Scenario 11: The Liberation of Sinoquipe, Sonora, April 27, 1911.

On April 27, 1911, Florencio Jaramillo led some of his column of over 300 cavalry forces to the town of Sinoquipe, Sonora. A bloody battle ensued, in which over 100 combatants perished, a rarity for the engagements of the Liberal revolution in northern Mexico.

Set up: Sinoquipe is a small town in the Rio Sonora valley, sitting on the West bank of the river. The east bank, adjacent to the town, is covered in farm lands. Trees ring the town of Sinoquipe, and are common, along with scrub, throughout the fairly-green valley. The landscape becomes more arid rising into the mountains on either side of the valley. The river and valley flow north to south. A road follows the river, running just west of the Rio Sonora, from Cananea in the north, passes along the western edge of Sinoquipe, and continues south to Mazocahio, and on to Hermosillo. A second road, running from the center of the town, heads west into the mountains and desert, and onto Altar Municipality. Jaramillo’s column likely approached the town from the south--where they had been active fighting in previous months, or from the western mountains, where they were also recently active. Attacking player may decide on which table edge to appear.

Conditions:

Clear - normal visibility 

Supply: 10 rounds of ammo for defenders, 7 rounds for rebels.

Forces: It is known that the defending force consisted of 86 Federal soldiers, and that Jaramillo’s column had at least 300 riders which included many Yaqui natives and many defecting soldiers, though which units and in what numbers Jaramillo employed in the attack are unknown. 

PLM Forces (up to 300 total):

Jaramillo and headquarters - 5 mounted rebels

Workers’ and peasants’ cavalry - 20 riders

Yaqui Cavalry - 20 riders

Rebellious soldiers’ cavalry - 15 riders.

Workers’ and peasants’ infantry: 

group 1: 30 fighters

group 2: 30 fighters

group 3: 30 fighters

Yaqui Infantry:

group 1: 30 fighters

group 2: 30 fighters

group 3: 30 fighters

Rebellious soldiers’ Infantry: 

group 1: 30 fighters

group 2: 30 fighters

Government forces:

Headquarters:  Municipal president, judge, and other elites , and runners 

Rurales: Garrison of 20

Federals:

86 soldiers

2 Machine guns and crew

Victory Conditions:

Rebels must capture the politicians and elites, and to raise three (or as many as available) red flags from the town’s central plaça. Government forces must prevent the above from occurring, and defend the town from capture by the rebels.

Aftermath:

This battle ended in a major victory for Jaramillo and his Liberal Column. They killed 62 soldiers, losing 39 of their own forces, before capturing and executing the municipal president, the judge, and two high-ranking Rurales, and raising three red flags over the town’s central square. Information for the above scenario came from  (Trejo 79) and (Trejo 90).

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.

Scenario 9: Remember El Álamo, Baja, March 27, 1911

On March 27, the rebel detachment from Mexicali, swelling to 200 after the long and hard march through the desert from Tecate, approached the mining colony of El Álamo. They had lost their commander, Simón Berthold, on March 20th, when he became the only casualty of skirmish at Santa Catarina ranch, 20km from El Álamo. Berthold rode with the vanguard as they approached the ranch. Three local Rurales fired on the rebels, smashing Berthold’s femur. When the rest of the column caught up, they captured the ranch. The following morning, the column continued on El Álamo, leaving the severely-wounded Berthold at the ranch with 14 others. The detachment arrived at the mining colony at 4pm.

Set up: El Álamo is a small mining colony in the desert east of the mountains. Arrange tents or other make-shift housing in a rough desert, with scrub and cactus, with hills and ridges rising on all sides except for east. You may use trench terrain pieces or other items to represent the workers’ mining efforts nearby. Set up a supply catch near the camp. Place workers in the mine and camp area.

Defending force may set up all forces within and around the mining colony before the start of round 1. Defending force may fortify the area with sand bags, barricades, trenches, and any other means. 

Conditions:

Clear evening - normal visibility for first 5 turns, nighttime visibility from turn 6 on to the end of the game.

Supply: 10 rounds of ammo for defenders, 5 rounds for rebels.

