While initially an enthusiastic opponent of Porfirio Díaz's dictatorship of Mexico, Pascual Orozco began coming into conflict with Francisco Madero and other revolutionary leaders as early as Battle of Ciudad Juárez.

[1] Furthermore, over the course of 1911 Orozco began courting the support of the powerful Chihuahuan Terrazas family who were sworn enemies of Pancho Villa.

[4] At that point, Orozco's co-conspirator, Emilio Campa, loaded a locomotive with dynamite and sent it at the federal troops which were moving by rail.

[4] The soldiers who had been on the train began moving north when they were ambushed by about 1000 Orozquistas troops firing upon them from the surrounding hills.

A cavalry squadron under General Aureliano Blanquet attempted to encircle the rebels but had to retreat when more of them arrived.

[4] The battle was a victory for Orozco, although in purely military terms it was only a minor setback for the federal forces, most of which remained intact and combat ready.

However, Orozco effectively used the news of the engagement for propaganda purposes, which with the spectacular tactic of the dynamite filled locomotive and González's suicide contributed to the general perception of a military disaster for Madero's supporters.

In the ensuing battle Orozco eventually took the town, but Villa's stubborn resistance bought enough time for General Victoriano Huerta to arrive in Chihuahua with a new federal army.