The Constitutional Army ( es, Ejército constitucionalista; also known as the Constitutionalist Army) was the army that fought against the Federal Army, and later, against the

Villistas Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

and

Zapatistas Zapatista(s) may refer to: * Liberation Army of the South, formed 1910s, a Mexican insurgent group involved in the Mexican Revolution * Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), formed 1983, a Mexican indigenous armed revolutionary group based ...

during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

. It was formed in March 1913 by

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February ...

, so-called "First-Chief" of the army, as a response to the murder of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Francisco I. Madero and Vice President

José María Pino Suárez José María Pino Suárez (; September 8, 1869 – February 22, 1913) was a Mexican statesman, lawyer, writer and newspaper proprietor who was a key figure of the Mexican Revolution and served as the 7th and last Vice President of Mexico fr ...

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wi ...

during ''La Decena Trágica'' (

Ten Tragic Days The Ten Tragic Days ( es, La Decena Trágica) during the Mexican Revolution is the name now given to a multi-day coup d'etat in Mexico City by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9 - 19 Fe ...

) of 1913, and the resulting usurpation of presidential power by Huerta. Carranza had a few military forces on which he could rely for loyalty. He had the theoretical support of

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

and Emiliano Zapata, but they soon turned against the Constitutionalists after Huerta's defeat in 1914. In July 1913, Carranza divided the country into seven areas for 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 existed only on paper and in reality the Constitutionalist army was made up of only the Northwest Corps (renamed the Army of Operations) under Álvaro 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) following the

Convention of Aguascalientes The Convention of Aguascalientes was a major meeting that took place during the Mexican Revolution between the factions in the Mexican Revolution that had defeated Victoriano Huerta's Federal Army and forced his resignation and exile in July 1914 ...

, 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 ousted president

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

). 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 had set up. Carranza was assassinated after he tried to have Obregón arrested on false charges (Obregón was put up for election for president, which threatened Carranza and his choice of successor,

Ignacio Bonillas Ignacio Bonillas Fraijo (1 February 1858 – 23 June 1942) was a Mexican diplomat. He was a Mexican ambassador to the United States and held a degree in mine engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was tapped by Pres ...

) and Obregón, under the

Plan of Agua Prieta The Plan of Agua Prieta (Spanish: ''Plan de Agua Prieta)'' was a manifesto, or plan, that articulated the reasons for rebellion against the government of Venustiano Carranza. Three revolutionary generals from Sonora, Álvaro Obregón, Plutarco E ...

, marched on Mexico City with his army. Carranza fled the capital and was killed in the Sierra Norte of

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

on 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.

External links

Map of Constitutionalist Army Battles
{{Mexican Revolution Factions of the Mexican Revolution Military history of Mexico

See also

External links