring to Mexico an archduke from the Royal House of Austria, Maximilian Ferdinand, or Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
(who married Charlotte of Belgium, also known as Carlota of Mexico), with the military support of France. France had various interests in this Mexican affair, such as seeking reconciliation with Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, which had been defeated during the Franco-Austrian War
Second Italian War of Independence
The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, Austro-Sardinian War, or Austro-Piedmontese War , was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859...
, counterbalancing the growing U.S. power by developing a powerful Catholic neighbouring empire, and exploiting the rich mines in the north-west of the country.
Recent History: Mexican Drug War
Although violence between drug cartels has been occurring long before the war began, the government held a generally passive stance regarding cartel violence in the 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century. That changed on December 11, 2006, when newly elected President Felipe CalderónFelipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
sent 6,500 federal troops to the state of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
to end drug violence there. This action is regarded as the first major retaliation made against the cartel violence, and is generally viewed as the starting point of the war between the government and the drug cartels. As time progressed, Calderón continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, in which there are now about 45,000 troops involved along with state and federal police forces.
In recent times, the Mexican military has largely participated in efforts against drug trafficking. The Operaciones contra el narcotrafico (Operations against drug trafficking), for example, describes its purpose in regards to "the performance of the Mexican Army and Air Force in the permanent campaign against the drug trafficking is sustained properly in the faculties that the Executive of the Nation grants to him, the 89 Art. Fracc. VI of the Constitution of the Mexican United States, when indicating that it is faculty of the President of the Republic to have the totality of the permanent Armed Forces, that is of the terrestrial Army, Navy military and the Air Force for the inner and outer security of the federation.
Organization
The Army is under authority of the National Defense Secretariat or SEDENA. It has three components: a national headquarters, territorial commands, and independent units. The Minister of Defence commands the Army via a centralized command system and many general officers. The Army uses a modified continental staff system in its headquarters. The Mexican Air ForceMexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force is the aviation branch of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat . Since 2008, its commander is Gen...
is a branch of the Mexican Army. As of 2009 starting salary for Mexican army recruits was $6,000 Mexian pesos, or about $500 US dollars per month, with an additional lifetime $10,000 peso monthly pension.
The principal units of the Mexican army are nine infantry brigades and a number of independent regiments and infantry battalions. The main maneuver elements of the army are organized in three corps, each consisting of three infantry brigades, all based in and around the Federal District. Distinct from the brigade formations, independent regiments and battalions are assigned to zonal garrisons (45 in total) in each of the country's 12 military regions. Infantry battalions, composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone, and certain zones are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or an artillery regiment.
Regional command
Usually on the secretary of defence's recommendation. The senior zone commander also is commander of the military region containing the military zone. A military zone commander has jurisdiction over every unit operating in his territory, including the Rurales
Rurales
Rurales was the name commonly used to designate the Mexican Guardia Rural : a force of mounted police or gendarmerie that existed between 1861 and 1914...
(Rural Defense Force) that occasionally have been Federal political counterweight to the power of state governors. Zone commanders provide the national defence secretary with socio-political conditions intelligence about rural areas. Moreover, they traditionally have acted in co-ordination with the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) on planning and resources deployment.
