Mexican Revolution The Battle of Celaya

The Battle of Celaya (April 6-15, 1915) was a decisive turning point in the Mexican Revolution. The Revolution had been raging for five years, ever since Francisco I. Madero had challenged the decades-old rule of Porfirio Dà ­az. By 1915, Madero was gone, as was the drunken general who had replaced him, Victoriano Huerta. The rebel warlords who had defeated Huerta – Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregà ³n – had turned on one another. Zapata was holed up in the state of Morelos and rarely ventured out, so the uneasy alliance of Carranza and Obregà ³n turned their attention north, where Pancho Villa still commanded the mighty Division of the North. Obregà ³n took a massive force from Mexico City to find Villa and settle once and for all who would own Northern Mexico. Prelude to the Battle of Celaya Villa commanded a formidable force, but his armies were spread out. His men were divided among several different generals, fighting Carranzas forces wherever they could find them. He himself commanded the largest force, several thousand strong, including his legendary cavalry. On April 4, 1915, Obregà ³n moved his force from Querà ©taro to the small town of Celaya, which was built on a flat plain alongside a river. Obregà ³n dug in, placing his machine guns and building trenches, daring Villa to attack. Villa was accompanied by his best general, Felipe Angeles, who begged him to leave Obregà ³n alone at Celaya and meet him in battle elsewhere where he could not bring his mighty machine guns to bear on Villas forces. Villa ignored Angeles, claiming that he did not want his men to think he was afraid to fight. He prepared a frontal assault. The First Battle of Celaya During the early days of the Mexican Revolution, Villa had enjoyed great success with devastating cavalry charges. Villas cavalry was probably the best in the world: an elite force of skilled horsemen who could ride and shoot to devastating effect. Up until this point, no enemy had succeeded in resisting one of his deadly cavalry charges and Villa saw no point in changing his tactics. Obregà ³n was ready, however. He suspected that Villa would send in wave after wave of veteran cavalrymen, and he positioned his barbed wire, trenches and machine guns in anticipation of horsemen instead of infantry. At dawn on April 6, the battle began. Obregà ³n made the first move: he sent a large force of 15,000 men to occupy the strategic El Guaje Ranch. This was a mistake, as Villa had already set up troops there. Obregà ³ns men were met with blistering rifle fire and he was forced to send out small diversionary squads to attack other parts of Villas forces to distract him. He managed to pull his men back, but not before sustaining serious losses. Obregà ³n was able to turn his mistake into a brilliant strategic move. He ordered his men to fall back to behind the machine guns. Villa, sensing the chance to crush Obregà ³n, sent his cavalry in pursuit. The horses became caught in the barbed wire and were cut to pieces by machine guns and riflemen. Rather than retreat, Villa sent several waves of cavalry to attack, and each time they were repulsed, although their sheer numbers and skill almost broke Obregà ³ns line on several occasions. As night fell on April 6, Villa relented. As dawn broke on the 7th, however, Villa sent his cavalry in again. He ordered no less than 30 cavalry charges, each of which was beaten back. With each charge, it became more difficult for the horsemen: the ground was slippery with blood and littered with the dead bodies of men and horses. Late in the day, the Villistas began running low on ammunition and Obregà ³n, sensing this, sent his own cavalry against Villa. Villa had kept no forces in reserve and his army was routed: the mighty Division of the North retreated to Irapuato to lick its wounds. Villa had lost some 2,000 men in two days, most of them valuable cavalrymen. The Second Battle of Celaya Both sides received reinforcements and prepared for another battle. Villa tried to lure his opponent out onto a plain, but Obregà ³n was far too clever to abandon his defenses. Meanwhile, Villa had convinced himself that the previous rout had been due to a lack of ammunition and bad luck. On April 13, he attacked again. Villa had not learned from his mistakes. He again sent in wave after wave of cavalry. He attempted to soften up Obregà ³ns line with artillery, but most of the shells missed Obregà ³ns soldiers and trenches and fell into nearby Celaya. Once again, Obregà ³ns machine guns and riflemen cut Villas cavalry to pieces. Villas elite cavalry sorely tested Obregà ³ns defenses, but they were driven back every time. They managed to make part of Obregà ³ns line retreat, but could not hold it. The fighting continued on the 14th, until the evening when a heavy rain made Villa pull his forces back. Villa was still deciding how to proceed on the morning of the 15th when Obregà ³n counterattacked. He had once again kept his cavalry in reserve, and he turned them loose as dawn broke. The Division of the North, low on ammunition and exhausted after two straight days of fighting, crumbled. Villas men scattered, leaving behind weapons, ammunition and supplies. The battle of Celaya was officially a huge win for Obregà ³n. Aftermath Villas losses were devastating. At