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Mexican Army
Ejército Méxicano

The Army of 1914 The war department of Mexico formed one of the executive departments of the Government, whose head was a cabinet minister. This minister, while not required to be an army officer had always been one. The general powers and limitations of this department are similar to those of the United States War Department, and its relations to other executive departments and to military bureaus of States, Provinces, and colonies were the same as exist in the US. The navy department was combined with the war department under one head. The relations of the minister of war and marine to the Executive, to other ministers, and to the chief of staff, are practically the same as in the US. The (paper) reorganization of the Federal (regular) army was made in the spring of 1913, and was since modified by numerous orders and decrees which rendered the subject confusing and doubtful as to its present status. The organization, exclusive of State troops, probably consiste of: 1. The staff, which comprises division and brigade commanders and brigadier generals. 2. The tactical corps, infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers. 3. Technical corps, comprising the general staff, ordnance corps, constructing engineers, and signal troops. 4. The special service corps, including sanitary, invalid, administrative, judge advocate, military police, reserve, and recruit-depot corps. 5. The first, second, and third reserve corps. The old military zones, covering different parts of the country, were suppressed on March 21, 1913. Instead there were mobile army divisions, with headquarters in or near, the old centers of zones. Theoretically the Mexican Army is organized into six divisions, stationed as follows:

• Eastern division, Puebla to Vera Cruz.
• Western division, Guadalajara to Manzanillo.
• Southern division, Chilpancingo. Guerrero, to Acapulco.
• Northern division. Chihuahua to Ciudad Juarez.
• Peninsular division, Merida to Progresso.
• Bravo division, Monterey to Nuevo Laredo.

The tactical divisions theoretically consist of a total of 10,080 enlisted:

• Two infantry brigades of two regiments each, 7,360 enlisted.
• One brigade of cavalry of two regiments, 1,236 enlisted.
• One regiment of artillery, 1,142 enlisted.
• One company of sappers, 11 officers, 186 enlisted.
• One section of telegraphists, 6 officers, 156 enlisted.
• One divisional ambulance service.
• One field hospital.
• One section military gendarmery.
• One engineer train, carrying ponton, mining, and sapping equipment.
• One division transport train carrying four days' subsistence.
• One divisional ammunition train, the artillery section carrying 94 rounds for each piece and the infantry section carrying 64 rounds for each rifle. The infantry soldiers carry 150 rounds of ammunition on the person, 40 on the company mules, 40 on the battalion mules; total of 230 with regiment. The batteries carry 159 rounds per gun and 94 in the ammunition train; total of 253 rounds per gun.

Actually no attempt is made in the Mexican Army to use tactical divisions as such. The various detachments of troops operating in the Republic are composed of varying proportions of the three arms and seldom exceed a force of from 5,000 to 6,000 men in any one place. Theoretically the number of infantry regiments is 35; cavalry regiments, 19; artillery regiments, 10. Forty corps of guides cavalry organized from former rural guards, strength of 400 enlisted men each. With these units taken at their war strength the Mexican Army would consist of 64,400 infantry, 11,742 cavalry, 11,420 field artillery (360 guns), and 16,000 guides cavalry; total of 103,563 enlisted men. The Infantry regiment would pass to a war footing by increasing the squads to 10 privates each. The base company will be increased to the same effective strength as the others and will be the reserve of the regiment. By these means the regiment will be increased to 1,840 men on a war footing, exclusive of the base company. The infantry is armed with the Mauser rifle, model 1903, and machine guns of various types, principally the Vickers-Maxim. Due to the fact that the wheeled transportation is very limited and defective, operations away from the railroads with a force of any size are very difficult, and consequently operations are confined to railroad lines for the most part. A commissariat, as generally understood, did not exist. The soldiers upon coming into the army brought their women with them. These obtained their food, cooked it, and carried rations and camp equipage from place to place. These women are called "soldaderas." The result is that for every soldier with the colors there is an equal number of camp followers that have to be fed. In September, 1913, it was announced by the ad interim President, Gen. Huerta, that the army consisted of 182 generals, 1,081 field officers, 5,537 officers, and 84,985 men, with 23,071 horses, and 10,409 mules. These figures probably are accurate in so far as the whole military establishment is concerned. It is doubted, however, whether the total of combatant forces in the field exceeds 65,000 men. On October 24, 1913, s decree was issued reorganizing the general staff. The general staff of the army was composed of generals of division, generals of brigades, and brigadiers (brlgadleres), and was divided Into two classes, the first of which comprised those of the permanent militia and the second those of the auxiliaries. Generals of division would always be from the permanent militia. Generals of brigade and brigadiers may be from the auxiliaries in the proportion of 1 to 3 to those from the permanent force. The general staff was divided into three sections. The first was known as that of command and active detail (comisiones actlvas), the second that of detached detail (comisiones pasivas), and the third that of availability. Generals on the retired list form the reserve and would only be called into service in case of war with a foreign power. The number of generals included in the army was:

14 generals of brigade for command and active detail. 6 generals of division for detached detail. 45 generals of brigade, permanent. 15 generals of brigade, auxiliary. 45 brigadier generals, permanent (generales brigadieres). 15 brigadier generals, auxiliary.

Generals not holding command or commission remain in the third section. In time of war, and as a result of the same, there may be n greater number, owing to promotions for distinguished service. Generals of the auxiliary militia may be retired when it is so ordered by the department of war and navy, and may only return to the service when authorized by the department. An exception is made of those who have rendered service so unusual as to entitle them to special consideration; and those who have served at least 10 years with body of troops are also exempted from such retirement. The general staff, being the highest body of the army, had its own offices for the holding of meetings, general and special, and was directly under the secretary of war. There was a noticeable difference between those officers who had been promoted from the ranks (of noncommissioned officers) and those who have graduated from the military school at Chapultepec (Colegio Militar). This school was provided with all the requisites of a higher military educational establishment. In order to raise the standard of those who had not been educated in this school, the school for officers was established at Tlaplam several years ago, but was discontinued in 1913. Promotion of officers took place by the individual arm and in order of seniority, while officers were retired only in case of disability or by a decision of the highest court-martial. The Mexican officer was courageous, quick of decision, and very modest in his mode of life. The enlisted man, as a rule, was recruited from the lowest and roughest classes of the community. Although the laws of the country called for conscription, the enlisted strength of the army is recruited from among the minor offenders in prisons. Such a man can hardly be expected to evince any great interest in his personal appearance, in his carriage, or in his dress. Although he slouches along, he really is an indefatigable campaigner, and can endure more fatigue than many a hardened European veteran. He can live upon less and march farther under a tropical sun in one day than many a Northern or Western man could do in two. By presidential decree of Gen. Huerta, universal obligatory military service was to be introduced in Mexico beginning June 1, 1913.