| Military Region | Headquarter city | States in Region |
|---|---|---|
| I | México, D.F. | Distrito Federal, Hidalgo, Estado de México, Morelos Morelos Morelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca.... |
| II | Mexicali, Baja California Mexicali Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city... |
Baja California Baja California Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North... , Baja California Sur Baja California Sur Baja California Sur , is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state on October 8, 1974, the area was known as the South Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises... , Sonora Sonora Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo.... |
| III | Mazatlán, Sinaloa Mazatlán Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning... |
Sinaloa Sinaloa Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.... , Durango Durango Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja... |
| IV | Monterrey, Nuevo León Monterrey Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the... |
Nuevo León Nuevo León Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S... , San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí.... , Tamaulipas Tamaulipas Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the... |
| V | Guadalajara, Jalisco Guadalajara Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco... |
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes Aguascalientes is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes.... , Colima Colima Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima.... , Jalisco Jalisco Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states... , Nayarit Nayarit Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico... , Zacatecas Zacatecas Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas.... |
| VI | Veracruz, Veracruz Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is... |
Puebla Puebla Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla.... , Tlaxcala Tlaxcala Tlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala.... , central and northern Veracruz |
| VII | Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Chiapas. It is considered to be the state’s most modern city, with most of its public buildings dating from the 20th century. One exception to this is the San Marcos Cathedral which began as a Dominican parish church built in... |
Chiapas Chiapas Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las... , Tabasco Tabasco Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.... |
| VIII | Ixcotel, Oaxaca Oaxaca, Oaxaca The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name . It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín... |
Oaxaca Oaxaca Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions... , southern Veracruz |
| IX | Cumbres de Llano Largo, Guerrero Acapulco Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history... |
Guerrero Guerrero Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo.... |
| X | Mérida, Yucatán | Campeche Campeche Campeche is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in Southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west... , Quintana Roo Quintana Roo Quintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal.... , Yucatán Yucatán Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida.... |
| XI | Torreón, Coahuila Torreón Torreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango,... |
Chihuahua, Coahuila Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... |
| XII | Irapuato, Guanajuato | Guanajuato Guanajuato Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato.... , Michoacán Michoacán Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia... , Querétaro Querétaro Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro.... |
Military Zones
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Tactical units
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s and a number of independent regiments
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
and infantry battalions
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
.
The Brigades, all based in and around the Federal District
Federal district
Federal districts are a type of administrative division of a federation, under the direct control of a federal government. They exist in various countries and states all over the world.-United States:...
(encompassing the Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
area), are the only real maneuver elements in the army. With their support units, they are believed to account for over 40 percent of the country's ground forces. According to The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...
, the army has six brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s: one armored, two infantry, one motorized infantry, one airborne, and the Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard may refer to:*Evzones, the Greek Presidential Guard, formerly the Royal Guard.*Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard Brigade...
Brigade, the presidential bodyguard brigade has a reaction group, (grupo de reaccion inmediata y potente, G.R.I.P.), its members are trained in martial arts such as karate, aikijutsu, tae kwon do, kick boxing, kung fu, judo, and silat, furthermore, they are trained in techniques and tactics in order to protect high ranking officials and civil servants, such as the President. The Third military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
brigade was transferred to the Federal Preventive Police
Federal Preventive Police
The Federal Police , formerly known as the Policía Federal Preventiva , are the uniformed federal police force of Mexico...
in 2008. The armored brigade is one of two new brigades formed since 1990 as part of a reorganization made possible by an increase in overall strength of about 25,000 troops. The brigade consists of three armored and one mechanized infantry regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
.
Distinct from the brigade formations are independent regiments (all regiments are battalion sized) and battalions assigned to zonal garrisons. These independent units consist of one armored cavalry regiment, nineteen motorized cavalry regiments, one mechanized infantry regiment, seven artillery regiments, and three artillery and eighteen infantry battalions. Infantry battalions are small and are each composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone. Certain zones also are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or one of the seven artillery regiments. Smaller detachments often are detailed to patrol more inaccessible areas of the countryside, helping to maintain order and resolve disputes.
Special Forces Corps
The Army has a Special Forces Corps unified command with 3 Special Forces Brigades, a High Command GAFE group, a GAFE group assigned to the Airborne BrigadeBrigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas
The Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas is a paratrooper unit created in 1969 within the Mexican Army but utilizing aircraft from the Air Force. Their headquarters were established in Mexico City and their training takes place in the Centro de Adiestramiento de Paracaidismo...
and several Amphibious Special Forces Groups.
The Special Forces Brigades consist of nine SF battalions. The 1st Brigade has the 1st, 2nd and 3rd SF Battalions, The 2nd Brigade has the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and the 3rd Brigade has the 4th and 9th Battalions and a Rapid Intervention Force group. The High Command GAFE
Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales del Alto Mando
The Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales del Alto Mando is a special operations unit of the Mexican Army. It's a group with no more than 100 members, carefully selected from the Mexican Army Special Forces Corps and specially trained in counter-terrorist tactics...
is a group with no more than 100 members, they are specially trained in counter-terrorist tactics. They receive orders directly from the President of Mexico Felipe de Jesus Calderón Hinojosa.
The Amphibious Special Forces Groups are trained in amphibious warfare, they give the army extended force to the coastal lines.
