The Mexican Revolution

I know in the years 1910-1920 US military troops were involved in some small way in
all that mess down there. Not taking sides, but more to defend either honor or in making
sure the current flavor government of the month that it supported, remained in power.

Pancho Villa carried out the only succesful invasion of the USA when he raided a US base in New Mexico for supplies and was able to escape, even with a young Lt George S Patton in pursuit.

Lawnmowerman said:

Pancho Villa carried out the only succesful invasion of the USA when he raided a US base in New Mexico for supplies and was able to escape, even with a young Lt George S Patton in pursuit.

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I don't think Villa was actually in on the raid of the town of Columbus, N. M., more that
he ordered the 100 man strike of it. Patton was an aide to Pershing, so he wasn't in full
command of the expedition & Villa was hard to find anyhow with almost a week
head start.

I have a most interesting book called "Heroic Mexico" Quite the interesting reading. Memory is a bit sketchy but IIRC, in a nutshell, Pancho Villa was supported by the US until at some mid point when Wilson decided to throw his support behind Carranza was the best way to stabilize Mexico (And if Zeno doesn't mind) The rest is history.

Here is a quote from a link highlighting the split
Pancho Villa - Mexican Revolutionary Pancho Villa - Francisco Villa in Mexico

Battling Carranza:Following Carranza's departure, Villa and Zapata occupied the capital. In 1915, Villa was forced to abandon Mexico City after number of incidents involving his troops. This helped pave the way for the return of Carranza and his followers. With Carranza reasserting power, Villa and Zapata revolted against the regime. To combat Villa, Carranza sent his ablest general, Álvaro Obregón north. Meeting at the Battle of Celaya on April 13, 1915, Villa was badly defeated suffering 4,000 killed and 6,000 captured. Villa's position was further weakened by the United States' refusal to sell him weapons.

The Columbus Raid and Punitive Expedition:

Feeling betrayed by the Americans for the embargo and their allowance of Carranza's troops to use US railroads, Villa ordered a raid across the border to strike at Columbus, NM. Attacking on March 9, 1916, they burned the town and looted military supplies. A detachment of the US 13th Cavalry killed 80 of Villa's raiders. In response, President Woodrow Wilson dispatched Gen. John J. Pershing and 10,000 men to Mexico to capture Villa. Employing aircraft and trucks for the first time, the Punitive Expedition chased Villa until January 1917, with no success.

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I'm rather rusty on the topic since I last read about it 13 years ago, but sure I'm for it. I'm kinda in a Mexican mood lately.

tjadams said:

I know in the years 1910-1920 US military troops were involved in some small way in
all that mess down there. Not taking sides, but more to defend either honor or in making
sure the current flavor government of the month that it supported, remained in power.

Click to expand...

Yes that was in pursuit of Pancho Villa after he raided an American border town. Pershing IIRC was the head commander of the expedition, not Patton(although he was probably involved).

Salah said:

The violence began with the overthrow of longtime dictator Porforio Diaz, and continued, as I understand it, largely because nobody proved able to provide an alternative to Diaz that satisfied the entire country.

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I believe Madero first succeeded Diaz as head of state and wanted a democratic government much like America's. However he was rather weak-willed and was soon overthrown and assasinated by General Huerta who established a military dictatorship. But it was corrupt and he often preferred racing expensive cars in Mexico City to actually governing the country, so he was overthrown by Carranza - who was then overthrown by somebody else(forgot) around 1920 and that kinda brought the revolution to a close.

Probably the two most known characters from the Revolution are Pancho Villa and Zapata, who are seen as Robin-hood like figures fighting for social justice for the poor. This image of Villa owes in some part to the accounts of John Reed, who rode with Villa's forces for a time. Later he went to Russia and wrote Ten Days that Shocked the World about the Bolshevik takeover.

Ok - my haphazard summary of the Mexican Revolution from what I remembered.

A pastiche of images from the period interspersed with some movie footage and a song.Note that the lyrics of the song are many & varied and the verses can change according to the political leanings of the singers-still a touchy subject in modern Mexico.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiFTVaxInBM&feature=related]Antonio Aguilar - La Adelita - YouTube[/ame]

Wasn't it Patton who went off on a raid and then personally killed on of Pancho's top henchmen with his pistol?

An interesting and confusing time period with all the reversals and betrayals.

RusEvo said:

Wasn't it Patton who went off on a raid and then personally killed on of Pancho's top henchmen with his pistol?

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I believe it was, also he led the US's first mechanical charge.

RusEvo said:

Wasn't it Patton who went off on a raid and then personally killed on of Pancho's top henchmen with his pistol?

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Yes. Patton and about ten men went out and came across Villa's second in command
Julio Cardenas who had been hiding in a house as Patton's men passed by. Cardenas
tried to ambush the Americans & was killed. Patton personally shot Cardenas.
Today, what Patton did next, would get him in massive trouble. He strapped Cardenas'
body, like a dead deer, across the hood of his car, & took it back to camp. He was
soon promoted to First Lieutenant.

In order to understand la Revolucion, one has to study ALL of Mexican history from the time of Cortez.
Outside of the Aztec Empire, the natives lived in small, family groups and had little will or desire to unite.
Once the Spanish wiped out the Aztecs, they created their own dynasty based upon about 30 Conquistadors with Royal grants giving them a great deal of authority.
Many revisions were tried and, under Carlos III, Visatador General Galvez further tried to improve how things ran in The New World to include Mexico. But, the same 30 families continued to hold power.
The Conspiracy of the Machetes was the first real attempt at seeking reform in Mexico, an uprising by Mestizos, Indians and some anti-Royal Spaniards. It failed but eventually led to the War of Independence when Spanish rule was overthrown.
The same 30 families controlled extensive land and population.
The Revolucion was truly another attempt at overturning control of Mexico by the elite families.
Today, Mexico is STILL strongly pointed in certain directions by the SAME, elite families!

[No fancy degree but hours upon hours of studying for background material for my Father Serra's Legacy novels - The Sailor and the Carpenter - Book One due early this year.

check out A Soldier's Stories A Soldier's Tales.