Battle of Zacatecas
Zacatecas City, Zacatecas, Mexico
What happened
Pancho Villa's Division of the North, with the assault planned by Felipe Ángeles, fought the federal army of President Victoriano Huerta under General Luis Medina Barrón. During the Mexican Revolution, the silver-mining city of Zacatecas was an important railway junction on the way to Mexico City. On 23 June 1914, Villa's army attacked the hills around the city, taking El Grillo and then La Bufa. The federal soldiers lost heart and tried to retreat, but were cut off.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It destroyed Huerta's army and led to his fall from power. It also deepened the split between Villa and the revolutionary leader Venustiano Carranza.
What came next
Huerta resigned and fled into exile on 15 July 1914. The revolutionary general Álvaro Obregón entered Mexico City in August.
Did you know?
A museum about the battle, the Toma de Zacatecas Museum, opened in the city in 1984, and in 2014 Mexico issued a coin for the battle's 100th anniversary.
Timeline
- 19 June 1914Villa's Division of the North arrives at Zacatecas.
- 23 June 1914Villa's forces capture Zacatecas.
- 15 July 1914Huerta resigns and goes into exile.
- 14 August 1914Obregón enters Mexico City.
- 1993Zacatecas's historic centre becomes a World Heritage Site.