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N0KFQ > TODAY 21.06.16 16:23l 60 Lines 2923 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 97313_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jun 21
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 160621/1404Z 97313@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1916
Pershing attacked by Mexican troops
The controversial U.S. military expedition against Mexican
revolutionary Pancho Villa brings the United States and Mexico
closer to war when Mexican government troops attack U.S.
Brigadier General John J. Pershing's force at Carrizal, Mexico.
The Americans suffered 22 casualties, and more than 30 Mexicans
were killed. Against the protests of Venustiano Carranza's
government, Pershing had been penetrating deep into Mexico in
pursuit of Pancho Villa. After routing the small Mexican force at
Carrizal, the U.S. expedition continued on its southern course.
In 1914, following the resignation of Mexican leader Victoriano
Huerta, Pancho Villa and his former revolutionary ally Venustiano
Carranza battled each other in a struggle for succession. By the
end of 1915, Villa had been driven north into the mountains, and
the U.S. government recognized General Carranza as the president
of Mexico.
In January 1916, to protest President Woodrow Wilson's support
for Carranza, Villa executed 16 U.S. citizens at Santa Isabel in
northern Mexico. Then, on March 9, he ordered a raid on the
border town of Columbus, New Mexico, in which 17 Americans were
killed and the center of town was burned. Cavalry from the nearby
Camp Furlong U.S. Army outpost pursued the Mexicans, killing
several dozen rebels on U.S. soil and in Mexico before turning
back. On March 15, under orders from President Wilson, U.S.
Brigadier General John J. Pershing launched a punitive expedition
into Mexico to capture or kill Villa and disperse his rebels. The
expedition eventually involved some 10,000 U.S. troops and
personnel. It was the first U.S. military operation to employ
mechanized vehicles, including automobiles and airplanes.
For 11 months, Pershing failed to capture the elusive
revolutionary, who was aided by his intimate knowledge of the
terrain of northern Mexico and his popular support from the
people there. Meanwhile, resentment over the U.S. intrusion into
Mexican territory led to a diplomatic crisis with the government
in Mexico City. On June 21, the crisis escalated into violence
when Mexican government troops attacked a detachment of the 10th
Cavalry at Carrizal. If not for the critical situation in Europe,
war might have been declared. In January 1917, having failed in
their mission to capture Villa, and under continued pressure from
the Mexican government, the Americans were ordered home.
Pancho Villa continued his guerrilla activities in northern
Mexico until Adolfo de la Huerta took over the government and
drafted a reformist constitution. Villa entered into an amicable
agreement with Huerta and agreed to retire from politics. In
1920, the government pardoned Villa, but three years later he was
assassinated at his ranch in Parral.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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