Special Operations Forces
| Name | Headquarters | Structure and purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales The Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales or more commonly known as Fuerzas Especiales/Special Forces is a special forces unit of the Mexican Army's Special Forces Corps, trained by the world's special forces. There are a total of nine battalions, one High Command GAFE unit and one other group... (Special Forces Airmobile Group) |
Classified | |
| Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales del Alto Mando Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales del Alto Mando The Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales del Alto Mando is a special operations unit of the Mexican Army. It's a group with no more than 100 members, carefully selected from the Mexican Army Special Forces Corps and specially trained in counter-terrorist tactics... (High Command Airmobil Group Special Forces) |
Classified | |
| Grupos Anfibios de Fuerzas Especiales (Amphibious Special Forces Group) | Classified | The Amphibious Special Forces Groups allow the army to extend their operations of ground troops in the coastal and inland waters, in close coordination with the Mexican Navy Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is the naval branch of the Mexican military responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to use the naval force of the federation for the exterior defense, and to help with internal order". The Navy consists of about 56,000 men and women plus reserves, over... . |
Estado Mayor Presidencial
The Estado Mayor PresidencialEstado Mayor Presidencial
The Estado Mayor Presidencial — EMP is the institution charged with protecting and safeguarding the President of Mexico and the First Lady of Mexico. It is described in its regulations as a techno-military organism and an administrative unit of the Presidency of the Republic of Mexico in...
(Presidential Guard) is a specific agency of the Mexican Army that is responsible for the safety and well being of the President in the practice of all of the activities of his office. On March 24, 1985 President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado reformed the regulation of the presidential guard and published it in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on April 4, 1986. In this version the responsibilities of this agency included assisting the President in obtaining general information, planning the President's activities under security and preventive measures for his safety. This regulation was in force during the administrations of Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon. On January 16, 2004 during the administration of President Vicente Fox Quesada a new regulation of the Presidential Guard was issued and published by the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 23 of that same year. This ordinance updated the structure, organization and operation of the Presidential guard as a technical military body and administrative unit of the Presidency to facilitate the implementation of the powers of his office.
Ranks
| Generales | Jefes | Oficiales | ||||||||||
| Insignia |  |
 |
 |
|||||||||
| Grado | Secretario de la Defensa Nacional | General de División | General de Brigada | General Brigadier | Coronel Coronel Coronel is a Chilean city and commune, located in the Concepción Province of the eighth region of Biobío.-Geography:The city of Coronel is located in a sandy platform that goes from the mouth of the Biobío River to the Arauco Gulf bay, a muddy landscape, full of forests, typical of the region.This... (Infantry) |
Teniente Coronel Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence... (Infantry) |
Mayor Major Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ... (Infantry) |
Capitán Primero (Infantry) | Capitán Segundo (Infantry) | Teniente (Infantry) | Subteniente Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal... (Infantry) |
|
Rank badges have a band of colour indicating branch:
- Gold: Generals
- Light Brown:
- General Staff
- Presidential Guard
- Scarlet: Infantry
- Burgundy: Artillery
- Red-Brown: "Materiales de Guerra"
- Light Orange-Brown: "Transportes"
- Green:
- "Justicia"
- Military Police
- Blue:
- Engineers
- "Transmisiones"
- Light Blue: Cavalry
- Light Gray-Blue: Cartography
- Purple:
- Aviation
- Parachutists
- Gray: Musicians
- Light Gray: Armor
- Very light Gray: Intelligence
- Brownish Gray: "Administracion e Intendencia"
- Yellow:
- Medical
- Veterinary
Military Industry
The Mexican Military counts on three of the following departments to fulfill the general tasks of the Army and Air Force
Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force is the aviation branch of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat . Since 2008, its commander is Gen...
:
- Dirección General de Industria Militar (D.G.I.M.) - Is in charge of the designing, manufacturing and maintenance of vehicles and weapons such as the assembly of the FX-05 assault rifle and the DN series armored vehiclesDINA S.A.DINA is a Mexican automotive producer of heavy duty and specialty trucks, urban buses, armored military vehicles and intercity coaches...
. On July 19, 2009. SEDENA spent 488 million pesos(37 million U.S.) to transfer technology to manufacture the G36VHeckler & Koch G36The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
German made rifle. Although it is not known if this will be manufactured as a cheaper alternative to the FX-05 meant for the army or if it is to be manufactured for Military police and other law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Police. The FX-05 is planned to become the new standard rifle for the armed forces replacing the Heckler & Koch G3Heckler & Koch G3The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
so it is not yet clear what the G-36Heckler & Koch G36The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
rifles will be used for. As of 2011 D.G.I.M. is in charge of assembling the Oshkosh SandCat.
