Posted on 09/26/2001 7:33:47 AM PDT by buaya
Doroteo Arango, alias Francisco “Pancho” Villa, was born in 1877 (1879 according to some sources) in San Juan del Rio, State of Durango, Mexico. During his lifetime, he was a ruthless killer (killing his first man at age sixteen), a notorious bandit (including cattle rustling and bank robbery), a revolutionary (a general commanding a division in the resistance against the 1913-14 Victoriano Huerta dictatorship), and despite his bloodthirsty nature, an enduring hero to the poor people of Mexico. In their minds, Villa was afraid of no one, not the Mexican government or the gringos from the United States. He was their one true friend and avenger for decades of Yankee oppression.
In late 1915 Pancho Villa had counted on American support to obtain the presidency of Mexico. Instead the U.S. Government recognized the new government of Venustiano Carranza. An irate Villa swore revenge against the United States.and began by murdering Americans in hopes of provoking President Woodrow Wilson’s intervention into Mexico. Villa believed that American interevention would discredit the Carranza government with the people of Mexico and reaffirm his own popularity.
Villa and his “pistoleros” launched raids along the U.S.- Mexico boundary to frighten the Americans living in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona border towns. Concerned for the safety of Americans, President Wilson ordered the War Department to begin deploying troops to Texas and New Mexico. In April, 1915, Brigadier General John J. Pershing and his 8th Infantry Brigade were sent to Fort Bliss, Texas with the mission of guarding the U.S.- Mexico border from Arizona to a bleak outpost in the Sierra Blanca mountains ninety miles southeast of El Paso.
While the presence of American troops served to deter Villa on the north of the Rio Grande, the murder of U.S. citizens in Mexico continued. One of the most heinous atrocities occurred January 11, 1916, when Villa’s bandits stopped a train at Santa Ysabel. The bandits removed a group of 17 Texas business men (mining engineers) invited by the Mexican government to reopen the Cusihuiriachic mines below Chihuahua City and executed them in cold blood. However, one of those shot feined death and rolled down the side of the embankment and, crawling away into a patch of brown mesquite bushes, escaped. The train moved on, leaving the corpses at the mercy of the slayers, who stripped and mutilated them. After the escapee arrived back at Chihuahua City, a special train sped to Santa Ysabel to reclaim the bodies. When the people of El Paso heard of the massacre, they went wild with anger. El Paso was immediately placed under martial law to prevent irate Texans from crossing into Mexico at Juarez to wreak vengeance on innocent Mexicans.
Despite outrage in the United States and Washington over the Santa Ysabel massacre, President Wilson refused to intervene and send troops into Mexico. Two months later, Villa decided to strike again. This time he would invade the United States. At 2:30 a.m., on the morning of March 9, 1916, he and 500 “Villistas” attacked the 13th U.S. Cavalry at Camp Furlong near Columbus, New Mexico. Despite prior knowledge that Villa and his men were pillaging, raping, and murdering their way toward the border, the cavalry was caught completely by surprise. One reason for the cavalry’s sluggishness was because some of the troops had been drinking, but perhaps more importantly, all of the troops’ rifles were chained and locked in gun racks. Still, the cavalry managed to get organized and fought off the “Villistas” killing many of them in the process.
During their retreat, however, the “Villistas” stopped at Columbus, New Mexico for a looting and window-shooting spree that left several U.S. civilians dead. For three hours, bullets struck houses and shouts of “Viva Villa! Viva Mexico! Muerte a los Americanos!” (death to americans) were heard in the streets. The town was set afire, though Villa’s men realized nothing beyond a few dollars and perhaps some merchandise from the burntout stores. The terror continued until about 7 a.m., and when Villa finally rode off, the smoke-filled streets of Columbus were littered with the dead and wounded. Fourteen American soldiers and ten civilians were killed in the raid.
Although Villa’s losses from from his American incursion were high, he had achieved his aim of arousing the United States. Now, he and his men headed due south from Palomas seeking the safety of the mountains of the Sierra Madre. However, the 13th U.S. Cavalry was now in hot pursuit. Colonel Frank Tompkins had managed to gather 32 cavalrymen and was nipping at the heels of the fleeing Mexicans. His troops sighted Villa’s rear guard and killed over thirty men and horses. Colonel Tompkins kept up the chase for eight hours and killed a number of stragglers as well as more of Villa’s rear guard. Lacking supplies, Tompkins and his cavalrymen were forced to return to Camp Furlong. On their way back, they counted 75 to 100 “Villistas” killed during their hastily organized pursuit.
The populace of Columbus was in a state of hysteria. The American cavalry troops collected the bodies of the “Villistas” that had been shot in the streets and on the outskirts of town and piled them on funeral pyres and cremated them. For a day or more the fires smoldered and the odor of burning flesh permeated the air. Columbus lay virtually demolished, so completely burned and pillaged that it never recovered its former vitality.
To prevent repetitions of the Columbus outrage, President Wilson called out 15,000 militia and stationed them along the U.S. - Mexico border. Wilson also informed President Carranza that he intended to send a military expedition into northern Mexico to capture Pancho Villa, and Carranza reluctantly agreed. President Wilson then appointed Brigadier General John J. Pershing to lead 4,800 troops (mostly cavalry), supported by aircraft and motorized military vehicles (the first time either were used in U.S. warfare) on a punitive expedition into Mexico to capture Villa.
The rest of the article (which includes some interesting photos and maps) can be found here.
