Qualla: First Battle of Torreon https://qualla.com/first-battle-of-torreon en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:11 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: First Battle of Torreon https://qualla.com/first-battle-of-torreon First Battle of Torreon: Introduction https://qualla.com/first-battle-of-torreon/ Pancho Villa had a problem. By late September 1913, he commanded one of the largest revolutionary armies assembled during the Mexican Revolution -- somewhere between 4,000 and 9,000 men, depending on the estimate. He had been elected commander-in-chief of the newly formed Northern Division just days earlier. But he had never led anything close to this many fighters, had no experience with conventional warfare, owned only four 75mm cannons, and had almost no trained artillerymen to operate them. The target was Torreon, a cotton-processing center and critical railway junction on the border of Coahuila and Durango, defended by 3,000 federal soldiers with superior artillery positioned on the commanding heights. What Villa lacked in experience, he would make up for in speed, aggression, and an opponent's fatal miscalculation.

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/w/3/first-battle-of-torreon-wp/9sw3-first-battle-of-torreon-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full First Battle of Torreon: A Revolution Finds Its General https://qualla.com/first-battle-of-torreon/ The revolution's first phase had ended with apparent success: President Porfirio Diaz resigned in 1911 and was replaced by Francisco Madero. But in early 1913, General Victoriano Huerta betrayed and murdered Madero, seizing the presidency. A nationwide coalition of former revolut...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/w/3/first-battle-of-torreon-wp/9sw3-first-battle-of-torreon-a-revolution-finds-its-general.mp3 0:06 2 full First Battle of Torreon: Five Days in the Canyons https://qualla.com/first-battle-of-torreon/ Villa's forces converged on the Torreon area from multiple directions. On September 27, his troops occupied the hacienda of La Loma, where leaders from across the revolutionary movement gathered and formally elected him commander. On September 28, Maclovio Herrera's forces routed...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/w/3/first-battle-of-torreon-wp/9sw3-first-battle-of-torreon-five-days-in-the-canyons.mp3 0:06 3 full First Battle of Torreon: A Dead Horse and a Hatless Army https://qualla.com/first-battle-of-torreon/ The assault on Torreon itself began September 30. Villa split his army into two columns that advanced through the canyons toward the city, applying pressure rather than attempting a frontal charge. The fighting produced moments of desperate improvisation. A fighter named Gutierre...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/w/3/first-battle-of-torreon-wp/9sw3-first-battle-of-torreon-a-dead-horse-and-a-hatless-army.mp3 0:06 4 full First Battle of Torreon: Spoils and Shadows https://qualla.com/first-battle-of-torreon/ At 2:00 AM on October 2, Villa entered Torreon to music. The spoils were enormous: 5 machine guns, 11 cannons including two giants nicknamed Rorro and El Nino, half a million rounds of ammunition, 39 locomotives, and several train wagons. The city's capture transformed Villa from...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/w/3/first-battle-of-torreon-wp/9sw3-first-battle-of-torreon-spoils-and-shadows.mp3 0:06 5 full