The Hunt for Pancho Villa by Alejandro de Quesada

Author:Alejandro de Quesada
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Hunt For Pancho Villa: The Columbus Raid and Pershing’s Punitive Expedition 1916–17
ISBN: 9781780960494
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2012-01-23T16:00:00+00:00

On March 14, 1916, Brigadier General John J. Pershing was given command of two cavalry brigades and a brigade of infantry – 10,000 men – with orders to find, pursue, and destroy Villa’s forces. The Punitive Expedition advanced into Mexico on March 15, initially with the consent of President Carranza; however, as the expedition wore on through the next 11 months, Carranza became increasingly hostile to it.

On March 15, Pershing’s forces crossed the border in two columns with one departing from Columbus and the other from Hachita. Consisting of infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers, and logistical units, Pershing’s command pushed south seeking Villa and established a headquarters at Colonia Dublan near the Casas Grandes River. Though promised use of the Mexican Northwestern Railway, this was not forthcoming and Pershing soon faced a logistical crisis. This was solved by the use of “truck trains,” which used Dodge trucks to ferry supplies the 100 miles from Columbus.

Logistically, the Punitive Expedition started as a nightmare. Nothing of this magnitude had ever been attempted by the US Army. Word of the dilemma was forwarded to Secretary of War Newton Baker, who was somehow able to spend $450,000 of unappropriated funds to purchase new trucks. The funds were well spent as more than 10,000 tons of supplies were eventually delivered by truck to Pershing. Moving supplies by truck was no easy feat during the expedition, however, because roads depicted on available maps turned out to be nothing but trails that were impassable during wet weather. As a result, engineers had to rebuild many of the roads. The expedition also had to rely on mules and wagons to a large extent to keep supplies moving.

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