the second battle of Celaya, he lost 3,000 men, 1,000 horses, 5,000 rifles and 32 cannons. In addition, some 6,000 of his men had been taken prisoner in the ensuing rout. The number of his men who were wounded is not known, but must have been considerable. Many of his men defected to the other side during and after the battle. The badly wounded Division of the North retreated to the town of Trinidad, where they would once again face Obregà ³ns army later that same month. Obregà ³n had scored a resounding victory. His reputation grew mightily, as Villa had rarely lost any battles and never one of such magnitude. He sullied his victory with an act of underhanded evil, however. Among the prisoners were several officers of Villas army, who had cast aside their uniforms and were indistinguishable from the common soldiers. Obregà ³n informed the prisoners that there would be an amnesty for officers: they should simply declare themselves and they would be set free. 120 men admitted that they were Villas officers, and Obregà ³n ordered them all sent to the firing squad. Historical Importance of the Battle of Celaya The Battle of Celaya marked the beginning of the end for Villa. It proved to Mexico that the mighty Division of the North was not invulnerable and that Pancho Villa was not a master tactician. Obregà ³n pursued Villa, winning more battles and whittling away at Villas army and support. By the end of 1915 Villa was severely weakened and had to flee to Sonora with the tattered remains of his once-proud army. Villa would remain important in the Revolution and Mexican politics until his assassination in 1923 (most likely on the orders of Obregà ³n), but never again would control entire regions like he did before Celaya. By defeating Villa, Obregà ³n accomplished two things at once: he removed a powerful, charismatic rival and increased his own prestige enormously. Obregà ³n found his path to the Presidency of Mexico much clearer. Zapata was assassinated in 1919 on orders from Carranza, who was in turn assassinated by those loyal to Obregà ³n in 1920. Obregà ³n reached the presidency in 1920 based on the fact that he was the last one still standing, and it all started with his 1915 rout of Villa at Celaya. Source: McLynn, Frank. . New York: Carroll and Graf, 2000.

How Water Is An Important For Our Lives - 1665 Words

â€Å"Thousands have lived without love, not one without water,† W.H. Auden says. It is true that water plays an important in our lives; nobody can survive without water. Importantly, water is a scarce resource which means that society has insufficient productive resources to meet all citizens’ needs. Once the scarce resource becomes more and more terrified, people will turn to limit the usage. Since California has been dried for four years continuously and reached near-crisis proportion, on April 1, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order that will restrict urban water usage by 25 percent to deal with the drought (Nagourney). The bill seems to make sense by limiting the water when it becomes scarce. This order will affect some†¦show more content†¦in Johnson). Technically, farmers use 80 percent of water while cities use 20 percent (Johnson). However, as Governor Jerry Brown claimed California to reduce water using by 25 percent, he did not indic ate agriculture (Johnson). Yet, Robert Glennon stated that â€Å"For California to solve its water crisis must also come from farmers.† Definitely, with a huge water consuming, restricting agriculture will conserve water more significant water than households’ water saving. Glennon points out that â€Å"By my calculations, even a four percent reduction in water consumption could increase by 50 percent the water available for municipal and industrial uses.† Thus, to solve drought, California should not restrict personal water use, but regulate agriculture instead. Secondly, wisely using appropriate management, water in agriculture is one of the best ways to control water instead of restricting personal water use. Agriculture consumes about 80 percent of all water usages in California, and the primary water consuming in agriculture is irrigation. This irrigation system helps lands that don’t annually receive enough rainfall to be utilized for growing plants. According to University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Communication

Effectiveness in the Business World

Question: Discuss about the Effectiveness in the Business World. Answer: Introduction Title: BA offering free flights for children in the UK Industry: Travel Leisure Concept: PESTLE Political factors The air traffic deregulation in the US at the end of the 1970s has opened the doors for increased competition in the airline industry (Araujo and Kjellberg 2015). In Europe, the common market deregulation in the year 1990 has led to the entry of various low cost carriers including Virgin Atlantic, Budget Air and others (Heyes and Lewis 2014). This situation has led to increased competition where the airline companies are competing with each other by implementing unique marketing strategies in order to attach more customers and remain sustainable in the global market. Socio Cultural factors The major airline companies including the British Airways have been unable to make any substantial profits owing to the rise in the competition