Battle of Ambos Nogales
The Battle of Ambos Nogales (The Battle of Both Nogales), or as it is known in Mexico La batalla del 27 de agosto (The Battle of 27 August), was an engagement fought on 27 August 1918 between Mexican military and civilian militia forces and elements of U.S. Army troops of the 35th Infantry Regiment, who were reinforced by the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, and commanded by Lt. Col. Frederick J. Herman. The American soldiers and militia forces were stationed in Nogales, Arizona, and the Mexican soldiers and armed Mexican militia were in Nogales, Sonora.[5] This battle was notable for being a significant confrontation between U.S. and Mexican forces during the Border War, which took place in the context of the Mexican Revolution and the First World War.
Prior to the late 1910s, the international border between the two Nogaleses was a wide-open boulevard named International Street, but during the course of the decade the violence associated with the Mexican Revolution and growing hysteria related to World War I brought stricter U.S. control of the border. Anti-foreign sentiment grew in the border region with the publicizing of the German Empire's Zimmermann telegram in February 1917. (Some U.S. military historians of the 10th Cavalry and 25th Infantry later claimed German military advisors encouraged Mexican rebels under General Francisco "Pancho" Villa to fight against the U.S. in Nogales.) Related to the World War I anti-foreign sentiment, the shooting deaths of Mexican nationals at the border by U.S. soldiers in Nogales in early 1918 increased racial tensions in the two border towns. As a result of the 27 August battle, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to divide the two border communities with a chain-link border fence, the first of many permanent incarnations of the U.S.–Mexico border wall between the two cities along the two countries' border.
Aftermath[edit]
Bi-national diplomatic talks and the U.S. investigation[edit]
Within hours of the outbreak of violence in Ambos Nogales, leaders of the two governments dispatched officials to investigate the Nogales incident and determine what could be done to resolve the situation. President Carranza sent Sonoran governor Plutarco Elías Calles to represent the Mexican government in diplomatic talks scheduled for 28 August, while Gen. DeRosey Cabell, a veteran of the Punitive Expedition, represented the U.S. and sought information on the violence. "I met with General Calles at 3 o’clock, having previously received a telegram from him expressing regret at the unfortunate incident of yesterday afternoon", Cabell remarked. "Upon meeting with General Calles I have expressed equal regret that this incident should have occurred".