- Dirección General de Fábricas de Vestuario y Equipo (D.G.FA.V.E.) - Since its creation the department has grown from a simple clothing factory to an Industrial complex in charge of the supply and design of the Army/Air Force's uniform, shoes/boots/, combat helmet, and ballistic vest. Since the 20th century to mid 2000's, The Mexican army's standard combat uniform color was the olive green battle dress. From there the army switched to all woodland camouflage and Desert Camouflage UniformDesert Camouflage UniformThe Desert Camouflage Uniform is essentially the same as the United States military's Battle Dress Uniform uniform, only featuring the three-color desert camouflage pattern of light tan, pale green, and brown, as opposed to the dark green, black, brown, and dark tan of the BDU's woodland pattern...
. Then on July 2008, The General Directorate of Clothing and Equipment Manufacturing of the Ministry of National Defense announced the plans of creating the country's first digital uniforms, which will consist of Woodland/jungle and Desert camouflage. As of 2009 the uniforms are in service.
- Granjas Militares (Military farms) - Is in charge of AgricultureAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, cultivation of crops is a necessity to maintain the health and economy of the Army/Air Force. The Mexican Army has four established SEDENA farms:- Granja SEDENA number 1 (San Juan del RíoSan Juan del RíoN20 23 23 W99 59 49San Juan del Río is a city and administrative seat of the surrounding San Juan del Río Municipality in the central Mexican state of Querétaro. The population in July, 2007 is calculated in 128,270 for the city and 217,980 for the municipality.The city and municipality both rank...
, QuerétaroQuerétaroQuerétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
). - Granja SEDENA number 2 (Ixtepec, Oaxaca).
- Granja SEDENA number 3 (Sarabia, GuanajuatoGuanajuatoGuanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
). - Granja SEDENA number 4 (La FuenteRincón de RomosRincón de Romos is a city in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. Located at in the northern part of the state, it serves as the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of Rincón de Romos....
, AguascalientesAguascalientesAguascalientes is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes....
).
- Granja SEDENA number 1 (San Juan del Río
Land Vehicles
| Vehicle/System | Firm Number in Service | Status | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeled Armored Vehicles | |||
| Lynx 90 Armoured Fighting Vehicle | -- | In Service | |
| Panhard VCR/TT Panhard VCR The Panhard VCR is a light armored personnel carrier designed by Panhard for the export market and later used by several countries... Armored Personnel Carrier |
-- | In service | |
| BDX (DNC-2) Armoured Personnel Vehicle | -- | In Service | |
| Panhard Panhard Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years... Véhicule Blindé Léger |
-- | In Service | |
| DN-IV Caballo Armored Personnel Vehicle | -- | In Service | |
| DN-V Toro Armored Personnel Vehicle | -- | In Service | |
| MAC-1 Armored Personel Vehicle | -- | In Service | |
| M8 Armored Personel Vehicle | -- | In Service | |
| MOWAG Roland | -- | In Service | |
| Oshkosh Sand Cat Plasan Sand Cat The Sand Cat is a composite armored vehicle designed by Plasan of Israel. It is based on a commercial Ford F-Series chassis shortened to a 2.84 m wheelbase by Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifier, Manning Equipment of Louisville, Kentucky, United States... |
-- | The Mexican Army has purchased 250 Sand Cats | |
| Infantry Transport Vehicles | |||
| Humvee | -- | In Service | |
| M520 Goer M520 Goer The M520 'Goer' "Truck, Cargo, 8-ton, 4x4" truck series was formerly the US Army’s standard heavy tactical truck before its replacement by the HEMTT... |
In Service | ||
| Freightliner M2 Freightliner Trucks Freightliner Trucks is an American manufacturer of heavy duty trucks, chassis and semi-trailer trucks in the United States. The company was founded as Freightliner Inc in 1942 and is now a division of Daimler Trucks North America, a subsidiary of the German Daimler AG... |
In Service | ||
| M-35 M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck The M35 family of trucks is a long-lived vehicle initially deployed by the United States Army, and subsequently utilized by many nations around the world. A truck in the 2½ ton weight class, it was one of many vehicles in U.S... |
In Service | ||
| M151 MUTT | In Service | ||