in the market. Moreover, the increase in the market liberation had also led the entry of the many international companies to join the global market. Coping up with this immense completion, has led most of the companies to implement various marketing strategies for attracting more customers and gain their loyalty (Pappas and Apostolakis 2016). The implementation of effective strategies by the airline companies had been helping them to remain competitive and sustainable in the market. Despite having, great infrastructures, British Airways at present, lack an effective marketing strategy. This has been hampering the company in respective of its growth and progress. Recently, the company has been putting more attention to the way its customers the customers use the suite. The company has controlled each of the functions of the aircraft by simple and inclusive touch. This offering of the British Airways to provide free flights for children in the UK is an effective marketing strategy that would help the company in attracting more customers. This strategy would also help the company to remain sustainable in the market. Title: Amazon's International Growth Challenge Industry: Retail Internal Influences Perceptions The perception of the customers with respect to the company is an important factor that would be helping in influencing their purchasing decisions. In the era of globalization, companies are grabbing the opportunities to attract more customers. Same approach has been observed in case of Amazon (Dawson 2015). However, making such approaches is not easy and the companies have to face challenges. Motivations The motivation of the employees is also one of the important internal factor for the company that could be helping in enhancing their performance level. This motivation could be generated by introducing schemes related to the pay and reward system for the employees. Attitudes It has been found that Amazon has hit $ 1.3 billion in the recent international revenue. Amazon is the leading online company. However, the company has been facing challenges worldwide. There has been increase in competition among these online marketers. It has to be understood that more and more online stores are opening in every region. It has been found that 95% of its revenue is earned from the countries like Germany, UK, US, Canada and Mexico. Learning Companies are grabbing the opportunities to expand their business. Same approach has been observed in case of Amazon. However, making such approaches is not easy and the companies have to face challenges. External Influence Culture and Subculture There has been increase in competition among these online marketers. It has to be understood that more and more online stores are opening in every region. For instance, the success of the companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal cannot be disregarded. There has been mergers and acquisitions as well which on the other hand improved the capability of these companies. Social class Amazon has been increasing widely in terms of its geographical location. Amazon depends greatly on building the infrastructure of the company. It has been recommended that the company have to focus on a handful countries and not the globe as a whole. Therefore, setting a particular goal for the business is indeed important. In order to take the advantage of the increasing globalization. Keeping Porters five forces in mind, it can be said that the Airline has the greatest threat in two criteria. These are: Threat of substitution: There has been continuous increase in the number of Airlines and other travel agencies. The Virgin Airlines, British Midland, Lufthansa, Emirates, and Jet Airways are the major competitors. There have been huge approaches from the end of these airlines to compete with the existing airlines. Although British Airways is a well-established and loyal brand among the consumers, the threat of substitution always persists. Buyer power: Todays consumers are very informative and smart. Before making any kind of purchase, they acknowledge everything before making any kind of purchase. With the advent f internet and the increasing options, the ability of purchasing power of buyers has increased by many folds. Therefore, if buyers find any kind of dispute from the end of the seller, they have other options ready for them. Staying focused on the need of the buyer might help to improve the business condition of the airline. In the news article, it has been found that the passenger at the time of booking as not satisfied with the treatment that he received. The passenger booked for a premium service but did not get the same at the time of travelling. It was at the same time, the passenger thought of using the service of other airlines. This clearly indicates both the threat of substitution and the power of purchasing of the consumers. Consumer behavior plays a vital role and the organization has to understand this fact and mould their business strategies keeping the same factor in mind. In this respect, it has to be said that the company has to focus on their pricing as well as the customer servicing that might improve their condition in the competitive world. Title: Virgin Atlanticnamed UK's top private travel firm Industry: Travel and leisure Discussion Three major Sustianability factors Profit