Forces (this battle will be fought at ½ scale).

PLM Forces: 100 rebels from the Berthold detachment

-Group 1: 25 rebels

-Group 2: 25 rebels

-Group 3: 25 rebels

-Group 4: 25 rebels

Government forces:  50 soldiers of the 8th Battalion of the Federal Army

-Captain and 6 officers.

-MG crew 1: 3 soldiers

-1st platoon: 20 soldiers

-2nd platoon: 20 soldiers

Objective:

Possession of the colony is the only objective. Federals possess the colony until all soldiers are driven off, killed or arrested.

Victory Conditions: 

Rebels must capture the mining colony from the soldiers before turn 15. No soldiers can remain in the camp.

Aftermath:

Berthold’s detachment defeated the guards at El Álamo. The surviving soldiers fled back to Ensenada, but the rebels soon heard that Federal soldiers would march to reclaim the position at midnight. The Liberals quickly loaded up two carts with whatever supplies they could carry, and departed for the Santa Catarina ranch at 11pm. The attack never came, and they returned the following day, bringing Berthold with them. The wounded anarchist received medical care from a sympathetic doctor in the mining colony; Dr. A. L. Foster. 

The taking of El Álamo brought the División del Ejército Liberal en Baja California less than 100km from the Capital of Baja: Ensenada. The citizens there protested and nearly revolted when Governor Colonel Vega marched his troops north to defend the US interests at the Colorado Riverworks near Mexicali, instead of east to eliminate the closest band of revolutionaries.

Scenario 8: The Battle of El Durazno, District of Altar, Sonora, March 24, 1911

March 24, 26 insurrectos held off a force of 120 Federal soldiers in a six hour battle in El Durazno, District of Altar, Sonora. Earlier that day, Pedro Perez led a PLM band across the border to capture various ranches in Northern Sonora. At the end of the battle, the District’s prefect, who commanded the soldiers, called for a retreat.

Set up: El Durazno is a mountainous area with sparse trees. Set up a strong defensive line for the rebels in the middle of the table. Place the defenders on the table before the start of round 1. Defending force may fortify the area with sand bags, barricades, trenches, and any other means. 

Conditions:

Clear - normal visibility 

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

PLM Forces:

-Pedro Perez and 25 rebels

Government forces:  120 soldiers of the Federal Army

Prefect and 6 officers.

-MG crew 1: 3 soldiers

-Cavalry squad: 10 horsemen

-1st platoon: 20 soldiers

-2nd platoon: 20 soldiers

-3rd platoon: 20 soldiers

-4th platoon: 20 soldiers

-5th platoon: 20 soldiers

Victory Conditions: 

The Federal army must eliminate or arrest all rebels. The rebels must survive and hold the line. 

Aftermath:

At the end of the battle, the District’s prefect, who commanded the soldiers, called for a retreat. This stunning victory for the beleaguered revolutionaries, however, meant little in the long run. The influence of the Liberal Party and the Magón brothers in Sonora was, by this point, being supplanted by Madero and his reformist supporters.

Scenario 7: The Siege of Tecate, March 19, 1911

Luis Rodríguez, who grew up in Tecate, led twenty PLM rebels to liberate his hometown, a small border town founded in 1892, on March 12, 1911. They initially succeeded, driving the local police across the border. However, PLM reinforcements did not arrive in time to hold the town. A large Federal force surrounded Tecate a few days later, and, on March 17th, broke through rebel defenses. Rodriguez and most of the Liberals perished. The Federals took no survivors. Only four rebels escaped, crossing to the USA. 

The PLMistas launched a second attack on March 19, led this time by Leyva. Most of the Federal forces had left the area, heading far south to bypass the rebel positions at Picacho Pass and Mexicali on the way to protect the riverworks of the US company, the Colorado River Land Company, to the east. 80 soldiers remained to defend Tecate.

Set up: Tecate is a small village along the border, in a fertile valley rising above the desert. Around the town are green hills and mountains, the tallest being Kuuchama mountain, or Tecate peak, west/northwest from the town just across the border. The land around the town is also green and fertile, with olive and grape groves and fields of grain. A main road runs through Tecate from Tijuana to the west, to Mexicali to the east. A small stream runs through the town. The plaça sits at the center of Tecate. 

