Battle of Las Cruces (1928)
Encyclopedia
The Second Battle of Las Cruces, or the New Year's Day Battle, was a major engagement during the American
occupation of Nicaragua
. It was fought on 1 January 1928, during an expedition to destroy a Sandinista fortress. A column of United States Marines and Nicaraguan National Guard
smen were attacked by a superior force of rebels entrenched on Las Cruses Hill and, after a long battle, the Americans and Nicaraguans routed the Sandinistas and captured their positions.
aircraft detected the fortress of El Chipote, which was the main base of the Sandinista rebels, located near the border with Honduras
. There was much rebel activity in the area so the American Marines and the Nicaraguan Guardsmen had no choice but to destroy the fortifications. Accordingly, two columns were dispatched on this mission, one under Captain Richard Livingston, composed of 115 men, and the second under First Lieutenant
Meron A. Richal
, composed of sixty-five men. Captain Livingston was in Jinotega
and his orders were to leave on 19 December 1927, and meet with Richal's column, which was marching from Telpaneca
, at Quilali
. However, before the rendezvous both columns encountered resistance. Captain Livingston was the first to engage the rebels. While just 1,500 yards south of Quilali, he was attacked by approximately 200 Sandinistas well concealed behind rocks and foliage. After an eighty minute battle the rebels retreated, though they managed to kill five Marines and two of the guards, twenty-three others were wounded. Livingston then proceeded into Quilali without further opposition. On the same day, Lieutenant Richal's men were twenty-two miles away from Telpaneca when they engaged in a twenty minute skirmish with about fifty rebels, but they were beaten off. One Marine was wounded in the engagement and the rebels are not believed to have suffered any casualties. After that Richal continued towards the rendezvous and, on 1 January 1928, another battle was fought, six miles northwest of Quilali.
Francisco Estrada was in command of the rebels and he had about 400 men armed with several machine gun
s, rifles, pistols and dynamite
, positioned in parapet
s made of pine trees. After the first shots, Richal ordered his men to return the enemy's fire which had mortally wounded Sergeant
Thomas G. Bruce who was serving as a lieutenant and commander of the Nicaraguan Guardsmen. His body was later found stripped and mutilated
. The Sandinistas then charged and forced the Marines and Guardsmen back fifty yards placing the latter within the protection of their 3-inch Stokes mortar
and a Lewis machine gun which then opened up against the hill along with a 37-millimeter field piece positioned some distance up the trail. Richal ordered his men to form a skirmish line and he also noted that most of the fire, at that point, was coming from his right flank against the main body while a few rebels on his left flank were engaging both his main body and the rear guard. Though the machine gun used by the marines eventually jammed, rifle fire and that of the artillery
successfully held off further Sandinista attacks. Gunnery Sergeant
Edward G. Brown, who assumed command after Richal was hit, counter attacked with a handful of men and captured the hill as the rebels fled. Immediately afterwards, two American biplane
s arrived on scene and began strafing the retreating rebels.
, the rebel general who was known to over-exaggerate, claimed that his men won the battle after three hours of fighting. Sandino also stated that ninety-seven Americans were killed, mostly by machete
s, and another sixty men were wounded. He claimed that six Lewis machine guns, three M1A1 Thompsons, forty-six Lewis automatic rifle
s and sixteen pack mule
s loaded with ammunition were captured, as well as battle plans and a code book for communicating with American aircraft. Captain Livingston, knowing Richal was likely to run into an ambush during the march, sent a platoon
of sharpshooters under Second Lieutenant
A. T. Hunt, to reinforce the column. This force of about twenty men arrived at Las Cruces Hill at 2:15 pm, after the fighting was over. Both Richal and Hunt's men camped on the hill for the night. On the next day, they proceeded into Quilali without opposition. Meanwhile, Sandino reinforced his defeated troops and besieged Quilali for a few days, which forced the Marines and guardsmen to abandon the expedition to El Chipote. During the battle Lieutenant Bruce was the only fatality although Richal was seriously wounded when he was hit in the eye by a bullet, three others were also wounded while an estimated twenty rebels were killed. Richal later received a Navy Cross
for his conduct in the engagement.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
occupation of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. It was fought on 1 January 1928, during an expedition to destroy a Sandinista fortress. A column of United States Marines and Nicaraguan National Guard
National Guard (Nicaragua)
In Nicaragua, the National Guard was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.-Creation:...
smen were attacked by a superior force of rebels entrenched on Las Cruses Hill and, after a long battle, the Americans and Nicaraguans routed the Sandinistas and captured their positions.
