On March 9, 1916, about 500 Villistas raided Columbus, New Mexico, four miles north of the U. S.—Mexican border. Villa remained with a small reserve on the Mexican side of the border, while his main force stormed the small town at 4:45 a. m. In the raid, the Villistas obtained a small amount of loot and a few horses. Eight U. S. soldiers and nine civilians died. Roughly sixty Villistas were killed in Columbus and about seventy more died as they were chased back to Mexico.
Ever since the raid, which was the first foreign attack on U. S. territory since the war of 1812, historians have debated Villa’s motive. Several reasons have been suggested, including Villa being incensed at the U. S. recognition of Carranza and the turning over to him of the arms and customs revenues at Veracruz. Villa believed that Carranza had signed a pact with the United States that compromised Mexican sovereignty. This belief turned out to be false, but Villa’s mistaken notion could have led to the attack. Villa could also have been hoping to draw the United States and Mexico into war, an event that could have produced the collapse of the Carranza government.53
Another suggested cause for Villa’s attack was revenge for his November 1915 defeat at Agua Prieta. Villa attacked Carranza’s forces in this border town, located across from Douglas, Arizona. Unbeknown to Villa, the Wilson administration had allowed 3,500 of Carranza’s troops to leave Mexico at Piedras Negras, travel by rail across U. S. territory, and then cross back into Mexican territory to reinforce Agua Prieta. The Carrancistas defended Agua Prieta with barbed wire and machine guns supplied by the United States. As a result, when Villa attacked, his forces were
Decimated.54
Regardless of Villa’s motives for the attack on Columbus, from then on he remained bitterly anti-American. In a 1922 interview, Villa stated he would like to send his children abroad for an education. When asked if he would consider sending them to the United States, he replied: “No, not to the United States. The first thing I’m going to teach my children is to hate the enemy of my race.”55
The U. S. response to Villa’s raid was one of outrage. President Wilson ordered an embargo on all arms shipments to Mexico. Ironically, this hurt Carranza, who could afford to buy U. S. arms, and favored his two major opponents, Villa and Zapata, who could not afford such purchases.56
Wilson, facing reelection in 1916, was conscious that he could not look “weak” to the electorate. Given this political imperative, he ordered General John “Black Jack” Pershing into Mexico “for the sole purpose of capturing the bandit Villa.” Pershing’s force crossed the border with 5,000 men, including cavalry, infantry, engineers, artillery units, and the entire U. S. Air Force—eight Curtiss Jenny biplanes—for reconnaissance. Later, the strength of his force was increased to
10,000 men. Pershing’s search for Villa relied on the tactics used to pursue Apaches. He deployed small, highly maneuverable units that could live off the land for days. These mounted troops made several indecisive contacts with the Villistas, who broke and scattered.57
Even though Villa’s attack on Columbus was the initial rationale for the Pershing expedition, after Pershing entered Mexico his withdrawal was used as a bargaining chip. The Wilson administration indicated that Pershing would remain until Carranza provided a written guarantee that his forces would protect Americans and their property. That the expedition was used for purposes other than chasing Villa was not surprising. Many questioned its purpose from the start, noting the heavy presence of infantry and artillery, neither of which was suitable for chasing mounted Villistas.58
Given Carranza’s reaction to the landing at Veracruz, it is not surprising that he also criticized the Pershing expedition as a violation of Mexican sovereignty. He refused to let Pershing’s forces
Figure 17.1 Pershing's supply wagons
Source: El Paso Public Library, Aultman Collection, photo #B 692
Use the Mexican rail system for supply, so Pershing monopolized the production of the infant American truck industry. Eventually, his expedition acquired more than 500 trucks.
As Carranza grew stronger, he directly challenged Pershing. On June 16, he informed Pershing that movement of U. S. troops in any direction but north would be met by armed resistance. Five days later, Carrancistas attacked an eastbound American cavalry patrol at Carrizal, Chihuahua. The resulting combat resulted in the death of ten Americans and the capture of twenty-three.
In response to the Carrizal incident, Wilson mobilized the National Guard. Once again, war between the United States and Mexico seemed likely. By the end of July, 112,000 troops had been positioned at four assembly points—San Antonio, Brownsville, El Paso, and Douglas, Arizona.59
Whether war with Mexico would have broken out if Wilson had had a free hand is unclear. In any case, as the First World War loomed, U. S. concerns in Europe prevailed over those in Mexico. Wilson was aware that intervention in Mexico would turn the rest of Latin America against the United States. As a result, Wilson recalled Pershing’s force, which, although it did not capture Villa, did disperse his major troop concentrations. The last U. S. soldier departed Mexico on February 5, 1917, accompanied by some 500 Chinese and 1,500 Mexicans who had assisted Pershing and who claimed that if they remained in Mexico, they would face reprisals from Villa.60
Villa benefited from his attack on Columbus in that it led to a serious deterioration in relations between Carranza and the Wilson administration. Even after Pershing’s force had returned to the United States, Wilson left the arms embargo in place. American banks refused Carranza loans. This weakened Carranza militarily and thus allowed the survival of both Villa’s and Zapata’s irregular forces past the end of Carranza’s presidency, when they could obtain concessions. The raid also enhanced Villa’s stature by pitting him against the United States.61
World History