Conditions:

Clear day - normal visibility

Supply: 10 rounds of ammo for defenders, 5 rounds for rebels.

PLM Forces: 150 fighters from the Baja Division of the Liberal Army

-Leyva and Headquarters - 10 rebels

-Group 1: 35 rebels

-Group 2: 35 rebels

-Group 3: 35 rebels

-Group 4: 35 rebels

Government forces:  80 soldiers of the 8th Battalion of the Federal Army

-Captain Justino Mendieta and Headquarters - 4 officers.

-MG crew 1: 3 soldiers

-MG crew 2: 3 soldiers

-Outpost: 10 soldiers

-1st platoon: 20 soldiers

-2nd platoon: 20 soldiers

-3rd platoon: 20 soldiers

Gameplay:

Defenders - set up the Federal HQ in a building on the plaça.

-Choose any location outside the town as a strategic “outpost.” Place the outpost garrison there

-Place the machine guns and crews anywhere on the table. 

Attackers - Full force may enter the table on round 1 on the eastern edge. 

Objective:

Possession of the town is the only objective. Federals possess the town until all soldiers are driven from the town, killed or arrested.

Victory Conditions: 

Every 10 turns represent a day. The game ends after turn 30 (after 3 days), when the revolutionaries have taken the town, or when the PLM forces have no ammo left. 

Aftermath:  

On March 12th, as the sun rose, 20 insurgents launched an attack on Tecate. Led by IWW member Luis Rodríguez, the rebels ran the police out of town, with most fleeing to the US. Leyva had ordered the raid to open the road west, to Tijuana and Ensenada, and gather horses and supplies for the campaign on the capitol. Salinas led a raiding party on the ranches in the area (Bartra and Barrera 173-174). Leyva and Berthold’s main force of 250 remained behind in Mexicali until midnight on March 14th. They left Stanley and his men to garrison Mexicali and points east. The main force, however, advanced only as far as the PLM camp at Laguna Salada, where they stayed until the 16th. While camped in the desert, on March 15, a letter from Magón came for the commanders. Magón let them know that on March 7th, the 800-strong 8th Battalion of the Federal Army arrived in Ensenada. The Battalion headed for Tecate the day after the Liberals captured the town. With their campaign on Ensenada in motion, Leyva continued the march regardless of the size of the enemy. On the 16th, 250 rebels left Laguna Salada headed west. The following day, however, Berthold split off with a detachment of 60 or 70 to capture the mining town of El Álamo, southeast of Ensenada. Many workers there could join the cause. Leyva and the remaining 150 continued on to Tecate. 

Leyva didn’t arrive at Tecate until sunrise on March 19th. He found the town in the hands of eighty Federal soldiers from the Eight Battalion, led by Captain Justino Mendieta. The 8th Battalion had surrounded Tecate days before, then succeeded in entering the town, killing Rodriguez and many other rebels on the 17th. The four survivors fled across the border. Leyva, showing up too late, commenced a siege that lasted for three days. Mendieta had prepared strong defenses, and held the border crossing firmly, being their route of resupply and, if needed, escape. The rebels could not break through. According to Blaisdell, “Leyva lifted the siege...due to a shortage of ammunition and the need to cover Picacho Pass to prevent Mayol from slipping through while the Liberals were at Tecate. Upon discovering that Mayol had not advanced by way of the Pass, Leyva dropped back to Mexicali. He had suffered a fairly heavy number of casualties and desertions. According to his men, he had ‘retreated at full speed on horseback, leaving his foot soldiers to their fate’” (Blaisdell 78). While Blaisdell writes of “a fairly heavy number of casualties,” Bartra and Barrera write that “(t)he low intensity of the combat could be measured by the fact that no deaths are recorded (Bartra and Barrera 177). These two, more-current authors also write that Leyva retreated not alone, but with the mounted group, (but “leaving those on foot in place”), executing this maneuver based on “the need to obtain more ammunition and on the urgency of meeting Mayol and his 8th battalion, which is possibly already marching on Mexicali.”

