Scenario 10: The 3rd Battle of Mexicali, April 8, 1911.

On April 8th, Stanley led 90 rebels out of Mexicali, with supplies. Their destination was El Álamo, where they were to reinforce Berthold and help in the assault on Ensenada. Salinas, who remained in Mexicali with 50 rebels, gave Stanley specific orders not to attack Mayol, to bypass Little’s Ranch, and to cause no other issues on the march to El Álamo. Stanley’s vanguard of 3 insurrectos, however, came under attack by 10 soldiers. The rebels fled back into the Liberal cavalry, who drove off the squad of soldiers. Mayol, in response, sent 100 soldiers to attack the Liberal column. At noon, the 8th Battalion soldiers reached the Magónista lines, and were driven back. At 3pm, Stanley launched a cavalry charge at the Federal position, in which Stanley was gravely wounded. At 6pm, the Federal countered with their own cavalry charge. The rebels, though they caused many casualties, were forced to retreat back toward Mexicali, abandoning 2 supply wagons in the process (Bartra and Barrera 187).

Set up: 

Conditions:

Clear - normal visibility 

Supply: 10 rounds of ammo for defenders, 10 rounds for rebels.

PLM Forces (90 total):

-Stanley and the cavalry - 30 riders

-60 insurrecto infantry

-2 wagons

Government forces:  

Mayol and 400 soldiers of the 8th Battalion

100 Soldaderas

4 Machine guns

Victory Conditions:

Aftermath:

“The loss balances are contradictory: the feds recognize 12 dead and 10 injured. The Magonistas recognize a dead man (Stanley) and a wounded man; But porfirista authors go as far as the absurdity of counting 60 rebel dead, while the North American press speaks of 25 losses among dead, wounded and deserters. Now, from the political point of view, the battle was a Magonista triumph, since the rebels kept Mexi- cali and the federals suffered heavy losses against an enemy inferior in numbers and weapons.” (Bartra and Barrera 188).

Stanley, shot in the neck in the failed cavalry charge, died the next day. The Foriegn Legion held elections to replace Stanley, unanimously selecting the Welshman Caryl Rhys Pryce as Commander-in-Chief, López as his second; Le Class, captain; and Dunn, Hopkins, and Smith become lieutenants. Mayol, who claims his orders were to avoid Mexicali, did not even capture the abandoned supply wagons, vacated Little’s Ranch for Las Abejas, where he could defend the Colorado River works. Given his losses and that the army withdrew, the Insurrectos were able to claim the engagement as another victory, leading to yet another wave of recruitments. The Mexicali garrison, standing at 160 volunteers before the battle, swelled to 200 in the week following the engagement.