| Chevrolet Silverado GMT900 Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado , is the latest line of full-size pickup trucks from General Motors.-History:... |
In Service - Hand rails are installed with bipod for GPMG's and Mk 19 gl's Mk 19 grenade launcher The Mk 19 Grenade Launcher is a 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher or grenade machine gun that entered U.S. military service during the Cold War, first seeing action during the Vietnam War and remaining in service today.-Overview:... |
||
| Ford Pickup Ford F-Series The F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company which has been sold continuously for over six decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150... |
In Service | ||
| Dodge Ram Dodge Ram The Dodge Ram is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by the Chrysler Group LLC. As of late 2010, it has been sold under the Ram Trucks brand. Previously, Ram was part of the Dodge lineup of light trucks... |
In Service. Variants of 4x4 and 6x6 | ||
| Tracked Armored Vehicles | |||
| Sedena-Henschel HWK-11 Sedena-Henschel HWK-11 The Sedena Henschel HWK-11 was a joint project between the Mexican defense secretary and Henschel Wehrtechnik GmbH of West Germany.- Development :... |
-- | In Service | / |
| AMX-VCI AMX-VCI The AMX-VCI is one of the many variants of the French AMX-13 light tank. It was the front line APC of the French Army until replaced by the AMX-10P.- History :... |
-- | In Service | |
Infantry weapons
| Origin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Heckler & Koch G3 Heckler & Koch G3 The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME .... |
7.62x51mm NATO | assault rifle Made under license from Heckler & Koch | |
| FX-05 Xiuhcoatl FX-05 Xiuhcoatl The FX-05 "Xiuhcoatl" is a Mexican assault rifle, designed and built by the Dirección General de Industria Militar del Ejército... |
5.56x45mm NATO 6.8mm SPC 7.62x51mm nato | assault rifle | |
| HK USP | .45 ACP | Semi-automatic pistol | |
| Glock 21 | .45 ACP | Semi-automatic pistol | |
| HK21 HK21 The HK21 is a German 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun, developed in 1961 by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and based on the G3 battle rifle. The weapon is in use with the armed forces of several Asian, African and Latin American countries. It was also license-manufactured by Fábrica do... |
7.62x51mm | machine gun Made under license from Heckler & Koch | |
| Heckler & Koch MSG90 | 7.62x51mm NATO | sniper rifle | |
| MP5 | 9mm | Submachine Gun Made under license from Heckler & Koch | |
| HK UMP | .45 ACP | Submachine Gun | |
| FN Minimi FN Minimi The Minimi is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale in Herstal by Ernest Vervier. First introduced in 1974, it has entered service with the armed forces of over thirty countries... |
5.56x54mm NATO & 7.62x51mm NATO | Machine gun | |
| Cornershot CornerShot CornerShot is a weapon accessory invented by Lt. Col. Amos Golan of the Israeli Defense Forces in cooperation with American investors. It was designed in the early 2000s for SWAT teams and special forces in hostile situations usually involving terrorists and hostages... |
.45 ACP | ||
| Barrett M82 | .50 BMG | Sniper rifle | |
| HK PSG1 Morelos | 7.62x51mm NATO | Sniper rifle Made under license from Heckler & Koch | |
| FN Five-Seven | 5.7x28mm standard armor peircing ammo | Semi-automatic pistol | |
| FN P90 FN P90 The FN P90 is a selective fire personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. The P90's name is taken from 1990, the year it was introduced... |
5.7x28mm | Submachine Gun | |
| Mondragón F-08 Mondragón (rifle) The Mondragón was the world's first semi-automatic rifle and automatic rifle, and was designed by Mexican general Manuel Mondragón.Mondragón began his work in 1882 and patented the weapon in 1887... |
7 x 57 mm Mauser 7 x 57 mm Mauser The 7×57mm cartridge, also known as the 7 mm Mauser, 7×57mm Mauser, 7 mm Spanish Mauser in the USA and .275 Rigby in the United Kingdom, was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in 1892 and adopted as a military cartridge by Spain in 1893. It was subsequently adopted by several... |
automatic rifle used for ceremonial occasions | |
| Remington 870 Remington 870 The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was... |
12 | gauge pump action shotgun | |
| Mossberg 500 Mossberg 500 Mossberg 500 is a series of shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless, pump action repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, magazine capacity, and... |
