Battle of Ambos Nogales

Battle of Ambos Nogales
Part of the Mexican Revolution, World War I, Border War
The U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales in 1898, 2008 (pre-2011 wall), and 2021. International Street/Calle Internacional runs through the center of the image between Nogales, Sonora (left), and Nogales, Arizona (right). Note border posts without fence and rail line in 1898. Customs Post where the first shooting occurred is in center of image this side of rail line. Click on image to enlarge.
Date 27 August 1918 Location Nogales, Arizona, United States Nogales, Sonora, Mexico 31°19′58″N 110°56′32″W / 31.3328°N 110.942224°W / 31.3328; -110.942224 Result American victory[1][2] Binational cease-fire arranged Permanent border wall established in Ambos Nogales
Belligerents
United States	Mexico Alleged:  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Frederick Herman	Unknown
Strength
~800[3]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
5 soldiers, 2 civilians killed 28 soldiers, several civilians wounded	Mexico: Up to 28-30 soldiers, about 100 civilians killed; 129 new graves were counted About 300 total wounded Alleged: 2 German soldiers killed[4]
class=notpageimage| Location on Arizona/Sonora border Show map of Arizona class=notpageimage| Location on United States/Mexico border Show map of the United States

The Battle of Ambos Nogales (The Battle of Both Nogales), or as it is known in Mexico La batalla del 27 de agosto (The Battle of 27 August), was an engagement fought on 27 August 1918 between Mexican military and civilian militia forces and elements of U.S. Army troops of the 35th Infantry Regiment, who were reinforced by the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, and commanded by Lt. Col. Frederick J. Herman. The American soldiers and militia forces were stationed in Nogales, Arizona, and the Mexican soldiers and armed Mexican militia were in Nogales, Sonora.^[5] This battle was notable for being a significant confrontation between U.S. and Mexican forces during the Border War, which took place in the context of the Mexican Revolution and the First World War.

Prior to the late 1910s, the international border between the two Nogaleses was a wide-open boulevard named International Street, but during the course of the decade the violence associated with the Mexican Revolution and growing hysteria related to World War I brought stricter U.S. control of the border. Anti-foreign sentiment grew in the border region with the publicizing of the German Empire's Zimmermann telegram in February 1917. (Some U.S. military historians of the 10th Cavalry and 25th Infantry later claimed German military advisors encouraged Mexican rebels under General Francisco "Pancho" Villa to fight against the U.S. in Nogales.) Related to the World War I anti-foreign sentiment, the shooting deaths of Mexican nationals at the border by U.S. soldiers in Nogales in early 1918 increased racial tensions in the two border towns. As a result of the 27 August battle, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to divide the two border communities with a chain-link border fence, the first of many permanent incarnations of the U.S.–Mexico border wall between the two cities along the two countries' border.