Pancho Villa Expedition, Villa and Pershing Satire, 1916

Entitled: The Pershing punitive expedition: well named. Pancho Villa, dressed in Mexican attire (labeled Villa, dead or alive) looking at John Pershing tied to a cactus, with volcano in background. The Pancho Villa Expedition was a military operation conducted by the US Army against the forces of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa from March 1916 - February 1917, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villa's attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, and was the most remembered event of the Border War. Black Jack Pershing assembled an expeditionary force consisting primarily of cavalry and horse artillery, the cavalry units armed with M1909 machine guns, M1903 Springfield rifles, and M1911 semi-automatic pistols. The objective of the expedition was the capture of Villa. Despite successfully locating and defeating the main body of Villa's command, responsible for the raid on Columbus, US forces were unable to achieve Wilson's stated main objective of preventing Villa's escape. The active search for Villa ended after a month in the field when troops sent by Venustiano Carranza, the head of the Constitutionalist faction of the revolution resisted the US incursion. When war was averted diplomatically, the expedition remained in Mexico until February 1917 to encourage Carranza's government to pursue Villa and prevent further raids across the border. William Allen Rogers, New York Herald, November 26, 1916

Picture No

12698638

Media ID

48540520

Size

3147px x 4500px (1.9MB)

Credit

LOC/Science Source/Mary Evans