The Pershing 'punitive' expedition: well named. Pancho Villa, dressed in Mexican attire (labelled Villa, dead or alive, ) looking at John Pershing tied to a cactus, with volcano in background. The Pancho Villa Expedition was a military operation conducted by the US Army against the forces of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villa's attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico. Black Jack Pershing assembled an expeditionary force consisting primarily of cavalry and horse artillery. The objective of the expedition was the capture of Villa. Despite successfully locating and defeating the main body of Villa's command, US forces were unable to achieve Wilson's stated main objective. William Allen Rogers, New York Herald, November 26, 1916. |