This article is an overview of the situation in Mexico during that portion of the Revolution that spilled over into the United States. This represents a nice episode for colonial gamers who prefer the type of wargare that pits two rifle armed opponents against each other, The suggestions for playing this situation with THE SWORD AND THE FLAME are useful for more than just this confrontation. The most unique suggestion that the author makes is to consider assigning unit capabilities notjost on the basis of nationality but to take into account the quality of the units. It is thus possible to have poor quality imperial troops against high quality native units. - Bob Beattie, Editor
In 1916 the sleepy New Mexico town of Columbus became a battleground. On the 9th of March, Francisco "Pancho" Villa led his rag-tag army on a raid into the little town just inside the U.S. border. Villa's attack on Columbus left a number of dead citizens and burning buildings in its wake; however, the staunch defense and later pursuit by elements of the 13th Cavalry inflicted even heavier losses on the Villistas. The Columbus raid was the straw that broke the camel's back in Mexican-American relations. After tolerating years of raids, revolutionary activity and banditry, President Wilson ordered the United States Army into Mexico to break up Villa's band. Although the expedition achieved no political results, the events surrounding the Columbus raid provide wargamers with numerous gaming possibilities.
The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 with a general uprising against Porfirio Diaz. Before Diaz could begin his eighth consecutive term as President, Francisco Madero began a revolution that forced Diaz to flee the country. Then began a period of instability in which first one man and then another became President.
Madero was murdered by the followers of General Victoriano Huerta. Huerta, a corrupt alcoholic, was despised not only by the Mexican people, but by President Wilson as well. Seizing upon an insignificant incident involving US sailors at Tampico, Mexico, Wilson ordered the US Navy and the Marines to seize the city of Vera Cruz. Although the Mexican Army did not attempt to defend the city, the citizens of Vera Cruz did resist. In a day of rugged house-to-house fighting the blue jackets and marines were able to secure Vera Cruz. The only official resistance came from the naval cadets of the Mexican Navy. Although they were driven off from their academy, the cadets, like their brothers at Chapultepec in 1847, proved their courage and patriotism. In another incident, after the town had been occupied, a young army major, Douglas MacArthur, conducted a hazardous intelligence mission behind Mexican lines.
Although the two nations were locked into a potentially dangerous situation neither nation really wanted a war. Finally, with the help of the major powers of Latin America, the United States and Mexico were able to temporarily work out their differences. Shortly thereafter, Huerta was forced to flee the country by the Constitutionalist forces comprised principally of Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa, and Emiliano Zapata. Villa and Zapata then turned on Carranza and his crack general Alvaro Obregon. In the fight that followed the Carrancista forces proved triumphant and Zapata and Villa were forced to withdraw to their respective strongholds. Villa's stronghold lay in the State of Chihuahua which borders the United States atTexas and New Mexico. In Chihuahua, Villa made plans to remove Carranza from power. Furious at what he saw, with some justification, as American duplicity, and unable to do more than dulsatory raiding against the Federales, Villa planned to hit the Americans at home to try and promote a "let's you and him fight" situation between Wilson and Carranza. And so Villa launched his raid against Columbus.
On March 15 and 16, in response to the raid, two columns of American infantry, cavalry and artillery crossed into Mexico. TheAmerican punitive expedition was comprised of an odd assortment of troops. Footslogging infantry and hard riding cavalry shared the road with Dodge cars and White trucks. Radios, machine guns and aeroplanes were counted in the expedition along with civilian and Apache scouts. Pershing planned for the cavalry to do the real pursuit work while the infantry secured the various patrol bases and guarded the lines of communication. The aircraft were at first expected tofulfill a reconnaisance role but design flaws in the aircraft and rugged terrain soon precluded that option. The airmen soon became the dispatch riders for the expedition; however, crashes and breakdowns soon ended even that role. The army was not permitted to use the Mexican rail service thus forcing Pershing to develop a truck borne supply system over almost non-existent roads. The weather, the terrain and the population were all indifferent at best and hostile at worst. Morale was generally good among the American troops but under difficult conditions there were bound to be some low points. Watching the back door, so to speak, was the National Guard of various U.S. states. Although not generally involved in any military action, the Guard was given some first hand initiation into active field operations which became useful when the United States entered the First World War. Yet, the cavalry pushed on aggressively. Often as not their "walk in the sun" produced no results; but occasionally a small patrol would lock into a brief action such as when Lt. George Patton shot and killed Villista General Julio Cardenas in a small action at San Miguelito.
When the American cavalry did make good contact with the Villistas, the yankees invariably thrashed them. At Guerro, at Agua Caliente, at Tomochic the result was always the same as khaki-clad cavalrymen drove off, but never quite finished, the Villistas. At Ojos Azules elements of the lith Cavalry, under the command of Major Robert Howze closed with a sizeable Villista force. Howze, informed by some Carrancista troops that some of Villa's men had occupied the ranch complex at Ojos Azules, determined to take that bunch by surprise. Held up by the lack of local guides until 3 a.m., the column of weary men and horses set out for a dawn attack. Unableto keepup,the machinegun troopand packtrain fell behind. Dawn was breaking as the column pulled into view of Ojos Azules. The Apache scouts were quickly taken under fire by the Mexicans. Howze, realizing that the element of surprise had slipped away, could not afford to wait for the lagging machine gun troop. He ordered A Troop to hold the Mexicans' attention from the front while several troops of cavalry swung around the flanks to envelope the Mexicans. Confronted by a barbed wire fence, the right hand group instead swing in behind A Troop in a mounted assault up the center. The Mexicans did not try to hold their position for long. Over 40 Villistas were killed at Ojos Azules with another 19 killed in pursuit. Not one American soldier was killed or wounded. But, again, the bulk of the enemy were able to give the Americans the slip.
Carrancistas and American forces clashed at Parral and Carrizal. In each case heavily outnumbered Americans were forced to give ground. Although the potential for larger confrontations existed, generally, the Army of Mexico and the Army of the United States tried to ignore one another. Eventually Carranza and Wilson worked out a deal that permitted the American expedition to withdraw. Villa was still alive and Villa's army was still active; but Villa never again raided into the United States. Events soon overtook the memory of the little expedition. America declared war against Germany and Pershing went on to command the A.E.F. But the picture lingers on of the little cavalry patrol climbing the hills and trails of Chihuahua looking for Pancho Villa.
More Pershing Expedition to Mexico 1916
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