[Webstral]

That'll teach me for trying to have a discourse without checking my reference materials first.

Okay, so now I have my materials in front of me and can make better sense of things.

In California, we don’t have much to work with aside from a few mileposts. We know that 40th ID was reformed in Oregon in early 1998 and arrived at Camp Roberts, CA in May that same year. We know the division subsequently was committed to action against the Mexican Army and various armed bands. We know that in late 1999 the division nominally controls a huge swath of territory with corners at Bakersfield, Lompoc (next to Vandenberg AFB), Monterey (only 1 r), and Tulare. We know that in July 2000 the division left Milgov service on sufficiently favorable terms for 900 personnel to relocate to Sacramento.

We know 46th ID moved by road from Ft. Carson, CO to central California in the last quarter of 1998 after being rebuilt at Carson. In late 1999 the division occupied defensive positions in the southeastern portion of the Central Valley. In July 2000, the division relocated north to Sacramento.

We know 49th MP Brigade fought Mexican forces in 1998 and was forced back to Camp Roberts by the end of the year. We know that at the end of 2000, the brigade moved to Stockton—a useful position if barge traffic is still functioning.

We know that at some point in 2000 the 221st MP Brigade was disbanded and used to reinforce other Milgov units in Sixth US Army.

We don’t know much else. The Mexican Army article in Challenge doesn’t give specific locations for the units of the former Second Mexican Army. We know from City of Angels that some Mexican troops are located in and around Los Angeles. I honestly can’t imagine what they are doing there.

It seems most likely to me that most surviving Mexican units in California will be located in and around the Imperial Valley. This is where the food is, provided the water has been kept flowing. I have long suspected that the Constitucionales (EMC) would have pushed their control east to Yuma and ejected any Nationalists who remained there after the split. The real prize would be the Imperial Diversion Dam, if it is intact in July 2000. If so, then I suspect the Army of California is focused on the Imperial Valley for its food, the nearby Desert Cities for any surviving industry, and the Imperial Dam-Yuma area for control of the water for the Imperial Valley. Taken together, the units of the Army of California dispose 3,500 troops and 16 AFV in July 2000. It seems unlikely to me that with a civil war ramping up in Mexico they would have any interest in Los Angeles, to say nothing of tangling with the Americans in the Central Valley or along the coast. I think that by 2001 the Second Mexican-American War has gone into remission in California.

There has been some work done to fill in some of the gaps in California from June 1998 through July 2000. I’ve done some of it, and some others have completed some very good work.

Texas is another issue deserving attention on another day.