General Luis Alamillo Flores’ memoirs detail his experiences in the Mexican Revolution between 1915 and 1946. Fearing reprisals for his father’s anti-Huerta attitude, Alamillo and his family escaped to Puebla where, the following year, he joined the Constitutionalists. He enlisted in part because he espoused the social and political goals enunciated in the Plan de Guadalupe and its amendments, and also because he resented the depredations committed in the Puebla area by ex-federal General Higinio Aguilar. Like many other middle-class recruits, Alamillo was enlisted as a sergeant because he could write, and spent the remainder of the decade trying to convince his fellow poblanos to lay down their lives for Venustiano Carranza.
Fired with the prospects of a military career, Alamillo entered the Colegio Militar where he encountered considerable difficulties with several former federales who had retained their posts at the college despite the 1914 decree prohibiting the employment of Porfirian officers. After advanced schooling in France during the 1930s, Alamillo was recalled to preside over the newly founded Mexican War College, which trained selected officers for staff positions. Much of his zeal for professionalism stemmed from his close personal relationship with Joaquín Amaro, the Minister of War under President Plutarco Elias Calles. The most significant contribution of the book lies in the detailed descriptions of the intense training the officer corps underwent during these two decades.
Despite this wealth of information and the interesting tidbits that can be gleaned from Alamillo’s descriptions of his diplomatic missions in Central America and France, the book has weaknesses. The lack of dates can confuse the unwary reader. More importantly, Alamillo wears prorevolutionary blinders which mar his account. For example, in the 1920s, he met Enrique Bordes Mangel, one of the original anti-reelectionists, and never questioned his assessment of the Madero revolution. Because of these sentiments, Alamillo neglects some important aspects of professionalization. He fails to discuss the widespread corruption which effectively removed many generals from politics, and he omits the political maneuverings which served to oust many important divisional generals, such as his friend Amaro. Alamillo mentions his hesitation to publish his memoirs because much of the material might interest only his family. Unfortunately for the general reader, this is often the case.