Background
During November 1927, marine reconnaissanceReconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
aircraft detected the fortress of El Chipote, which was the main base of the Sandinista rebels, located near the border with Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. There was much rebel activity in the area so the American Marines and the Nicaraguan Guardsmen had no choice but to destroy the fortifications. Accordingly, two columns were dispatched on this mission, one under Captain Richard Livingston, composed of 115 men, and the second under First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
Meron A. Richal
Meron A. Richal
Meron A. Richal was a colonel in the United States Marine Corps. He is best known for receiving the Navy Cross for bravery in the Second Battle of Las Cruces on January 1, 1928 during the occupation of Nicaragua.-Navy Cross Citation:-References:...
, composed of sixty-five men. Captain Livingston was in Jinotega
Jinotega
Jinotega is the capital of Jinotega Department in the north central region of Nicaragua.-About:The capital city of the Department of Jinotega is the City of Jinotega. The Department of Jinotega produces 80% of the nation's coffee. It has a population of about 51,000 living inside a vast valley...
and his orders were to leave on 19 December 1927, and meet with Richal's column, which was marching from Telpaneca
Telpaneca
Telpaneca is a municipality in the Madriz department of Nicaragua....
, at Quilali
Quilalí
Quilalí is a municipality in the Nueva Segovia Department of Nicaragua. It is the sister city of the City of South Haven, Michigan.Para informacion en espanol, incluyendo citas de la alcaldia, vease: Quilalí en espanol...
. However, before the rendezvous both columns encountered resistance. Captain Livingston was the first to engage the rebels. While just 1,500 yards south of Quilali, he was attacked by approximately 200 Sandinistas well concealed behind rocks and foliage. After an eighty minute battle the rebels retreated, though they managed to kill five Marines and two of the guards, twenty-three others were wounded. Livingston then proceeded into Quilali without further opposition. On the same day, Lieutenant Richal's men were twenty-two miles away from Telpaneca when they engaged in a twenty minute skirmish with about fifty rebels, but they were beaten off. One Marine was wounded in the engagement and the rebels are not believed to have suffered any casualties. After that Richal continued towards the rendezvous and, on 1 January 1928, another battle was fought, six miles northwest of Quilali.
Battle
At about 12:30 pm, the column was marching single file up the trail, when suddenly it was fired on by the Sandinistas from well entrenched positions at and around Las Cruces Hill, also called Sapotial Hill in the American report of the encounter. The location had been the scene of a rebel victory two months earlier. ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Francisco Estrada was in command of the rebels and he had about 400 men armed with several machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s, rifles, pistols and dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
, positioned in parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s made of pine trees. After the first shots, Richal ordered his men to return the enemy's fire which had mortally wounded Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Thomas G. Bruce who was serving as a lieutenant and commander of the Nicaraguan Guardsmen. His body was later found stripped and mutilated
Mutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
. The Sandinistas then charged and forced the Marines and Guardsmen back fifty yards placing the latter within the protection of their 3-inch Stokes mortar
Stokes Mortar
The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar invented by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE which was issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies during the latter half of the First World War.-History:...
and a Lewis machine gun which then opened up against the hill along with a 37-millimeter field piece positioned some distance up the trail. Richal ordered his men to form a skirmish line and he also noted that most of the fire, at that point, was coming from his right flank against the main body while a few rebels on his left flank were engaging both his main body and the rear guard. Though the machine gun used by the marines eventually jammed, rifle fire and that of the artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
successfully held off further Sandinista attacks. Gunnery Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, just above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is a staff non-commissioned officer...
Edward G. Brown, who assumed command after Richal was hit, counter attacked with a handful of men and captured the hill as the rebels fled. Immediately afterwards, two American biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s arrived on scene and began strafing the retreating rebels.
Aftermath
Augusto César SandinoAugusto César Sandino
Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933...
, the rebel general who was known to over-exaggerate, claimed that his men won the battle after three hours of fighting. Sandino also stated that ninety-seven Americans were killed, mostly by machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
s, and another sixty men were wounded. He claimed that six Lewis machine guns, three M1A1 Thompsons, forty-six Lewis automatic rifle
Lewis automatic rifle
The Lewis automatic rifle was a post World War I light machine gun. It was intended to replace or supplement the Lewis gun and compete with the M1918 BAR and other designs.-References:**...
s and sixteen pack mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
s loaded with ammunition were captured, as well as battle plans and a code book for communicating with American aircraft. Captain Livingston, knowing Richal was likely to run into an ambush during the march, sent a platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
of sharpshooters under Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
A. T. Hunt, to reinforce the column. This force of about twenty men arrived at Las Cruces Hill at 2:15 pm, after the fighting was over. Both Richal and Hunt's men camped on the hill for the night. On the next day, they proceeded into Quilali without opposition. Meanwhile, Sandino reinforced his defeated troops and besieged Quilali for a few days, which forced the Marines and guardsmen to abandon the expedition to El Chipote. During the battle Lieutenant Bruce was the only fatality although Richal was seriously wounded when he was hit in the eye by a bullet, three others were also wounded while an estimated twenty rebels were killed. Richal later received a Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
for his conduct in the engagement.