Constitutional Army

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The Constitutional Army (also known as the Constitutionalist Army) was the army that fought against Huerta's Federal Army, the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican revolution. It was formed in March 1913 by Venustiano Carranza, so-called "First-Chief" of the army, as a response to the murder of President Francisco I. Madero and Vice President José María Pino Suárez by Victoriano Huerta during La decena tragica (Ten Tragic Days) of 1913, and the resulting usurption of Presidential power by Huerta.

Carranza had few military forces of who he could rely on for loyalty, his leadership against Huerta gave him the theoretical support of Pancho Villa and Zapata, but they soon turned against the Constitutionalists after Huerta's defeat in 1914.

In July 1913 Carranza divided the country into seven areas of responsibility for the purpose of military operations. Each area was, at least in theory, the responsibility of a general commanding an Army corps. These Corps were: Northeast, Northwest, Central, East, West, South and Southeast. However the last four actually existed only on paper and in reality the Constitutionalist army was made up of only three formations, the Northwest Corps (renamed the Army of Operations) under Alvaro Obregón, the Northeast Corps under Pablo González and the Central Corps under Pánfilo Natera.

When fighting broke out in 1914 between the Constitutionalists (Carranza, Obregón, etc.) and the Conventionalists (Villa and Zapata) the Constitutional Army numbered 57,000 men, to Villa and Zapata's 72,000 men. But as the Constitutionalists grew stronger, Villa and Zapata grew weaker.

Eventually the war against the Conventionalists was won after the assassination of Zapata in 1919 and the surrender of Villa in July 1920. By 1917 the main fighting of the civil war between the two factions was over, with some minor revolts by Felicistas (supporters of Félix Díaz, nephew of former President Diaz). This marked the end of any real resistance to Carranza. However when Carranza's autocratic rule was threatened, the threat would come from the Constitutionalist army he set up. Carranza was assassinated after he tried to have Obregon arrested on false charges (Obregón was put up for election for president, which threatened Carranza and his choice of successor, Ignacio Bonillas) and Obregón marched on Mexico City with his army. Carranza was killed on the 21 May 1920.

In 1920 Obregón was elected president, and some other former Constitutionalist generals would eventually become presidents and leading politicians in the years ahead.

Map of Constitutionalist Army Battles