12 | gauge pump action shotgun | |
| Benelli M4 | 12 | gauge semi auto shotgun | |
| Franchi SPAS-12 Franchi SPAS-12 The SPAS-12 is a combat shotgun that was manufactured by the Italian firearms company Franchi S.p.A. from 1979 to 2000. The SPAS-12 is a dual-mode shotgun, meaning it can be calibrated to cycle either semi-automatically or through pump-action. The SPAS-12 has sold well to military and police users... |
12 | gauge pump action or semi auto shotgun | |
| Franchi SPAS-15 Franchi SPAS-15 The SPAS-15 is a dual-mode 12 gauge combat shotgun manufactured by the Italian company Luigi Franchi S.p.A..-Design:The weapon is based on the SPAS-12, and has similar pump-action/semi-automatic firing modes. In semi-automatic mode a gas piston drives a bolt carrier and rotating bolt. In... |
12 | gauge full auto combat shotgun | |
| M2 Browning machine gun | 12.7x99mm NATO | machine gun | |
| M-134 minigun | 7,62mm | Gatling-type machine gun | |
| HKP-7 | 9 mm PARABELLUM | made by the Mexican army industries, in use for presidencials bodyguards and military police. |
weapons
| Name | Type | Origin | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mk 19 Mk 19 grenade launcher The Mk 19 Grenade Launcher is a 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher or grenade machine gun that entered U.S. military service during the Cold War, first seeing action during the Vietnam War and remaining in service today.-Overview:... |
grenade machine gun | 40mm |  |
|
| M203 grenade launcher M203 grenade launcher The M203 is a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilize the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low. Though versatile, and compatible with many rifle models, the M203 was... |
grenade launcher | 40mm | ||
| MGL MGL MGL is an acronym which may refer to:*the International Olympic Committee code for Mongolia*General Laws of Massachusetts, also known as Massachusetts General Laws*Monoacylglycerol lipase, a human protein*a multiple grenade launcher, such as the Milkor MGL... |
grenade launcher | 40mm |  South Africa |
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| MILAN MILAN MILAN " is French and German for "kite bird") is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the... |
Anti-tank guided missile Anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank missile , anti-tank guided missile , anti-tank guided weapon or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily-armored military vehicles.... |
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| M40 106 mm recoilless rifle M40 recoilless rifle The M40 recoilless rifle was a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the United States... |
anti-tank gun | 106mm | ||
| M72 LAW M72 LAW The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al... |
light anti-tank rocket | 66mm |  |
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| B-300 B-300 The B-300 is a reuseable man-portable anti-tank weapon system developed by Israeli Military Industries in the late 1970s for use by the Israel Defence Force. The B-300 can be carried and operated by a single operator and is effective to approximately 400 meters... |
light anti-tank rocket | 82mm | ||
| RL-83 Blindicide RL-83 Blindicide The RL-83 Blindicide is an antitank rocket launcher produced by Mecar SA of Belgium and was an improved derivative of the M20A1 Bazooka. Its name roughly means "tank killer", derived from the French "véhicule blindé" and the suffix -cide.... |
light anti-tank rocket | 83mm | ||
| RPG-7 RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company... |
anti-tank rocket | 85mm | ||
| RPG-29 RPG-29 The RPG-29 is a Russian rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the most recent weapon of its type to be adopted by the Russian military before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The RPG-29 has since been supplemented by other rocket-propelled systems, such... |
anti-tank rocket | 105mm | / | |
| M101 M101 howitzer The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation... |
towed Howitzer | 105mm |  |
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| OTO Melara Mod 56 OTO Melara Mod 56 The OTO-Melara Mod 56 is an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer built and developed by OTO-Melara. It fires the standard US type M1 ammunition.-History:... |
towed Howitzer | 105mm | ||
| M90 Norinco | towed Howitzer | 105mm | ||
| DN-V Búfalo (Buffalo) | Self-propelled artillery | 75mm | ||
| MO-120 | Heavy mortar | 120mm | ||
| M1/M29 | mortar | 81mm | ||
| Brandt 60 mm LR Gun-mortar/M1 | mortar | 60mm | / |