Mayol, however, had skipped Picacho pass by going around to the south. En route, the Federals apprehended some Magónista messengers to Berthold’s detachment. Then, they set up camp at Little’s Ranch, asking on April 8th for Government permission to attack Mexicali, mostly to resupply, though the order to attack apparently never came.

One major outcome of this battle was the end of Leyva’s time as commander of the Baja Division of the Liberal Army. The PLM Junta appointed as his replacement Fransisco Vásquez Salinas, who had been in Los Angeles and missed the fighting in Tecate, more than a week later, on March 28. Salinas did not want the job, stalled a bit, but ultimately became General of the PLM forces in Baja.

Scenario 6: Attack on the Hydraulic Works Camp, February 25th

Following the successful defense of Mexicali and the conquest of Los Aldagones, José Cardoza led a force of 50 insurrectos south in an attack on a hydraulic works camp on the Colorado River. The work camp, run by the Colorado River Land Company, used Mexican and Chinese labor to redevelop and harness the flow of the Colorado River into the Gulf of Mexico, to irrigate the farms north of the border and prevent flooding there. 

Set up: In the middle of the desert, place a workers camp with cloth tents in rows, and as many civilian workers as possible, in the center of the table. Place a well-guarded supply cache in the camp. A river, canal, or delta should run through the table at one side of the camp. You may use trench terrain pieces to represent new canal construction. Place markers # 1-4 in the four corners of the table. These will represent the cardinal directions as well as entree markers. Ensure there are a few trucks or wagons in the camp, capable of transporting supplies.

Conditions:

Clear day - normal visibility

PLM Forces:

José Cardoza and 50 Liberals

Neutral:

As many civilian workers as possible

Government forces:

20 Rurales/Company guards.

Government Reinforcements:

Platoons of Rurales and Federals

Gameplay:

Before the game, set up the town and the supply cache. Place half of the defenders at the supply cache. The other half should mount random patrols around the camp and surroundings in teams of 2. The full rebel force may enter at the North marker on turn 1. The attackers have 5 turns to capture the camp. After capturing the camp, the rebels have until turn 8 to gather the camp’s workers in a central spot, and deliver an inspiring speech to convince them to join the revolution. Once the workers have been gathered, rebels may roll 1 D6 per round. The resulting number represents the number of workers who join the Liberal Army. These may be armed/replaced with revolutionary soldiers. 

At turn 8, Government forces become the attacker. Roll a 1 D6 per round. Resulting number represents the number of platoons available, which may enter at any marker of the player’s choosing. After round 10, the Government forces receive no more reinforcements.

Rebel Objectives: 

-Capture Camp

-Convince at least 10 workers to join the revolution

-Hold the camp, or escape to the south with more fighters than arrived with, and with at least 2 supply markers.

Government Objectives:

-Defend the camp and supplies

-Keep the workers working

-If camp is lost, retake the camp and recapture any lost workers.

Victory Conditions: 

Rebels: A rebel victory requires the rebels to either defend the camp, or to escape the camp with more fighters than it arrived with, as well as 2 supply markers. A partial victory sees at least 40 rebels escape with at least 1 supply marker.

Government:

Lose fewer than 10 workers to the rebels, lose no supplies, and cause at least 20 casualties against the rebels.

A partial victory allows 40 or fewer rebels to escape the engagement. 

Aftermath:  

The raid was a success for the Magónistas. Cardoza’s group made off with food and other supplies, weapons and ammo, and many new recruits from the workers defecting from the employment of the Colorado River Land Company. The rebels continued south toward the Gulf of California (Bartra and Barrerra 149).

Scenario 5: Raid on Los Algodones, February 21, 1911

In its first action, the 60 or so volunteers of the newly-formed Forieng Legion of the Liberal Army stole a train and drove east into the station of Los Algodones. Los Algodones is the northernmost town in all of Mexico, pressed up against the corner between California to the north, and across the Colorado River to the east, Arizona. The train line runs into town from the south and west, following the Alamo Canal from Mexicali. 

