At a glanceCiphertext-only break · complete
- The telegrams
- Ten telegrams of Carranza’s headquarters at Veracruz to Obregón at Estación Trinidad, Sáenz, Pablo González at Apizaco, Nuevo Laredo, Washington, New York and San Francisco, 17 May to 9 June 1915.
- Where
- CEHM-Carso, Mexico City, Fondo CDLXXX (Miscelánea de documentos sobre Venustiano Carranza), CDLXXX.1.17.1, 1.22.1, 1.23.1, 1.24.1, 1.29.1, 1.32.1, 1.33.1, 1.39.1, 1.40.1 and 1.42.1; ledger entry 1464, which listed them as open.
- The cipher
- Six telegrams in numbers 1–104 that run four times through the alphabet from start letters that vary by telegram, and four in thirteen swapped letter pairs.
- How it was deciphered
- Prabal Gupta reports that he found the keys from the ciphertext alone by count matching on Spanish letter counts. Checked here: the number telegrams decrypt to a 98.2% sequence match with his decryption file (a check that the file follows the keys) and a word-list control gives 62.8% against at most 22.5% for random start letters; the scans were not seen.
- What they say
- Orders on ammunition, money and rifles (which the contributor places in the war against Villa): the line to Apam is reinforced; ten thousand dollars and 200,000 cartridges of two calibres for Nuevo Laredo; 915 Lee rifles for tomorrow's steamer from New York; a million pesos in small bills for Pablo González.
- Still open
- The key family may already be in print (Narváez 2019 and others not checked); 1.32.1 rests on 21 letters; the name Cosío Rovelo is a guess; no comparison with the scans.
- Credit
- The keys, the transcription and the reading are Prabal Gupta’s (issue #321; repository, CC BY 4.0). The scans were not seen here and are not reproduced.
01 The telegrams
Ten telegrams of Venustiano Carranza’s headquarters at Veracruz (“Faros”) in the Miscelánea de documentos sobre Venustiano Carranza, Fondo CDLXXX, of the CEHM-Carso in Mexico City, which the contributor places in the war against Villa. The CEHM cards say “en clave numérica” or “en clave de letras” and give no content; the ledger (catalogue 1464) listed them as open. Prabal Gupta transcribed them from the scans and read them; the project could not reach the scans and worked from his files.
| Item | Date | To | Cipher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.17.1 | 17 May 1915 | Ildefonso Vásquez, Nuevo Laredo | numbers |
| 1.22.1 | 17 May 1915 | General Vicente Dávila, Nuevo Laredo | numbers |
| 1.23.1 | 17 May 1915 | General Alfredo Ricaut, Nuevo Laredo | numbers |
| 1.24.1 | 17 May 1915 | General Álvaro Obregón, Estación Trinidad | numbers |
| 1.29.1 | 17 May 1915 | Eliseo Arredondo, Washington | letter pairs |
| 1.32.1 | 18 May 1915 | R. P. Denegri, San Francisco | letter pairs (partial) |
| 1.33.1 | 18 May 1915 | Aarón Sáenz, care of General Obregón | numbers |
| 1.39.1 | 9 June 1915 | Eliseo Arredondo, Washington | letter pairs |
| 1.40.1 | 9 June 1915 | Francisco S. Elías, New York | letter pairs |
| 1.42.1 | 9 June 1915 | General Pablo González, Apizaco | numbers |
02 The keys
Number telegrams. Each number stands for one letter. The numbers 1–26, 27–52, 53–78 and 79–104 each run through the alphabet, each from its own start letter, and the start letters depend on the telegram.
| Telegrams | 1–26 starts at | 27–52 starts at | 53–78 starts at | 79–104 starts at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.17.1, 1.22.1, 1.23.1 | Y | U | A | Q |
| 1.24.1, 1.33.1 | Q | G | Q | K |
| 1.42.1 | W | G | E | M |
Letter telegrams. Thirteen pairs of letters swap. The clear word “lunes” or “miércoles” stands before the coded text; these are the true weekdays of 17 May and 9 June 1915, so the contributor takes the word to name the day’s table. That is his inference. The pairs for each table are in key.tsv; the table of 1.32.1 is partial.
The contributor reports that he found the keys from the ciphertext alone, with no key sheet and no sibling decipherment. A count-matching algorithm on Spanish next-letter counts opened the number telegrams (65% to 77% of tokens right on his largest set of 758 tokens, over six runs; 35% on the 199-token Obregón set), and the readable fragments gave the plan of the key; the letter telegrams came from a one-to-one solve on Spanish. His own tests, which the project did not repeat: a key fitted on 1.17.1 alone reads 1.22.1 and 1.23.1, and one fitted on 1.24.1 alone reads 1.33.1; a blind reader named two shuffled strings as noise and four others as Spanish.
