Constitutional Army

The Constitutional Army (also known as the Constitutionalist Army) was the army that fiugth against the Federal Army of General Huerta, the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican revolution. It was formed in March 1913 by Venustiano Carranza, so-called "First-Chief" of the army. Carranza had few military forces of who he could rely on for loyalty, his leadership against Huerta gave him the theoretical support of Pancho Villa and Zapata, but they soon turned against the Constitutionalist's after Huertas defeat in 1914.

In July 1913 Carranza divided the country into seven theoretcial areas of military operations. Each area was, at least in theory, the responsability of a general commanding an Army corps. These Corps were: Northeast, Northwest, Central, East, West, South and Southeast. But the last 4 actualy existed only on paper. In reality the Consitiutionalist army was made up of 3 formations, the Northwest Corps under Alvaro Obregon, the Northeast Corps under Pablo Gonzalez and the Central Corps under Panfilo Natera.

When fighting broke out in 1914 between the Constitutionalists (Carranza, Obregon etc) and the Conventionalists (Villa and Zapata) 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.

Eventualy the war against the Conventionalists was won after the assasination of Zapata in 1919 and the surrender of Villa in July 1920. But by 1917 the main fighting of the civil war between the two factions was over, with some minor revolts by Felicistas (supporters of Felix Diaz, nephew of former President Diaz). This marked the end of any real resistance to Carranza. But when Carranza's autocartic ruled was threatened, the threat would come from the Constitutionalist army he set up. Carranza was assasinated after he tried to have Obregon arrested on false charges (Obregon was put up for election for president, which threatened Carranza and his choice of successor, Ignacio Bonillas) and Obregon marched on Mexico city with his army. Carranza was killed on the 21st of May 1920.

In 1920 Obregon was elected president, and some other former Constitutionalist generals would eventualy become presidents and leading politicians in the years ahead.