ORDER OF BATTLE // March 24, 1912
First Battle of Rellano
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 12,000–14,150 estimated
Orozquistas
6,000–7,000
Medium-confidence figure
Government
6,000–7,150
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The First Battle of Rellano was fought at the Rellano railroad station in Chihuahua between federal forces loyal to President Francisco I. Madero, commanded by General José González Salas, and Orozquista rebels under Pascual Orozco. With both sides fielding forces of roughly equal size — each numbering in the range of six to seven thousand men — the engagement resulted in a victory for Orozco. The outcome represented a significant check on the Madero government's effort to suppress the Orozquista uprising, one of the principal armed challenges to Madero's presidency during the Mexican Revolution. A government defeat at this scale, in the strategically important state of Chihuahua, underscored the difficulty federal forces faced in containing organized rebel movements in the north.
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