Checked here, with own scripts: decrypting the six number telegrams again with his start letters gives 1,056 letters, and a sequence match against the letters of his decryption file gives 98.2% (this shows that the file follows the key, not that the key is right). A word-list test (about 130 common Spanish words) puts 62.8% of the letters of the number telegrams (1,001 letters, the second page of 1.22.1 left out) in listed words, against a mean of 4.2% and a best of 22.5% for 300 random sets of start letters; the word list partly overlaps the vocabulary of the reading, so this shows that the keys make Spanish, not how right each letter is. For the letter telegrams the coded tokens of 1.29.1, 1.39.1 and 1.40.1 swapped with his tables agree with his decryption file on all 244 coded letters, which shows that the file follows the tables; for example “qarnp nxnan” gives ENLAH ABANA, “en la Habana”.
03 The reading
In the contributor’s reading (reading.md, with an English translation) the telegrams are orders to generals and buying agents:
- To Obregón, 17 May. “Estoy reforzando toda la vía hasta Apam para seguirle mandando pertrechos”: the line is being reinforced as far as Apam; new ammunition will take four or five days, so the convoy at Apam is to go on.
- To Nuevo Laredo, 17 May (1.17.1, 1.22.1, 1.23.1). Ten thousand dollars go to the customs administrator for General Dávila’s forces; “hoy salen de Nueva York doscientos mil cartuchos siete mm y doscientos mil treinta treinta”; Dávila is to say what he needs and is to write to the First Headquarters on service matters.
- To Arredondo, Washington, 17 May. Place 425 dollars with the consul in Havana, Sr. Manuel Méndez; on 9 June, find out whether the American government would allow the repairs to the steamer “Progreso” to be done in New York, or he will order her brought to Veracruz.
- To Elías, New York, 9 June, very urgent. Buy also the nine hundred and fifteen Lee rifles and their ammunition, doing all possible so that they leave on the next day’s steamer.
- To Pablo González, Apizaco, 9 June. A general who left that afternoon takes him a million pesos in small bills.
- To Sáenz and to Denegri, 18 May. Sáenz’s brothers have arrived and will be looked after; General Nájera is in Veracruz and will take war supplies and funds for the Arrieta generals.
The history behind these orders, including the war against Villa, is the contributor’s and was not checked here; the telegrams do not name Villa.
04 Priority: the key family may be in print
The ledger notes that Constitutionalist keys are known in print (Ángel and Morales-Luna 2008; Narváez 2025) and that key sheets are in CEHM fondo XXI. The contributor checked Narváez’s 2025 article in Historia Mexicana 75/2 in full, including its figures, and reports that it does not print these tables and does not decipher these telegrams; it does print other Constitutionalist tables, including reciprocal letter alphabets. Narváez’s 2019 book Criptografía diplomática, política y militar en México (1813–1926), Ángel and Morales-Luna, the fondo XXI key sheets and Obregón’s Ocho mil kilómetros en campaña (1917) were not checked, so priority is open: if the tables are in one of them, this page should say “read with a key from print” and credit that author. A reader with these books should check.
05 What remains uncertain
- 1.32.1, to Denegri, is shown as typed in the decryption file, without a decryption, and is the weakest reading: it rests on 21 letters, read by the pattern of “para” and the pair key, and one sign that looks like ñ stands where t is needed.
- The general in 1.42.1: “Cosío Rovelo” is the contributor’s guess from the letters ICLNEO GENERAL CIOCIOROVEOO.
- A short run at the end of the first page of 1.22.1 is unsettled; the second page continues the sentence.
- The “weekday names the day’s table” reading of the letter telegrams is the contributor’s inference.
- The scans were not seen by the project, so the transcription (two passes agreeing on 99.2% of 1,292 tokens, with sample pages checked on the scan by the contributor, not every difference) has not been compared with them, and no human has repeated the check.
- No statistical validation is recorded for the keys.
Full texts
The transcription and the decryption of every document on this page, so that the reading can be used and checked. Short files are shown here; all are in the repository.
Ten telegrams of Venustiano Carranza's headquarters, 17 May to 9 June 1915 (CEHM-Carso Fondo CDLXXX)
Orders of Carranza's headquarters at Veracruz, which the contributor places in the war against Villa: to Obregón, the line is being reinforced as far as Apam and the convoy there is to go on; to Pablo González, a general brings a million pesos in small bills; to Nuevo Laredo, ten thousand dollars go to the customs administrator for General Dávila and 200,000 cartridges of two calibres leave New York; to Elías in New York, buy 915 Lee rifles for the next day's steamer; to Arredondo in Washington, ask whether the American government will allow repairs to the steamer Progreso in New York and place 425 dollars with the consul in Havana.
