king general at the capital when the rebellion broke out, and was
summoned to his post of duty by President Madero from the very first.
He accompanied Madero in his celebrated ride from Chapultepec Castle to
the National Palace on the morning of the first day of the famous "Ten
Days," and was put in supreme command of the forces of the Government
after the first hurried council of war. President Madero, totally
lacking in military professional knowledge as he was, confided the
entire conduct of the necessary war measures to General Huerta; but it
soon became apparent that the old General either could not or would not
direct any energetic offensive movement against the rebels. From the
very first the Government committed the fatal blunder of letting the
rebels slowly proceed to the Citadel--a fortified military arsenal--the
retention of which was of paramount importance, without even attempting
to intercept their roundabout march or to frustrate their belated entry
into the poorly guarded Citadel. Later, when it became clear that the
rebels could not be dislodged from this stronghold by street rushes, no
attempt was made to shell them out of their strong position by a
high-angle bombardment of plunging explosive shells.

After it was all over General Huerta explained the ill-success of his
military measures during the ten days' street-fighting by saying that
President Madero was a madman who had spoiled all Huerta's military
plans and measures by utterly impracticable counter-orders. At the
time, though, it was given out officially that Huerta had been placed
in absolute, unrestricted command. When the American Ambassador, toward
the close of the long bombardment, appealed to President Madero to
remove some Federal batteries, the fire from which threatened the
foreign quarter of Mexico City, President Madero replied that he had
nothing to do with the military dispositions, and referred the
Ambassador to General Huerta, who promptly acceded to the request. On
another occasion, later in the bombardment, when Madero insisted that
the Federal artillery should use explosive shells against the Citadel,
General Huerta did not hesitate to take it upon himself to countermand
the President's suggestions to Colonel Navarrete, the Federal chief of
artillery. Afterward General Navarrete admitted in a speech at a
military banquet that his Federal artillery "could have reduced the
Citadel in short order had this really been desired."