Follow the exploits of General Francisco “Pancho” Villa and his mighty Division of the North as they go from victory to victory, defeating General Huerta’s imperious Federal Army and its ruthless Colorado allies. Meet Álvaro Obregón, the greatest general in Mexican history, and his fierce Yaqui and Mayo warriors as they drive southward from the lands of the Grand Chichimec and conquer Mexico City. Learn how superior strategy and regional defense traditions precipitated a revolution in Mexican military affairs that overwhelmed the flawed European model made infamous by Santa Anna, and embarked the country on the path to eradicating militarism and praetorianism forever.

It is a story of such epic sweep that this, the second entry in the Maneuver and Battle in the Mexican Revolution trilogy, must be divided into two books. Part 1 covers the mobilization, institutional origins, and operations of the Constitutionalist Army from its founding to the end of 1913. In response, the Federal Army expands, reorganizes, and popularizes, forfeiting its claim to professional exceptionalism in the process. Part 2 reveals and analyzes the strategy proposals formulated by the First Chief’s key generals and the Federal Army General Staff. Federal Army tactical doctrine and weapons systems, employed by all sides, are also presented. The ensuing operations culminate in such epic battles as Torreón and Zacatacas, a Constitutionalist victory in August 1914, and another realignment of forces in the Revolution.