Transcription
CEHM-Carso, Fondo CDLXXX. Block order t01 to t11 is 1.17.1, 1.22.1 first page, 1.23.1, 1.24.1, 1.33.1, 1.42.1, 1.22.1 second page, 1.29.1, 1.32.1, 1.39.1, 1.40.1. Two transcription passes. A ? marks an unsure digit. [struck] marks a struck-out group. t01 head: H.Veracruz Mayo 17 de 1915. Ildefonso Vasquez. Nuevo Laredo Taps. Su mensaje cifrado del 15. Ya ordeno 51-41-22-27-37-46-33-44-53-36-45 11-46-51-62-20-03-06-47-70-06-37-14?-33-89-36-27-03-66-89-07-46-37-21 33-89-36-41-51-48-17-21-41-05-11-47-16-06-57-44-09-50-33-44-06-53-24 41-44-03-36-41-37-02-15-11-14-06-47-44-14-67-20-37-21-18-03-20-33-89 22-07-16-05-61- 47-66-57-21-36-07- las fuerzas de esa division.10-47 01-21-03-44-07-46-56-57-46-23-07-28-33-[struck] 01- 1?7-20-13-06-47-51-05 11-37-46-22-67-51-15-41-14-35-03-20-22-27-05-10-47-51-21-61-37-52-57 15-45-01-06-47-21-05-41-46-22-47-51-15-97-14-22-20-07-11-16-22-03-52 20-07-11-22-03-01-21-37-09-27-41-50-57[struck] 50-07-45-97-82-61-93-66-92 67-18-33-20-03-06-47-22-33-05-41-17-16-36-07- esas fuerzas. Saludolo afectuosamente . t02 head: Veracruz,Ver.17 de Mayo de 1915. Sr.Gral.Vicente Davila, Nuevo Laredo,Tam. Se han dirigido a esta Primera Jefatura 44-17-21[struck]09-20-33-44-37-16-41-44-06-37-08-17-16-21-67-28- 53-21-19-27-07-02-01-03-44-38-20-37-06-67-50-41005-53-23- 58?-21-47-44-41-71-97-72-53-46-56-67-38-67-46-36-17-51-37- 46-17-50-47-10-03-34-37-50-07-21-01-18-93-70-72-20-07-05- 40-47-61-48-53-20-89- sus fuerzas.Ya ordene 21-07-51-41- 22-83-57-33-44-03-06.65-61.66.41-51-52-20-89-92-17-80-06- 37-44-53-03-36-23-53-16-89-07-16-14-33-03-06-61-21-18-47- 35-41-17-46-36-93-23-71-82-07-92-36-41-93-88-15-41-44[struck]3?6- 17-44-64-33-50-71-18-89-20-53-33-22-37-16-55-11-47-66-37- 21-36-57-las fuerzas 01-40-47-77-21-53-44-37-46-36-57-46- 93-85-31-67-70-13-06-47-51 3?5-41-57-46-52-67-71-45-41-14- 35-33-50-22-27-35-40-67-71-21-41[struck]37-22-07-65-41-14-97-65- 93-82-20-67-50-31-17-51-35-11-37-46-22-67-51-65-97-14-22- 80-57-71-46-22-03-48-33-50-53-06-47-82-89-05-41-17-16-92- 07- las fuerzas de esa Division de su mando 77-44-57-21- 07-95-23-11-20-03-16-70-83-15-47-52-61-57-46-06-17- sírva se? usted decirme 55?-89?-46?-53?-61?-82?-53?-06?-19?-27?-57?-61?-45?-19? t03 head: H.Veracru?z Mayo 17 de 1915. Sr General Alfredo Ricaut. Nuevo Laredo. Su mensaje cifradomdel 15.Ya ordeno 03-44-33-21-50-11-89-06-37-40-33 35-41-57-46-36-53-51-61-72-23-37-53-56-27-33-46-03-56-08?-93-71-23-06 11-81-68-97-21-41-05-97-17-66-36-07-14-09-20-8?9-44-36-03-24-11-64-33 36-41-07-02-45-61-44-36-67-44-14-03-50-57-51-48-33-20-03-53-22-37-46 35-41-66-57-51-36-57- las fuerzas de esa division . Sirvase usted 36 57-35-41-50-33-44-39-50-89-44-36-53-28-11-64-03- que me comunique 14 03-35-53-66-52-61-36-89-92-19?-27-37-16--57-46-35-57-51-93-22-89--15- 37-46-51-27-33-44-45-07-46-52-93-48-03-50-53-10-89-04-37-50-93-71- de esas fuerzas asi como 05-33-46-22-11-36-53-56-37-46-17-20-47-23-46 41-05-53-45-07-46-52-37-48-03-20-89-48-70-17-24-41-71-61-67-46-93-21 en cua?nto a 07-19-23-61-48-47-01-36-07-45-03-21-09-33-51-72-47-21- se sirva decirme 14-47-49-73-93-46-37-55-37-21-41-22-03- a ordenar 81-37-44-07-71-61-52-73-37-46. Saludolo Afectuosamente. t04 head: Farso Veracruz Mayo 17 de 1915 Sr. Gral. Alvaro Obregon. Estacion Trinidad. Enterado de su mensaje cifrado de ayer .