Mexican expedition

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Soldiers of the US "punitive expedition" on the march; Photo from 1916

The Pancho Villa Expedition (ger .: Mexican Expedition ), also called " punitive " (Engl .: Punitive Expedition ) or Pancho Villa Expedition (ger .: Pancho Villa Expedition called) was between 14 March 1916 and 7 February 1917 military operation of the US Army in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua .

Battles and skirmishes of the
Mexican Expedition
1916–1917

Background and course

The invasion of the US armed forces commanded by General John J. Pershing (1860-1948) into this part of Mexico took place as a reaction by the United States to the attack on the small garrison town of Columbus in by units of the Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa (1878-1923) New Mexico state on March 9, 1916.

The US troops involved in the " punitive expedition " had the task of arresting or "neutralizing" Pancho Villa and those of his men who had participated in the attack on Columbus. By June 1916, the US units succeeded in several skirmishes and skirmishes in decimating the Villistas who were involved in the attack on Columbus and then operating in small units . however, they failed to capture or kill Villa. The presence of American soldiers on Mexican territory not only made Villa's popularity rise again, but also caused an ongoing conflict with the Mexican government under Venustiano Carranza (1859-1920), who repeatedly called on the US government to withdraw its armed forces.

Armed clashes between Mexican and American armies in Parral (April 12) and Carrizal (June 21) with dead and wounded on both sides finally brought the two states to the brink of war. Although the US then significantly reduced troop movements and withdrew the particularly exposed military units, the US armed forces continued to be present in Mexico. It was not until the United States' imminent intervention in the First World War that prompted the US government to withdraw its troops from Mexico in February 1917. When the United States began to enter the war on the part of the Allies, the Imperial German government tried to exploit the anti-American sentiment in Mexico and persuade Mexico to go to war against the United States, which, however, after deciphering the so-called Zimmermann telegram, marked the United States' entry into the war States still accelerated.

Involved units of the US Army

The units and units of the US Army initially assigned to pursue the Villistas were combined into a so-called Provisional Division , which was called Punitive Expedition, US Army and was structured as follows:

The size of the above-mentioned units was initially around 4,800 men, but increased in the following time to around 10,000 men, as the 5th Cavalry Regiment , the 17th Infantry Regiment , the 24th Infantry Regiment , engineering troops and parts of other units marched to Mexico were.

literature

Scientific works

Fiction

  • David Morrell : massacre. German translation by Jürgen Bürger. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-453-00758-1 (Original US title: Last Reveille ; 1977)

Web links

Commons : Mexican Expedition  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

References and comments

  1. ↑ Information from Hurst (2008), Appendix " Organization of the Punitive Expedition ", p. 161.