The measure of the progress and growth of the company has been evident from the increase in the profit margin for the company in 2015. This can be marked as the positive result of the companys strategy. Virgin Atlantic is a market leader, which creates benchmark and set standards in the industry (Davies 2016). Thus, its mission statement and strategies goes in the same direction. However, it needs to boost up its marketing strategy in order to gain more customers and loyalty in the future. It would also help the company to remain competitive in the market as well People With the rise in competition in the airline market, the airline companies compete with each other to attract more customers through the implementation of effective marketing stages. The customers are one of the most important factors upon which the growth and profitability of the airline companies depend. Despite having a great infrastructure, most of the airline companies lack effective marketing strategies. This has been hampering the company in respective of its growth and progress. In comparison, Virgin Atlantic, one of the major competitors of British Airways, has been able to gain competitive advantage by attracting more customers across the globe. The main reason is the proactive attitude of Virgin Atlantic towards the new marketing trends and advertisement effectiveness as well. Planet The production of media is classified and distributed in the lounges, airplanes and various advertisements channels of the company. It helps in promoting the sales, offers, discounts, and announcements for its customers in order to provide them with the latest information about its schemes and processes of the airline company. Thus, the proactive attitude of Virgin Atlantic towards the new marketing trends and advertisement effectiveness as well has helped the company in gaining the top spot in the UK airline industry. In the era of globalization, with the advancement in the field of telecommunications and other fields, companies are grabbing the opportunities to expand their business. Same approach has been observed in case of Amazon. However, making such approaches is not easy and the companies have to face challenges. There has been continuous advancement in the field of telecommunication, digital communication, transportation revolution and cross border mergers and acquisition. Same kind of approaches has been seen in majority of the companies that have global approach. It has been found that Amazon has hit $ 1.3 billion in the recent international revenue. Amazon is the leading online company. However, the company has been facing challenges worldwide. There has been increase in competition among these online marketers. It has to be understood that more and more online stores are opening in every region. For instance, the success of the companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal cannot be disregarded. There has been mergers and acquisitions as well which on the other hand improved the capability of these companies. It has been found that 95% of its revenue is earned from the countries like Germany, UK, US, Canada and Mexico. In order to fight this competition in the era of globalization, it is important that Amazon should undertake certain competitive policies. Amazon has been increasing widely in terms of its geographical location. Amazon depends greatly on building the infrastructure of the company. It has been recommended that the company have to focus on a handful countries and not the globe as a whole. Therefore, setting a particular goal for the business is indeed important. In order to take the advantage of the increasing globalization, setting up a proper business strategy and focusing on the same is the most vital thing to do. References Araujo, L. and Kjellberg, H., 2015. Forming cognitions by investing in a form: Frequent Flyer Programs in US air travel post-deregulation (19811991). Industrial Marketing Management, 48, pp.68-78. Bowerman, G., 2014. The Media Game: Publishing for the Modern Traveler. In The New Chinese Traveler (pp. 159-173). Palgrave Macmillan UK. British Airways Plc,. 2016. British Airways Plc. Annual Report And Accounts Year Ended 31 December 2015. Retrieved from https://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NjE0MDM4fENoaWxkSUQ9MzI4MDI0fFR5cGU9MQ==t=1. Davies, P. (2016).{{metaTags.other['og:title']}}. [online] {{metaTags.other['og:site_name']}}. Available at: https://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/62314/virgin-atlantic-named-uks-top-private-travel-firm [Accessed 4 Aug. 2016]. Grundy, M. and Moxon, R., 2013. The effectiveness of airline crisis management on brand protection: A case study of British Airways. Journal of Air Transport Management, 28, pp.55-61. Heyes, J. and Lewis, P., 2014. Employment protection under fire: Labour market deregulation and employment in the European Union. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 35(4), pp.587-607. Pappas, N. and Apostolakis, A., 2016. Financial Crisis and Tourism Activity: Evidence from the UK. In Global Dynamics in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality (pp. 190-207). IGI Global. Sutton, A. and Setchim, R., 2014. Valuing Sponsor Support. British Actuarial Journal, 19(2), p.404. Wensveen, J.G., 2016. Air transportation: A management perspective. Routledge.