- 51-03-40-25-45-38-15-68-77-02-10-47-34-14-83-56-25-66-95-22-63 42-29-11-28-43-87-04-11-47-84-95-75-78-47-38-11-03-15-69-41-19 38-74-51-23-47-24-14-11-76-14-25-78-67-38-56-02-15-13-70-83- 39-49-83-75-25-40-11-02-50-63-54-95-49-41-11-04-54-83-25-49-71 76-13-83-14-71-11-87-51-24-[struck] 22-74-51-17-63-86-34-41-63-42- 11-54-99-75-51-39-63-14-67-84-95-02-37-41-15- he ordenado 39- 29-27-11-39-05-75-47-54-49-18-47-15-80-49-25-76-42-77-45-37-89 51-03-15-39-67-51-76-13-41-15-24-56-02-11-67-24-11-26-95-81- Saludole afectuosamente. t05 head: C. G. en H. Veracruz, Ver. 18 de mayo de 1915, Tte.Corl.Araon Saenz. C/o. Gral. Alvaro Obregón. Estación Trinidad, GTO. Su atento mensaje. Ya encuentrase aquí 03.41.55.15.87. 56.19.33.11.12.74.15.39.18.51.02.23.47.88?.25.39. a quienes saludé y los atenderé 15.34.40.25.14.35,13.77.33.26.32.15.56.63.81.67.76. 40.15. pues ya sabe satisfacción que esto me causa. Muy afectuosamente Salúdole. El Srio. Part. del C. Primer Jefe. t06 head: Faros, Ver. 9 de Junio d 19?2?5. Sr. Gral. Pablo González. [struck] Apizaco. Su mensaje cifrado de hoy. Clave numero 1.-29- 07-16-34- 09-19-11-51-62?-09-22-05-60-07-13-63-07-13-63-38-63-42-09-19 63-37-41-09-39-05-16-57-81?-12-63-03-51-34-60-05-40-47-66-08 53-20-93-76-05-09-67-47-61-93-62-08-63-05-41-39-40-09-08-41- 18-61-13-19-60-63-62-08-53-36-09-67-63-39-09-62-06-13-16-32- 09-40-51-39-06?-12-29-07-63-39-Saludolo afectuosamente. t07 head: -2- -2- Gral Davila 31-56-93-15-33-81-95-53-51-72-47-21- aviseme usted 14-17-49 27-37-46-07-05-37-21-11-22-53-48-53-20-89-orden 33-20-51-37- 14-57-51-97-72-23-93-16- En lo sucesivo que sea a usted quien se dirija a esta Primera Jefatura para todo asunto de servicio Saludolo muy afectuosamente. V. C t08 head: Veracruz, mayo 17-915. Señor Lic. Eliseo Arredondo, Mexican Embassy, Washington, D.C. Sírvase usted situar a nuestro cónsul lunes qarnp nxnan ulwna sqrwq acqfd snilj dtqai juyqt aitdt adjcj rnlqu. Salúdole. t09 head: Veracruz, mayo 18-915. Señor R. P. Denegri, Cónsul Mexicano Constitucionalista, San Francisco, Cal. General Nájera encuéntrase en esta y llevará cnxñ?x nplso amsew socyxy Generales Arrieta. Salúdole. t10 head: Faros, Ver. 9 de Junio de 1915. Sr. Lic. Eliceo Arredondo, WASHINTON, D. C. Mexican Embassy, Infórmese usted MIERCOLES TFAQY FPJUQ GHEJF W GUQZ GJFGEP JHFTQ para que reparaciones a Vapor "Progreso" MGAGU TPUPC BQJLE NPTTF UQTPW QUTFA NP ordenaré sea traído a esta. Salúdolo. t11 head: MUY URGENTE. H.Veracruz Junio 9 de 1915. Francisco S Elias. 3016 Equitable Bldg Broadway. New York. N.Y. MIERCOLES GZPHG TZPKQT JFIKP TCFUW MPTSP JSJPF USGWN GJPUS G QUE DIJE A USTED AYER WQHEJG JGWWU PKEGJ ONPWU HEJP USTED TAMBIEN KUTUQ XPWFP USQTO NFUWP JFIKP TKPPB PKEGJ ONP PARA LOS MISMOS HACIENDO LO POSIBLE PORQUE TGKAG UPUXG EUJZP HGUGUG Saludolo.
