March 3 in Military History — On This Day

⚔️📍 Mier, Mexico1843

Mier Expedition — Texas Rangers Captured in Mexico

A force of Texas volunteers crossed into Mexico and were surrounded and captured at Mier after a failed escape attempt. Mexican President Santa Anna ordered every tenth man executed — soldiers drew beans to determine who would die, 17 drawing black beans and facing a firing squad.

The Black Bean Episode became one of the most infamous events in Texas history and inflamed Texas-Mexico tensions, contributing to the mood that led to the Mexican-American War.

Outcome

Texans captured; 17 executed by lottery; survivors march to Mexico City

Strikes on Gulf States and US Bases

Iran deliberately widened the war to the states hosting American forces. On March 3 it struck Doha, hit the US embassy in Riyadh, attacked cloud infrastructure across the Gulf, and set fire to the UAE's Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. Strikes reached Manama, Kuwait International Airport, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and Erbil International Airport and the US Consulate General in Erbil. The US Fifth Fleet's home in Bahrain was among the targets. Tehran threatened to hit every economic hub in the Middle East if the strikes on Iran continued. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait subsequently launched strikes of their own against Iranian targets — Gulf Arab states entering open war with Iran for the first time.

Shattered the Gulf states' long-held position of hosting American power while staying out of American wars. Twenty US personnel were killed across the war and 624 wounded, the heaviest American losses in the region in more than a decade.

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