Set up: 

Arrange the town as described above, with the border to the north and to the west, marked by canals or rivers. Train tracks come from the southwest and enter a train station in the town. Place in the town a Rurales’ barracks, and a customs house. Place a marker for supplies in the custom house.

Conditions:

Clear night - low visibility

(photo above from this site )

PLM Forces:

“General” William Stanley and 60 soldiers of the PLM Foregin Legion

Government forces:

Chief Cecilo Garza and 40 Rurales

Rebel Objectives: 

-Eliminate the Rurales at the Barracks

-Capture the Customs house

-Secure the town of all enemies.

Government Objectives:

-Defend the Customs house

-Drive the Magónistas out of Los Algodones.

Victory Conditions: 

Rebels: Successful raid on the Customs House (stealing all supplies and burning the building) before withdrawal will count as a partial victory for the PLM. Full victory requires the completion of all objectives.

Rurales: Victory requires protecting the customs house and defeating the rebels. Partial victory if game ends with town in Government possession, but customs house raided.

Aftermath:  

After this battle, the PLM possessed another town and border crossing, as well as a train, cash, weapons and ammo, and other provisions. Three weeks later, the Mexican government discontinued use of the Inter-California train line in Mexico.

Historic note:

Soon after the influx of recruits from the United States arrived in Mexicali, racial and national tensions appeared within the ranks of the internationalist rebels. The northern volunteers, displaying both impatience and, perhaps, a racist superiority complex common then and now among United States citizens, questioned the seemingly-timid leadership of Leyva. Very quickly, the impetus of a “Foreign Legion” appeared, pushed on by some boisterously-confident leaders of the IWW forces, and the eagerness of the war-dog veterans of the Spanish-American, Boer, and other recent wars. The International volunteers began ignoring and disobeying the wishes of the Junta, acting instead on their own orders. That this undisciplined behavior immediately resulted in victories of growing importance masked the danger to the revolution posed by factions acting outside of strategic command. With Magón himself absent from the field, and with Práxedis Guerrero dead so early in the rising, the weakness of leadership and disunity among the nationalities led to disorganization. A gap opened up in their ranks, a gap which would be exploited by the enemies of the revolution not far down the road.

In the meanwhile, after it became clear that Leyva didn’t intend to follow up the defense of Mexicali with a counterattack, an IWW member named William Stanley, or Stanley Williams (depending on who was asking), began to campaign to replace the commander. Having performed admirably on February 15th, the “Canadian Mestizo with indian blood,” Williams, who was likely a deserter from the US Army and “a veteran of the Spanish American War, was gaining popularity as a field leader. He had helped in planning from the Holtville IWW local the initial actions, but hadn’t joined in Mexicali until a week afterward” (Bartra and Barrerra 149).

The racial tensions boiled over into actual violence. An Indigenous revolutionary, a Yaqui, shot the Ohioan Wobblie W.E. Clark, who survived. In an apparent act of vengeance, Wild Bill Hatfield--who claimed to be of the famous feuding family--murdered a Mexican comrade. There were no court marshals, dismissals, or punishments of any kind for these offenses.

Instead, Leyva gave in to Williams’s constant harassment, and agreed to let the Wobbly form a separate force under his own command. Thus, the Foreign Legion of the Liberal Army was formed. Leyva likely regretted this as soon as he agreed to it, as Williams immediately set off on his own with 60 rebels, mostly from the United States, to capture Los Algodones. As the sun set on February 21st, Williams and his men burst into Packard Station and captured the Inter-California train. They steamed east into Los Algodones, where they stormed the barracks of the Rurales, killing the Rurales Chief, Cecilo Garza, and the Chief of Customs, Tomás Beléndez in the gunfight. The surviving Rurales all fled across the border into Andrade. The Foreign Legion, in its first independent action, captured weapons and ammo, as well as provisions and the cash from the Customs house, which they burnt down along with the homes of the customs inspectors. The rebels secured the town and made off with the spoils and their train without losing a single fighter (Zazueta). Three weeks after the raid, the Mexican Federal Government forbade travel on the Mexican end of the train line. 

Works Cited at this link