Decryption
Letter-for-letter decryption, in the same order as transcription.txt. It keeps the letters as typed, with the clerk's slips. The reading repairs those. See README.md and key.tsv. t01 head: H.Veracruz Mayo 17 de 1915. Ildefonso Vasquez. Nuevo Laredo Taps. Su mensaje cifrado del 15. Ya ordeno s-i-t-u-e-n-a-l-a-d-m i-n-s-j-r-a-d-o-r-d-e-l-a-a-d-u-a-n-a-e-n-e-s a-a-d-i-s-p-o-s-i-c-i-o-n-d-e-l-g-r-a-l-d-a-v i-l-a-d-i-e-z-m-i-l-d-o-l-l-o-r-e-s-p-a-r-a-a t-e-n-c-i- o-n-e-s-d-e- las fuerzas de esa division.h-o y-s-a-l-e-n-d-e-n-u-e-v-a- y- o-r-k-d-o-s-c i-e-n-t-o-s-m-i-l-c-a-r-t-u-c-h-o-s-s-i-e-t-e m-m-y-d-o-s-c-i-n-t-o-s-m-i-l-t-r-e-i-n-t-a-t r-e-i-t-a-y-s-e-g-u-i-r-e r-e-m-i-t-i-e-n-d o-p-a-r-a-d-o-t-a-c-i-o-n-d-e- esas fuerzas. Saludolo afectuosamente . t02 head: Veracruz,Ver.17 de Mayo de 1915. Sr.Gral.Vicente Davila, Nuevo Laredo,Tam. Se han dirigido a esta Primera Jefatura l-o-s g-r-a-l-e-n-i-l-d-e-f-o-n-s-o-v- a-s-q-u-e-z-y-a-l-f-r-e-d-o-r-ic-a-u- f-s-o-l-i-s-i-t-a-n-d-o-f-o-n-d-o-s-e- n-o-r-o-h-a-b-e-r-e-s-y-p-e-r-t-r-e-c- h-o-i-p-a-r-a- sus fuerzas.Ya ordene s-e-s-i- t-u-e-a-l-a-d.m-i.n.i-s-t-r-a-d-o-r-d- e-l-a-a-d-u-a-n-a-e-n-l-a-a-d-i-s-p-o- c-i-o-n-d-e-u-s-t-e-d-d-i-e-z-m-i-l d- o-l-l-a-r-s-p-a-r-a-a-t-e-n-c-i-o-n-e- s-d-e-las fuerzas y-h-o-y-s-a-l-e-n-d-e-n- e-w-y-o-r-k-d-o-s c-i-e-n-t-o-s-m-i-l- c-a-r-t-u-c-h-o-s-s-i e-t-e-m-i-l-i-m- e-t-r-o-r-y-o-s-c-i-e-n-t-o-s-m-i-l-t- r-e-s-n-t-a-p-a-r-a-d-o-t-a-c-i-o-n-d- e- las fuerzas de esa Division de su mando y-l-e-s- e-g-u-i-r-a-n-r-u-m-o-t-i-e-n-d-o- sírva se usted decirme c-a-n-a-i-t-a-d-q-u-e-i-m-q t03 head: H.Veracru?z Mayo 17 de 1915. Sr General Alfredo Ricaut. Nuevo Laredo. Su mensaje cifradomdel 15.Ya ordeno a-l-a-s-r-i-a-d-e-h-a c-i-e-n-d-a-s-i-t-u-e-a-d-u-a-n-a-d-f-e-s-u-d i-s-p-i-s-i-c-i-o-n-d-e-l-g-r-a-l-d-a-v-i-l-a d-i-e-z-m-i-l-d-o-l-l-a-r-e-s-p-a-r-a-a-t-e-n c-i-n-e-s-d-e- las fuerzas de esa division . Sirvase usted d e-c-i-r-a-l-g-r-a-l-d-a-v-i-l-a- que me comunique l a-c-a-n-t-i-d-a-d-q-u-e-n--e-n-c-e-s-e-t-a--m- e-n-s-u-a-l-m-e-n-t-e-p-a-r-a-h-a-b-e-r-e-s- de esas fuerzas asi como c-a-n-t-i-d-a-d-e-n-o-r-o-u-n i-c-a-m-e-n-t-e-p-a-r-a-p-r-o-v-i-s-i-o-n-e-s en cuanto a e-q-u-i-p-o-y-d-e-m-a-s-g-a-s-t-o-s- se sirva decirme l-o-q-u-e-n-e-c-e-s-i-t-a- a ordenar s-e-l-e-s-i-t-u-e-n. Saludolo Afectuosamente. t04 head: Farso Veracruz Mayo 17 de 1915 Sr. Gral. Alvaro Obregon. Estacion Trinidad. Enterado de su mensaje cifrado de ayer .