For example, quite a lot of the early films, with plots about cowboys and indians, are based upon the exploits of both, who retired to Southern California early in the 20th Century. Wyatt Earp, being one of them; there was plenty of material to work with, from among the veterans, so to speak, and create adventures for the new film industry.
I'm not sure if Peckinpah is still around, but I'd like to see what notes he may have accumulated for the movie.
I saw the movie, Villa Rides, a long time ago; it has a lot of "character." I think, that during its making, is the occasion in which Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland met and fell in love.
Robert Mitchum plays a fellow named "Lee Arnold," I think. But in real life, the pilot was actually Thayer Fish.
I do not know the actual details of how Thayer came to fly --- basically reconnaisance, I'd imagine --- for Villa.
I do know that Capt. Foulois had a heck of a time getting the aircraft made ready for the Pershing Expedition.
Let's see if anybody bites.
Considering the terrain, employing some sort of pack animal (not necessarily horses, though) might not be such a bad idea.
This expedition is a great illustration of the problems faced in trying to capture someone on unfamiliar foriegn soil. It will not be much different with Bin Laden. However, I am fully behind our president in any effort to do so. I just realize it will not be as easy as some people think and it will take a very long time.
As a side note, this was the first use of aircraft in a military operation for the U.S. It was not only a disastor but the accounts of this in the book are almost comical. There was one incident where a pilot had to land the plane at a remote site away from the troops because it was getting dark and he could not make it back. He hiked back to camp and got a ride back to his plane the next day. Guess what? The plane was completely stripped down of everything of any value and had to be abandoned. Some things never change!
When emigrants began moving into Arizona in large numbers after the Civil War they stumbled into a 300 year old war that few knew anything about. Apaches, Navajos and Comanchees had for generations raided deep into Mexico to loot, murder and capture slaves. The Mexicans reciprocated with punative expeditions which essentially did the same thing. The Indians would hit hard, commit unspeakable barbarities, and then retreat into the mountains where the Mexicans couldn't find them. By 1872 the newly arriving Americans had joined the Mexicans as targets of these raids.
General Crook was sent to subdue the Apache. He sent word that any Apache who wished to stay friendly would gather in designated areas, any remaining out would be considered hostile. He abandoned his supply wagons and put small units on horse, foot and mule. He rode a mule. These small units combed the Bradshaws, the Mazatzals, the Sierra Anchas, the Tonto and the Bloody Basins and the Mogollon Rim. The troops would surround Apache rancherias at night and open fire at the first sign of life.
Crook was careful to treat friendlies with honesty and respect. He exploited clan differences and built an extremely effective and loyal cadre of Apache Scouts. He was dogged and relentless in persuit of the hostiles.
Slowly the hostiles were killed or forced, eventually, to the San Carlos Reservation. There were breakouts and incidents for the next 10 or 12 years but for the main part the Apaches had been broken. As a subjugated people they still speak of General Crook with the highest respect in spite of subsequent poor treatment by Whites.
There are still Apaches in the mountains who are not registered and do not come in, living the old ways, but they avoid any contact with whites and cause no trouble.
General Crook's campaign was far more successful than General Pershing's but is comparatively unknown.
Even Wilson's most positive biographer (Link) admitted that Wilson blew it in Mexico.
Basically, Wilson pulled a Clinton. He tried the (spoken) moral high road about democracy and human rights, then was forced to swat back feebly when it all fell apart. Pershing ought not be blamed. He was a capable commander but was sent into a foreign nation with instructions not to kill any locals. Sound familiar?
As with all historical parallels, let's hope the differences are more important: Bush inherited Clinton's folley and is thus free of his predecessors limitations. Hopefully Bush won't be worried about collateral damage which so burdened Pershing (and without which limitations Pershing proved himself most capable in France), and, most importantly, not given to believe his own rhetoric.
Nevertheless, I do cut Wilson a tiny bit of slack. By 1916 it was only a question of when we would get involved in Europe - even though Wilson's 1916 campaign employed the slogan "he kept us out of war." I do believe Wilson was concerned about America's vulnerable southern flank at a time we were about to entangle ourselves in a war in Europe, and this perhaps explains his cautiousness in Mexico. Still, it's a lousy and self-defeating way to conduct a military operation.
If true, there is another parallel with current events; see the bold in the second paragraph, from that site:
It was during this period, 1900 - 1910 that Mexico experienced vast economic growth due to the exploitation of its' natural resources by foreign (American) investors. The landowners, of which there were few, were the aristocracy and the vast majority of the people were their slaves. Ever growing public discontent was squelched by the Diaz regime. But in 1911, Villa joined forces with the rebel leader, Francisco Madero. Madero's rebels ousted Diaz, and Villa found himself assigned to General Victoriano Huerta. Huerta deemed Villa guilty of insubordination, and sentenced him to death.Meanwhile, foreign investors were pulling out of Mexico. Villa fled to America. Having gained notoriety among the American military as a formidable soldier and possible future president of Mexico, Villa was groomed for leadership by General George Pershing. Meanwhile, Madero was assassinated and Huerta had assumed control of Mexico. Now convinced that the Americans would support him in a bid for the Mexican presidency, Villa returned to Mexico to fight for freedom under Venustiano Carranza.
Villa's Division Del Norte controlled northern Mexico including Mexico City. Carranza and the ambitious Villa soon became enemies and when Carranza claimed the presidency in 1914, it was Villa that led the revolution against him. The penultimate battle of this revolution found a hateful Villa mindlessly pursuing total destruction of Carranza's forces resulting in major losses for La Division Del Norte. The revolution was of concern to the United States for economic reasons and thus to end the conflict, acknowledged Carranza as the President of Mexico.
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