[legendsport]

from the Confederate Military Review, September 1, 1912:

LARGEST FIGHT OF MEXICAN "ACTION"
By R.A. Tittle for CMR

When General John Pershing was given overall command of the nation's peace-keeping forces in Mexico, he was also allocated what the War Department considered an adequate number of troops to finish dealing with the rebellion. Just a few months later, with Pancho Villa and his men riding circles around the Confederate Army, Pershing was forced to go hat in hand to General Stuart in Richmond, requesting reinforcements.

Those reinforcements arrived in Mexico in July and Pershing wasted no time putting them to use. Sending one-third of the new troops, designated the 3rd Corps under Brig. General Yancy Hampton south to locate and destroy the forces of Emiliano Zapata was step one in Pershing's emerging plan. The second step was to take the other two-thirds, as 2nd Corps under Brig. General Carter Winston, and send them north to flush out Villa and send him north, where the 1st Corps, under Brig. General Victoriano Huerta, would be waiting for them.

In theory, a sound plan. Problems developed in the implementation, not the least of which was that Pershing himself placed too much trust in the 1st Corps, which was a built up Mexican Division which had already been shown to be lacking when confronted by Pancho Villa's guerillas.

Early in August, the 2nd Corps successfully "flushed" Villa from his mountain hideaway, and began pushing him towards Chihuahua City where Huerta waited. Villa fought a delaying action along the road, skirmishing with the advance elements of Winston's forces, but unable to disengage from the 2nd Corps.

On August 8, Villa's men suddenly found themselves with the 1st Corps at their backs. Showing his battle-honed leadership, Villa somehow managed to deploy his men and attack Huerta before the 2nd Corps could fully be brought to bear on his men.

In some of the most savage fighting of the campaign, Villa's men tore up the front of the 1st Corps, wounding General Huerta in the process. Only a brave, and some would say foolhardy, flank attack by the cavalry under Captain George S. Patton prevented a rout. Patton's men suffered heavy casualties, but bought enough time for the 2nd Corps to get into the fray.

Winston's men hit the rebels hard, and Villa was forced to attempt a breakout - which was ultimately successful, but he left behind the bulk of his men, either dead, wounded, or captured.

The face of the conflict in Northern Mexico is now different. Villa's power is broken - at least for the time being as he remains at-large and still enjoys tremendous popular appeal with the citizenry. Pershing has his victory, though the 1st Corps is a shambles and its commanding general is in the hospital. The 2nd Corps has been blooded and it is expected to head south to aid in the campaign against Zapata.

As always in Mexico, nothing is easy and the campaign still appears far from over.