- e-s-t-o-y-r-e-f-o-r-z-a-n-d-o-t-o-d-a-l-a v-i-a-h-w-s-t-a-a-p-a-m-p-a-r-a-s-e-g-u-i r-l-e-m-a-n-d-a-n-d-o-p-e-r-t-r-e-c-h-o- s-c-o-m-o-t-a-r-d-a-r-a-c-u-a-t-r-o-o-c-i n-c-o-d-i-a-s-e-n- l-l-e-g-a-r-n-u-a-v- a-r-e-m-e-s-a-d-e-p-a-r-q-u-e- he ordenado s- i-g-a-s-u-m-a-r-c-h-a-e-l-c-o-n-v-o-y-q-u e-s-e-s-e-e-n-c-u-e-n-t-r-a-e-n-a-p-a-m- Saludole afectuosamente. t05 head: C. G. en H. Veracruz, Ver. 18 de mayo de 1915, Tte.Corl.Araon Saenz. C/o. Gral. Alvaro Obregón. Estación Trinidad, GTO. Su atento mensaje. Ya encuentrase aquí s.u.s.e.s. t.i.m.a.b.l.e.s.h.e.r.m.a.t.o.s. a quienes saludé y los atenderé e.n.t.o.d.o,c.o.m.p.l.e.t.a.m.e.n. t.e. pues ya sabe satisfacción que esto me causa. Muy afectuosamente Salúdole. El Srio. Part. del C. Primer Jefe. t06 head: Faros, Ver. 9 de Junio d 19?2?5. Sr. Gral. Pablo González. [struck] Apizaco. Su mensaje cifrado de hoy. Clave numero 1.-i- c-l-n- e-o-g-e-n-e-r-a-l-c-i-o-c-i-o-r-o-v-e-o o-q-u-e-s-a-l-i-o-h-o-y-e-n-l-a-t-a-r-d e-p-a-b-a-e-s-a-m-a-n-d-o-a-u-s-t-e-d-u- n-m-i-o-l-o-n-d-e-p-e-s-o-s-e-n-b-i-l-l- e-t-e-s-b-h-i-c-o-s-Saludolo afectuosamente. t07 head: -2- -2- Gral Davila y-d-e-m-a-s-g-a-s-t-o-s- aviseme usted l-o-q u-e-n-e-c-e-s-i-t-a-p-a-r-a-orden a-r-s-e- l-e-s-i-t-u-e-n- En lo sucesivo que sea a usted quien se dirija a esta Primera Jefatura para todo asunto de servicio Saludolo muy afectuosamente. V. C t08 head: Veracruz, mayo 17-915. Señor Lic. Eliseo Arredondo, Mexican Embassy, Washington, D.C. Sírvase usted situar a nuestro cónsul lunes ENLAH ABANA SRMAN UELME NDEZC UATRO CIENT OSVEI NTICI NCODO LARES. Salúdole. t09 head: Veracruz, mayo 18-915. Señor R. P. Denegri, Cónsul Mexicano Constitucionalista, San Francisco, Cal. General Nájera encuéntrase en esta y llevará cnxñx nplso amsew socyxy Generales Arrieta. Salúdole. t10 head: Faros, Ver. 9 de Junio de 1915. Sr. Lic. Eliceo Arredondo, WASHINTON, D. C. Mexican Embassy, Infórmese usted MIERCOLES SIGOB IERNO AMPRI C ANOD ARIAPE RMISO para que reparaciones a Vapor "Progreso" HAGAN SENEW YORKP UESSI NOSEC ONSIG UE ordenaré sea traído a esta. Salúdolo. t11 head: MUY URGENTE. H.Veracruz Junio 9 de 1915. Francisco S Elias. 3016 Equitable Bldg Broadway. New York. N.Y. MIERCOLES ADEMA SDELOS RIFLE SWINC HESTE RTREI NTACU ARENT A QUE DIJE A USTED AYER COMPRA RACCN ELPAR QUECN MPRE USTED TAMBIEN LNSNO VECIE NTOSQ UINCE RIFLE SLEEY ELPAR QUE PARA LOS MISMOS HACIENDO LO POSIBLE PORQUE SALGA NENVA PNRDE MANANA Saludolo.
