First Battle of Rellano

A corrido extolling Pascual Orozco, the leader of the rebel army and commander at Rellano

Date	24 March 1912
Location	Rellano, Chihuahua
Result	Rebel (Orozco's) victory

Belligerents

Orozquistas

Mexico

Commanders and leaders

Pascual Orozco

General Salas

Strength

6000-7,000

6,000-7150

Casualties and losses

200

600

The First Battle of Rellano was an engagement on 24 March 1912 during the Mexican Revolution at the Rellano railroad station, in the state of Chihuahua. It was fought between government troops loyal to Francisco I. Madero, led by General José González Salas, and rebel troops under Pascual Orozco. The battle was a victory for Orozco.

While initially an enthusiastic opponent of Porfirio Díaz's dictatorship of Mexico, Pascual Orozco began coming into conflict with Francisco Madero and other revolutionary leaders as early as Battle of Ciudad Juárez. Orozco was resentful over Madero's appointment of Venustiano Carranza, rather than himself, as defense minister. Furthermore, over the course of 1911 Orozco began courting the support of the powerful Chihuahuan Terrazas family who were sworn enemies of Pancho Villa. This led to a break between Villa and Orozco. The final straw came when Madero appointed Abraham González, Villa's mentor, as governor of Chihuahua. In March 1912 Orozco decreed a formal revolt against Madero's government.

General José González Salas was sent from Mexico City in an expedition against Orozco on March 8. He set up his headquarters in Torreón, Coahuila, with a view of quelling Orozco's uprising in middle of March. On March 18 he led 6000 men into Chihuahua. Progress was slow because the troops were forced to repair railroad tracks and bridges that had been blown up by the rebels along the way. Furthermore, González split his force into three columns. A cavalry column under Trucy Aubuert was sent ahead to scout but soon lost communication with the main force. González then sent another unit of cavalry under Joaquín Téllez to continue the scouting. The two cavalry units and the infantry and artillery under González were all supposed to converge together in Ciudad Jiménez. However, the second scouting force also got detached from the main force. As a result, the colorados, as Orozco's troops were known because of their red flag, managed to surprise Salas' federal troops at the southern edge of the Bolsón de Mapimí region. However, the first few hours of fighting involved minor skirmishes and proved indecisive. Eventually, the rebel forces retreated to Rellano where, along with newly arrived reinforcements, they dug in. By this point, Orozco had about 3000 men; González's men continued to proceed by rail.

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Wikipedia