Austria-Hungary military mission to Mexico

Austria-Hungary military mission to Mexico

The Austria-Hungary military mission to Mexico (German:Österreichisch-Ungarische Militärmission in Mexiko) was the Austria-Hungary military mission to that country. The mission was formed by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary who was also the brother of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, following a request of the General Congress of the Empire of Mexico (spanish:Congreso de la Imperio Mexicano) in the person of its emissary to Austria-Hungary. The Austria-Hungary military mission to Mexico would be used to reorganize the Imperial Mexican Army previous trained by the French forces in Mexico (1860-1868) and the Austria Volunteers Corps in Mexico (1868-1872) which had fought alongside the Imperial Mexican Army in the 2nd Mexican-Texas War (1870-1872) but which was disbanded in accordance with the treaty of Santa Fe which ended the war.

The Austria-Hungary began operating from the Military College (spanish:Colegio Militar) located in Mexico City where it would remain until 1890 when most of the Austria-Hungary mission was relocated to the Austro-Hungarian concession located in Mexico City.

By 1876 the entire Imperial Mexican Army was equipped with Austrian uniforms and 8,000 new rifles (M1867 Werndl-Holub service rifle ) had been bought in Austria-Hungary to equip the Imperial Mexican Army six infantry battalions totaling some 7,000 men while the Imperial Mexican Auxiliaries and the Imperial Mexican Militia where beginning to receive the somewhat older Wanzl breech loading musket rifle.

In 1877 the Austria-Hungary mission set up a shooting school and eleven years later in 1888 an arsenal for gun and munitions manufacture, equipped with Austria-Hungary machinery was set up with the assistance of the Austria-Hungary mission. This arsenal named Arsenal imperial (English:Imperial Armory) located in Mexico City allowed the Second Mexican Empire to reduce its dependency on foreign produce firearms. The first rifle produced at the Arsenal imperial would be the Fusil Mondragón Modelo 1887 whose designer general Manuel Mondragón would also become the Arsenal imperial first director. The Arsenal imperial would remain the main producer of local and licenses produced artillery and firearms until the arrival of the Mendoza Arsenal in 1911.

By 1890 the Austria-Hungary military mission to Mexico after having been in the country for sixteen years had shrunk to a couple dozen of Austria-Hungary military advisors operating out of the Austro-Hungarian concession that were mostly used to observe training of the Imperial Mexican Army.

In 1910 when the Mexican-Texas Border War ore also known as the 3rd Mexican-Texas War began the Austria-Hungary mission observed the border skirmishes between the Imperial Mexican Army and the Republic of Texas Army which lasted until 1915 when the Austria-Hungary mission was ordered to leave the Second Mexican Empire by an imperial decree signed by emperor Maximilian II after pressure from both the United Kingdom and the French Republic who were at war with Austria-Hungary became too great to be ignored by the Second Mexican Empire who feared that the United Kingdom and the French Republic would side with the Republic of Texas in the ongoing border war which by now had entered its fifth year.

While the Austria-Hungary military mission to Mexico ended in 1915 the Austro-Hungarian concession located in Mexico City remained until the war in Europe ended in 1918 which saw the Austro-Hungarian Empire being dissolved ending the Mexican and Austria-Hungary relationship which began in 1863 with the crowing of Archduke Ferdinand as the first emperor of the Second Mexican Empire.