Reading
# Reading of the Carranza telegrams, May and June 1915 CEHM-Carso, Fondo CDLXXX, items CDLXXX.1.17.1, 1.22.1, 1.23.1, 1.24.1, 1.29.1, 1.32.1, 1.33.1, 1.39.1, 1.40.1, 1.42.1. Coded text is in capitals. Clear text is in lower case. Accents, punctuation and word division are mine. Square brackets mark a repair or a doubt. ## 1.24.1, to General Álvaro Obregón, Estación Trinidad. Faros, Veracruz, 17 May 1915 > Enterado de su mensaje cifrado de ayer. ESTOY REFORZANDO TODA LA VÍA H[A]STA APAM PARA SEGUIRLE MANDANDO PERTRECHOS. COMO TARDARÁ CUATRO O CINCO DÍAS EN LLEGAR NU[E]VA REMESA DE PARQUE he ordenado SIGA SU MARCHA EL CONVOY QUE SE ENCUENTRA EN APAM. Salúdole afectuosamente. ## 1.33.1, to Lt. Col. Aarón Sáenz, care of General Obregón. Veracruz, 18 May 1915 > Su atento mensaje. Ya encuéntranse aquí SUS ESTIMABLES HERMA[N]OS, a quienes saludé y los atenderé EN TODO COMPLETAMENTE, pues ya sabe satisfacción que esto me causa. Signed by the First Chief's private secretary. ## 1.42.1, to General Pablo González, Apizaco. Faros, 9 June 1915 > Su mensaje cifrado de hoy. Clave número 1.- Y CON EL GENERAL [COSÍO ROVELO?], QUE SALIÓ HOY EN LA TARDE PA[R]A ESA, MANDO A USTED UN MI[LL]ÓN DE PESOS EN BILLETES [C]HICOS. Salúdolo afectuosamente. The opening letters give "ICLNEO GENERAL CIOCIOROVEOO". "Y con el" needs two letters swapped. "Cosío Rovelo" is my reading of the name, and it is a guess. ## 1.17.1, to Ildefonso Vásquez, Nuevo Laredo. Veracruz, 17 May 1915 > Su mensaje cifrado del 15. Ya ordeno SITÚEN AL ADMIN[I]STRADOR DE LA ADUANA EN ESA A DISPOSICIÓN DEL GRAL. DÁVILA DIEZ MIL DÓLLARES PARA ATENCIONES DE las fuerzas de esa división. HOY SALEN DE NUEVA YORK DOSCIENTOS MIL CARTUCHOS SIETE MM Y DOSCI[E]NTOS MIL TREINTA TREI[N]TA Y SEGUIRÉ REMITIENDO PARA DOTACIÓN DE esas fuerzas. Salúdolo afectuosamente. ## 1.22.1, to General Vicente Dávila, Nuevo Laredo. Veracruz, 17 May 1915 > Se han dirigido a esta Primera Jefatura LOS GRALES. ILDEFONSO VÁSQUEZ Y ALFREDO RICAUT SOLICITANDO FONDOS EN ORO, HABERES Y PERTRECHOS PARA sus fuerzas. Ya ordené SE SITÚE AL ADMINISTRADOR DE LA ADUANA EN LA[REDO?] A DISPOSICIÓN DE USTED DIEZ MIL DÓLLARES PARA ATENCIONES DE las fuerzas Y HOY SALEN DE NEW YORK DOSCIENTOS MIL CARTUCHOS SIETE MILÍMETROS Y [D]OSCIENTOS MIL TREINTA PARA DOTACIÓN DE las fuerzas de esa División de su mando Y LE SEGUIRÁN R[E]MITIENDO. Sírvase usted decirme CAN[T]IDAD QUE [...] Y DEMÁS GASTOS, avíseme usted LO QUE NECESITA PARA ordenARSE LE SITÚEN. En lo sucesivo que sea a usted quien se dirija a esta Primera Jefatura para todo asunto de servicio. Salúdolo muy afectuosamente. V. C. One short run on the first page is unsettled, and the page ends there. The second page continues the sentence. ## 1.23.1, to General Alfredo Ricaut, Nuevo Laredo. Veracruz, 17 May 1915 > Su mensaje cifrado del 15. Ya ordeno A LA SRÍA. DE HACIENDA SITÚE [A] ADUANA D[E] [E]SA [A] DISPOSICIÓN DEL GRAL. DÁVILA DIEZ MIL DÓLLARES PARA ATENCIONES DE las fuerzas de esa división. Sírvase usted DECIR AL GRAL. DÁVILA que me comunique LA CANTIDAD QUE NECESITA MENSUALMENTE PARA HABERES de esas fuerzas así como CANTIDAD EN ORO ÚNICAMENTE PARA PROVISIONES. En cuanto a EQUIPO Y DEMÁS GASTOS se sirva decirme LO QUE NECESITA a ordenar SE LE SITÚEN. Salúdolo afectuosamente. ## 1.29.1, to Lic. Eliseo Arredondo, Mexican Embassy, Washington. Veracruz, 17 May 1915 > Sírvase usted situar a nuestro cónsul lunes EN LA HABANA, SR. MANUEL MÉNDEZ, CUATROCIENTOS VEINTICINCO DÓLARES. Salúdole. ## 1.32.1, to R. P. Denegri, Constitutionalist consul, San Francisco. Veracruz, 18 May 1915 > General Nájera encuéntrase en ésta y llevará PERTRECHOS Y FONDOS PARA Generales Arrieta. Salúdole. This one is read from its own 21 letters, by the pattern of "para" and the pair key. It is the weakest reading of the set. One sign, which looks like ñ, stands where t is needed. ## 1.39.1, to Lic. Eliseo Arredondo, Washington. Faros, 9 June 1915 > Infórmese usted miércoles SI GOBIERNO AM[E]RICANO DARÍA PERMISO para que reparaciones a vapor "Progreso" HÁGANSE EN NEW YORK, PUES SI NO SE CONSIGUE ordenaré sea traído a ésta. Salúdolo. ## 1.40.1, to Francisco S. Elías, 3016 Equitable Bldg, Broadway, New York. Heroica Veracruz, 9 June 1915. "Muy urgente" > Miércoles ADEMÁS DE LOS RIFLES WINCHESTER TREINTA CUARENTA que dije a usted ayer COMPRARA C[O]N EL PARQUE, QUE C[O]MPRE usted también L[O]S NOVECIENTOS QUINCE RIFLES LEE Y EL PARQUE para los mismos, haciendo lo posible porque SALGAN EN VAP[O]R DE MAÑANA. Salúdolo.
