Pancho Villa Expedition

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The Pancho Villa Expedition, now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army," was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa from March 14, 1916, to February 7, 1917, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villa's attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, an incident of the larger Mexican Border War. The declared objective of the expedition by the administration of US President Woodrow Wilson was the capture of Villa. Despite locating and defeating the main body of Villa's command who were responsible for the Columbus raid, US forces were unable to achieve Wilson's stated main objective of preventing Villa's escape. The active search for Villa ended after a month in the field when troops sent by Venustiano Carranza, the head of the Constitutionalist faction...

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