Ten days after Colonel Juan-Carlos Valenzuela and Minister Tim Harrigan showed up at the village of San Patricio, a detachment of twenty soldiers arrived at the rail depot in Vista Montaña.
This was a cavalry section of the Guardia Nacional that performed ceremonial and security duties for the General Staff of the Mexican Army. They were an impressive unit with dark blue uniforms piped in scarlet on epaulets, collars, pocket flaps and the stripes of their trousers. Their headgear were leather pickelhaube helmets complete with brass Mexican eagles on the front and a metal spikes on top.
They had brought horses and crates of arms and equipment with them. The large load even included wagons to haul this freight to its destination. The officer in charge was Captain Santiago Gomez, who was Colonel Valenzuela’s adjutant.
The townspeople were curious about all the activity, and drifted down to the railroad tracks to see what was going on. But the soldiers forced them away from the depot with shouting and pushing. The people, disturbed and nervous, quickly withdrew. The national soldiery had a reputation for nastiness, thus it wasn’t wise to show defiance against them.
The arrival at the village began with a myriad of chores. Tents were pitched for the Mexican guardsmen; A larger one was erected for Colonel Valenzuela and Minister Harrigan to share. Fidel, the minister’s bodyguard, was quartered with the troops. At first the guardsmen resented his presence, but after he took two of them on and left them sprawled unconscious, the other eighteen thought it best to leave him in peace.
Another tent had been erected to shelter Captain Gomez and the field commander who would arrive later. When that was taken care of, the horses were provided with a corral. Their presence upset the village burros who brayed in protest at what they considered unwanted neighbors.
The next item of business was the issue of food to the population. This was of the highest importance since the present corn crop would not be harvested. The women were worried at first, but the generous amounts of beans, cornmeal, sugar, coffee, flour and live pigs and chickens eased their collective concerns.
Several more deliveries of miscellaneous items showed up over the next couple of weeks. By then the people of Vista Montaña knew enough to stay away from the depot until the freight had been loaded on wagons, and were on the road to San Patricio. The last delivery was accompanied by a mysterious German civilian by the name of Karl Jager. This individual, though not an officer in the Mexican Army, would be the field commander of the operation.
The loads from the trains eventually forced the removal of most of the corn crop that surrounded the village. When it was obvious there would be no backbreaking work of a harvest, Tomas Orayly suggested that people from other villages be allowed to reap the crop. But Colonel Valenzuela nixed the idea, citing the need for secrecy. The officer had already organized roaming patrols of guardsmen to control the outskirts of the community.
The German Karl Jager was a middle-age former warrant officer of the French Foreign Legion. He had spent his entire fifteen-year career in the jungles of Indo-China, fighting where there were no formal lines of battle. Small raids and ambushes in the thick foliage marked the numerous conflicts in that part of the world. Jager had the look of an adventurer with a French-style goatee and a rugged, muscular slimness. He was also fluent in German, French, Spanish and English; skills he had acquired during his career in the Legion where men of many nations served.
When the time was right, he and Captain Gomez, who would be his second-in-command, began the recruiting process to form their small force. Mayor Tomas Orayly summoned the young males who wished to fight the Gringos, to gather outside the town hall. Sixteen showed up and were interviewed by the Mexican Officer and German mercenary. They chose twelve. Mayor Tomas Orayly was proud his son Francisco had been one of them.
Those accepted for the guerrilla warfare were escorted to the rear of the established camp for indoctrination. Since none had been through any sort of military training, neither Jager nor Gomez attempted to form them up properly.
When everyone was assembled, the ex-legionnaire announced, “My name is Jager. I am going to be your comandante. This gentleman beside me is Gomez. He will be the sub-comandante meaning he is my second-in-command.”
The candidates began to appreciate the military aspects of the project they had volunteered for.
Jager continued. “You will be soldiers but the ranks you hold will not be titled soldados. Instead, because of the spirit of our mission, you will be called vengadores. Because that is what you are—avengers—who are going to exact revenge from the Americans who executed your fathers and grandfathers.”
The assembled youths were deeply affected by the revenge aspect. Several called out, “Viva Mexico! Viva la venganza!”
Jager was pleased with their collective fighting spirit. He continued, “You will be the spearhead of a great war in which the Americans will be defeated, thus Mexico will recover all the land they stole from your country. The preparation for this great cause will be hard and demanding, but I am certain you will be up to it.”
Once more the Vengadores shouted their enthusiasm.
“You may return to your homes now,” Jager said. “But tomorrow at dawn you will assemble here to prepare for this great struggle.”
~*~
The training program began with unarmed drill to instill a sense of teamwork and alertness in the young Irish-Mexican farmers. After a week, in which the vengadores exhibited an acceptance of discipline and quick obedience, they were issued their weapons.
Each man received a French Berthier Model 1892 8-milimeter carbine. They also were given another French firearm, which was an 8-millimeter double-action revolver. Jager presented the weapons training in four modes: must know, need to know, should know and nice-to-know. First they learned to load and fire the carbines and revolvers; secondly how to clean and maintain them; thirdly, the nomenclature, characteristics, ranges, muzzle velocities, and other technical information; and lastly the background of the carbine and revolver’s introduction and final acceptance by the French Army.
When it came time for the equitation training, Jager stepped back while Sub-Comandante Santiago Gomez took over. Although the German had served in the Prussian cavalry before joining the Foreign Legion, Colonel Valenzuela preferred to have Gomez teach the vengadores to ride. The colonel believed the captain was more familiar with cavalry tactics needed in the border country. The horses were well fed, healthy broken in and trained.
The schedule of learning to ride horses was typical of any cavalry unit. The steps began with learning the adjustment and fitting of equipment. When those skills were mastered, the training continued with classes on how to stand to horse, to properly mount a horse, dismount, use of the reins, and manage the mounts through walk, trot, and gallop. After that came hours of practice to increase the riders’ skills.
After three weeks, Colonel Valenzuela was shown a demonstration of the men’s abilities. He pronounced them trained well enough to begin training for battle.
With that, Comandante Jager took over once more to teach techniques of attack, defense, and ambushes. At the end of the training regimen, it was decided the vengadores were ready to be committed to actual combat missions.
The first objective would be Rosario, Texas a small town on the Rio Grande River.