Translation
# Translation of the Carranza telegrams, May and June 1915 Square brackets mark my additions. A question mark marks an unsure reading. **To General Obregón, Estación Trinidad, 17 May 1915.** Noted your cipher message of yesterday. I am reinforcing the whole line as far as Apam so as to go on sending you war supplies. As a new shipment of ammunition will take four or five days to arrive, I have ordered the convoy now at Apam to continue on its way. **To Lt. Col. Aarón Sáenz, 18 May 1915.** Your kind message. Your esteemed brothers are already here. I greeted them and will look after them in everything, for you know the satisfaction this gives me. **To General Pablo González, Apizaco, 9 June 1915.** Your cipher message of today. Key number 1. And with General [Cosío Rovelo?], who left this afternoon for your place, I am sending you a million pesos in small bills. **To Ildefonso Vásquez, Nuevo Laredo, 17 May 1915.** Your cipher message of the 15th. I have already ordered ten thousand dollars placed with the customs administrator there, at the disposal of General Dávila, for the needs of the forces of that division. Two hundred thousand 7 mm cartridges and two hundred thousand .30-30 leave New York today, and I shall go on sending more to supply those forces. **To General Vicente Dávila, Nuevo Laredo, 17 May 1915.** Generals Ildefonso Vásquez and Alfredo Ricaut have written to this First Headquarters asking for funds in gold, pay and war supplies for their forces. I have already ordered ten thousand dollars placed with the customs administrator at your disposal, for the needs of the forces. Today 200,000 7 mm cartridges and 200,000 thirty[-thirty] leave New York to supply the forces of the division under your command, and more will follow. Please tell me the amount [...] and other expenses, let me know what you need, so that it can be ordered placed for you. From now on it is to be you who addresses this First Headquarters on all service matters. **To General Alfredo Ricaut, Nuevo Laredo, 17 May 1915.** Your cipher message of the 15th. I have already ordered the Finance Ministry to place ten thousand dollars at the customs house, at the disposal of General Dávila, for the needs of the forces of that division. Please tell General Dávila to report to me the amount he needs monthly for the pay of those forces, and the amount in gold only for provisions. As for equipment and other expenses, let him tell me what he needs, so that I can order it placed for him. **To Eliseo Arredondo, Washington, 17 May 1915.** Please place four hundred and twenty-five dollars with our consul in Havana, Sr. Manuel Méndez. **To R. P. Denegri, San Francisco, 18 May 1915.** General Nájera is here and will take war supplies and funds for the Arrieta generals. **To Eliseo Arredondo, Washington, 9 June 1915.** Find out whether the American government would give permission for the repairs to the steamer "Progreso" to be done in New York, for if it is not obtained I shall order her brought here. **To Francisco S. Elías, New York, 9 June 1915, very urgent.** Besides the .30-40 Winchester rifles that I told you yesterday to buy with their ammunition, buy also the nine hundred and fifteen Lee rifles and the ammunition for them, doing all you can so that they leave on tomorrow's steamer.
Key: key.tsv
06 Sources
- CEHM-Carso (Centro de Estudios de Historia de México, Fundación Carlos Slim), Fondo CDLXXX, Miscelánea de documentos sobre Venustiano Carranza, items 1.17.1, 1.22.1, 1.23.1, 1.24.1, 1.29.1, 1.32.1, 1.33.1, 1.39.1, 1.40.1 and 1.42.1 (for example the card of 1.24.1); the scans are not reproduced here.
- Prabal Gupta, issue #321, and his repository prabal-rje/branicki-1757 (folder
carranza-1915, commit af80f5e, CC BY 4.0): the transcription, the keys, the reading and his notes, and, in a later comment on the issue, his check of Narváez’s 2025 article (his repository notes predate it).
The documentation, the keys, the transcription, the reading and the check are in targets/carranza1915.
Cite this page
Prabal Gupta and Daniel Bourdeau, “Carranza’s coded telegrams from Veracruz, May and June 1915”, Cyphersolver, posted 8 November 2026, https://cyphersolver.com/carranza1915.html.