Final Assault on Mexico City
By 20 July 1917 Mexico City had been under siege for nearly a month. The Americans began to use new tactics as they built up their forces outside the city. One of these new tactics was concentrated bombing against enemy targets. The largest aircraft raid in the war came on 20 July when over 50 US aircraft flew over Mexico City, bombing and strafing the troops in the streets. This managed to disrupt Mexican supplies even further. By this point, ammunition was only readily available for rifles and some machine guns. Still, the Mexicans managed to inflict a heavy toll on the Americans as skirmishing continued throughout the month of July. Another new US tactic was the use of tanks, for which, by 20 July, already 100 US Ford 3-ton tanks were in the vicinity, and more were being manufactured. The US government had ordered the building of nearly 10,000 of the machines, which were designed with mass production in mind.
Finally on 7 August 1917 Gomez's army retreated into the area south of Mexico City, bringing Dodd's forces into play in the siege of the capital. Gomez's forces quickly became trapped by American forces as there was really nowhere left to retreat. The Tehuacan valley and state of Veracruz were locked down, Mexico City was surrounded, most of the North was under occupation, and small American forces had begun taking the South, starting with the Yucatan Peninsula. On the same day that Gomez was finally trapped, Wilson sent Madero a final offer of surrender. Despite repeated urging by military commanders, including Zapata, Madero again refused to surrender. Plans were swiftly set into motion for the assault on the Mexican capital and the defeat of the nation.
On 9 August 1917 a prolonged artillery bombardment began, striking all along the Mexican lines and heavily demoralizing both the civilian populace and the Mexican infantry. The real attack began on 12 August 1917, although several feints by US forces had succeeded in letting Bullard and Dodd gauge the enemy defenses. The attack was spearheaded by nearly 500 of the new Ford 3-ton tanks, which were invaluable in the battle, even if they were a bit flimsier than the army wished, and wouldn't likely have held up in the face of determined resistance by enemy armor. Luckily, the Mexicans at this point had only a very small amount of artillery, and had never had any tanks. At the same time as the assault on the capital, Dodd attacked Gomez's entrapped troops.
On 13 August 1917 Gomez surrendered his battered command, now down to only around 50,000 undersupplied and demoralized infantry. Pancho Villa was forced to escape the surrendering army with a small guard of former Zapatistas, as he knew the Americans would likely try him for the attacks on border towns if they caught him. He hid in a farm for several days until he was able to join back up with Zapata, who would keep him from the Americans. Meanwhile, the Americans pushed ever further into Mexico City in brutal street fighting. On 14 August President Madero attempted to escape the city, taking along 100 of his best men. He was intercepted and killed however, although the exact circumstances of his demise are unclear to this day. Some historians have even suggested that Zapata had him killed. However it happened, Zapata became President of Mexico on 15 August and immediately signed an armistice with American forces.
The fighting in Mexico City would later be determined to have claimed 49,246 American lives and 153,029 Mexican lives, including civilian casualties. It was the bloodiest battle of the war by far and absolutely shocks the American populace. Days after the signing of the armistice one American senator was actually heckled off the floor when he suggested helping "America's friends in Europe", referring to the Entente powers. Americans are clearly not interested in yet another war so soon after the last one, especially since guerrilla warfare continues in occupied territory even if all hostilities with the Mexican federal government have ceased.
On 7 September negotiations begin in the city of Veracruz between the American and Mexican governments and on 5 November 1917, the treaty of Veracruz is signed. Mexico cedes both the state of Veracruz and the Baja peninsula to the US. Mexico recognizes the US right to garrison border towns in order to prevent incursions into US territory by Mexican raiders, and also the US right to send troops into Mexico to fight rebels and help quell insurrection. This part of the treaty was actually kind of favorable towards Zapata, as the US would help him beat down any prospective rebel forces, meaning that Zapata would be undisputed in his claim to the Mexican presidency. In addition, Mexico will pay 10 billion US dollars in reparations for the war. This treaty finally ended the Second Mexican American War (23 August 1916 - 16 August 1917). The war cost 137,915 American lives and 337,785 Mexican lives, including over a hundred thousand civilian deaths. Mexico had a long path of reconstruction ahead of it, as much of the north had been devastated by the war. Still, Mexico was finally pulling out of 6 years of almost constant conflict, and had a bright future ahead of it.
Damage to a newspaper office in Mexico City