[FONT="]What we call peace, in most cases only is an armistice where the weaker antagonist waives his claims until he finds a new opportunity to assert them by force.[/FONT]
[FONT="](Luc de Clapier Vauvenargues)[/FONT]
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[FONT="]When, on July 21st, 1933, Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas proposed an armistice to the US, one of his firmest supporters turned out to be General Douglas MacArthur, the Chief of Staff of the US Army.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“It’s the only chance we have for getting our units out of this mess as units in one piece. If the present chaos is allowed to continue, the US Army will perish as a fighting force. – There’s no danger to the integrity of our territory; the National Guard has been mobilized and will safeguard our borders. – But I must get what is left of USFIM out of Mexico for restructuring and refitting. – What we have there at present, is an armed mob but no longer a coherent military fighting force. – Let’s sign that damned armistice and get the troops out of Mexico!”[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The McAdoo administration did not react very enthusiastically to this advance at first, but as July 21st progressed news from northern Mexico became gloomier and gloomier. In the evening, the total collapse of the three new corps had to be considered a fact. But also with I[/FONT][FONT="] Armored[FONT="] Corps, which had already been weakened seriously in the preceding weeks, the retreat appeared to have turned into a rout. – Thus, at 23:00 hours local time, MacArthur was asked to report to the White House.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="]When confronted with the reproach that the US Army had sucked, MacArthur exploded.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We have nine army corps down there. That’s enough to man a continuous front line of about 350 miles in conventional warfare – and even if we allow that the Mexes are no Boches, and go for 700 miles –the real front line to be covered still is something like 1,500 miles. – Our highly mobile[/FONT][FONT="] armor[FONT="] we lost in the moronic Mexico City adventure. What is left is infantry, simple foot walking riflemen - overextended foot walking riflemen, tasked to guard a front line that would at least have required twenty army corps. – And, gentlemen, let me tell you one truth about foot walking infantry: Once they have been ousted from their positions, it’s almost impossible for them to settle into a new position, as long as the enemy is in hot pursuit. – If we had a second position manned with reserves, they could pass this and rally. – But we don’t have a second position, and we have no reserves...[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="]Thus, gentlemen, in the present situation, an armistice is a very clever idea. It allows us marshalling the bits and pieces scrambling north – and reforming them into something like a coherent fighting force again.”[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Asked what the consequences of no armistice would be, MacArthur shrugged his shoulders.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Frankly, gentlemen, I’ve no idea. I do not know what can be salvaged from this mess. Neither do I know how long it will take to press these fragments into new forms. – The Spics are used to fight as guerrilla bands, our men are not. – We certainly won’t lose everything and everyone, but military units are quite fragile – and once broken – will take time to heal. Just do not suppose that we simply can turn these men around – and they’ll go on fighting. – There’s a considerable risk that USFIM will not be able to resume fighting. – Therefore, an armistice is very beneficial for us. It allows us to rally our forces without pressure from the Mexicans.”[/FONT]
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[FONT="]In the early morning of July 22nd, the US government agreed to enter negotiations about an armistice with the revolutionary government of Mexico.[/FONT]