Pancho Villa
...say they when he found a traitor in his midst, he would quickly kill him and his brothers. He would then go after his other male members of the traitor’s family until they were all exterminated. Besides fear from the peasants, it also bred much hatred and enemies against Villa, some of whom may have plotted against him in later years. There are many other stories about Pancho Villa prior to him joining the revolutionary forces. Most of these legends are centered in the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico where he lived for several years during his life as a bandido . How many of these stories are true or have some truth in them is very difficult to decipher, but most of them probably are a mixture. On March 8, 1916 Pancho Villa and about 400 of his troops arrived about four miles from Columbus, New Mexico. They were preparing to attack this small American town. Why Villa chose this small town, is still a topic for debate among historians. The town had a garrison of about 600 soldiers. It was the home of Sam Ravel, a man to whom Villa had given money to buy arms. Ravel never delivered the weapons nor returned Villa’s money. Before the attack Villa told his men the reasons he had decided to attack this American town. He said the Carranza government had practically sold Mexico to the Americans. He also mentioned how the U.S. had been given the power to name three Mexican cabinet members. However, all this meant very little to Villa’s illiterate soldiers. One of Villa’s top officer’s, Pablo Lopez put it in plain terms. “We want revenge against the Americans,” he yelled out. Lopez said the U.S. was to blame for their defeat at Agua Prieta and Celaya. He accused the Americans of allowing the Carrancistas to travel across U.S. land to reinforce their garrison. Villa added another serious accusation, saying that the U.S. had sold them defective weapons and ammunition. The clincher though, was the terrible act that had occurred in El Paso just two days earlier. According to reports from the time, the following was standard practice. Some 20 Mexicans had been arrested by the local police and they then been soaked with kerosene to delouse them. Someone then set fire to the men. It was never proven whether the fire was an accident or not. However, all 20 Mexicans were burned alive. After hearing this story, Villa’s soldiers were now ready to fight the entire American army. At 4:45 A.M. on March 9 Villa’s men rode into Columbus, firing into the army barracks, catching the American soldiers by surprise. Another group later rode into town shooting into houses and at any civilian who came out. The Villistas then charged into a hotel and killed four guests. Villa had stayed on the Mexican side of the border with a small group of his men. Meanwhile his raiders were looking for Sam Ravel, but never found him. He had already left town on a scheduled appoint with his dentist in El Paso. The U.S. soldiers were now firing back at the Villistas in the predawn darkness. However, the skies were soon to be lit by a fire the raiders had started at the hotel. This helped the Americans see their targets better. By 7:30, three hours after the raid began, a Villista bugler sounded retreat. The Mexicans picked up their wounded and withdrew back to Mexico. The American troops were now riding and shooting in hot pursuit, following the Villistas about five miles into Mexico. There, the U.S. soldiers met strong resistance from Villa’s fighters. The Americans quickly retreated back to Columbus. In the end, more than 100 Villistas had been lost in the attack. About 17 Americans, mostly civilians, were killed. Following his defeat at Celaya, Pancho Villa again had a victory, of sorts, to be proud of. What was to come next would surprise everyone.Katz, Freidrich, Katz. The Life and Pancho had made history; his was only the second foreign military attack on American soil since the British in the War of 1812. History says that Villa’s reasoning to attack Columbus was that it would provoke an American invasion into Mexico. This would create a backlash against Carranza and his friendly ties to the U.S. Therefore; Villa would be ready in the wings to become the new Mexican national leader. The day following the attack on Columbus, President Wilson announced he was sending General John J. Pershing and 5,000 soldiers to Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. This order was later changed to hunt for Villa, but to cease when his bands are known to have been broken up. Within two weeks, Pershing and his men had traveled about 350 miles into Mexico in Chihuahua. Carranza was hoping Villa would be captured in a quick fashion. However, he was also worried that Pershing may take this as an opportunity to start a war with Mexico. This would be a war Mexico would probably come out as a loser. This Punitive Expedition, as it was to be called, was working in Villa’s favor. Many Mexicans were helping him by giving false information to the Americans. The peons were also notifying Villa of Pershing’s location and direction of his travel. By the fall of 1916, Pancho Villa was starting to see some of the mounting popularity he had planned all along. However, Villa and his men, now numbering less than 400, were retreating into the mountains of Chihuahua. There were 7,000 U.S. troops after him and they were coming with some modern technology. Airplanes were now part of the American contingent and they were flying all over the mountains and nearby deserts in hopes of spotting the elusive Pancho Villa. His Villastas were now getting worried and starting to lose faith in their leader. Carrancistas were also part of the search party...