United States occupation of Veracruz

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American Marines raising the US flag over Veracruz

American soldiers hoisting the U.S. flag over Veracruz.

Date	April 21, 1914
Location	Veracruz, Veracruz
Result	U.S. victory

Belligerents

United States

Mexico

Commanders

Frank Friday Fletcher

Gustavo Mass
Manuel Azueta

Strength

Total: 3,948
Landing force: 757

N/A

Casualties and losses

22 killed
70 wounded
92 total

152–172 killed
195–250 wounded
347–422 total

The United States occupation of the Mexican port of Veracruz lasted for six months in response to the Tampico Affair of April 9, 1914. The incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, related to the ongoing Mexican Revolution.

1 The Battle
2 Aftermath
3 In popular culture
4 Footnotes
5 See also
6 External references

[edit] The Battle

American forces at Veracruz.

Damaged entryway of the Veracruz Naval Academy in 1914.

In response to the Tampico Affair, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the U.S. Navy to prepare for the occupation of the port of Veracruz. While waiting for authorization of the U.S. Congress to carry out such action, Wilson was alerted to a German delivery of weapons for Victoriano Huerta due to arrive to the port on April 21. As a result, Wilson issued an immediate order to seize the port's customs office and confiscate the weaponry. Huerta had taken over the Mexican government during a coup d'état in early 1913 known as La decena trágica. The Wilson administration's answer to this was to declare Huerta a usurper of the legitimate government, embargo arms shipments to Huerta, and support the Constitutional Army of Venustiano Carranza.

The arms shipment to Mexico, in fact, originated from the Remington Arms company in the United States. The arms and ammunition were to be shipped via Hamburg, Germany, to Mexico allowing Remington Arms a means of skirting the American arms embargo.^[1]

On the morning of April 21, 1914, 41 ships of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, started the bombardment of Veracruz. By 11:30 AM, American Marines started landing operations, prompting the retreat of the Mexican forces led by General Gustavo Mass in order to avoid bloodshed. On the face of this, Mexican Commodore Manuel Azueta encouraged cadets of the Veracruz Naval Academy to take up the defense of the port for themselves. Also, about fifty line soldiers of the Mexican Army remained behind to fight the occupation army along with the citizens of Veracruz.

Soon after landing, the American troops captured the customs, post and telegraph offices. An urban battle ensued in which many civilians are said to have taken part. Arms were distributed to the population, who were largely untrained in the use of Mausers, and who had trouble matching the arms with the ammunition. In short, the defense of the city by its populace was hindered by the lack of central organization and a lack of adequate supplies. The defense of the city also included the release of the prisoners held at the feared San Juan de Ulúa prison. In the meantime, the building of the Naval Academy was being bombarded by the USS Prairie. American troops took the central town square by 5 p.m. and eventually forced the evacuation of the Naval Academy building a few hours later. Even after their quick success, the landing force suffered sniper fire from rooftops and towers by an incensed population eager to rid their city of foreign invaders.

USS San Francisco and USS Chester continued the bombardment of the Naval Academy building until the following day. Some pockets of resistance occurred around the port, mostly in the form of hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, but by April 24 all fighting had ceased.

[edit] Aftermath

The son of Commodore Azueta, Lieutenant José Azueta, was wounded during the defense of the Naval Academy building. A cadet himself, José Azueta was manning a machine gun placed outside the building, facing the incoming American troops on his own and causing a number of casualties. José Azueta was rescued from the battlefield after sustaining two bullet wounds and taken to his home. After the battle, Admiral Fletcher heard of Azueta's actions in battle and sent his personal doctor to take care of him. However, Azueta refused medical services offered by the occupation army and only allowed local Dr. Rafael Cuervo Xicoy to intervene him. Dr. Xicoy lacked medical supplies to assist Azueta properly. José Azueta died of his wounds on May 10, México's Mother's Day. During his funeral hundreds of citizens marched holding his coffin on their shoulders to the city's cemetery in open defiance to directives from the occupation army forbidding the right of assembly.

Admiral Fletcher took control of the administration of the port. While Huerta and Carranza officially objected to the occupation, neither was able to oppose it effectively, being more preoccupied by events of the Mexican Revolution. Huerta was eventually overthrown and Carranza's faction took power. The occupation, however, brought the two countries to the brink of war and worsened US-Mexican relations for many years. The ABC Powers conference was convened in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, on May 20, 1914, to avoid an all-out war over this incident. American troops remained in Veracruz until November 23, 1914.

After the fighting ended, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels ordered that fifty-six Medals of Honor be awarded to participants in this action. This amount was half as many as had been awarded for the Spanish-American War, and close to half the number that would be awarded during World War I and the Korean War. Former Rear Admiral Daniel Gallery claims in his memoir, Eight Bells, that the excess medals were awarded by lot. ^[2] ^[3] At the time, however, there was no other medal for valor that could be awarded.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] In popular culture

Warren Zevon's album Excitable Boy features a track called "Veracruz" named after this event. It depicts the battle and chaos for what one may presume was a resident of Veracruz. The last verse, written in Spanish, is the character saying they will return to Veracruz, destiny has changed their life and in Veracruz they shall die.