Introduction
In the morning of March 9, 1916, a number of Villista’s armed to the teeth crossed the border attacking the small town of Columbus, New Mexico. The United States suffered its first attack on its soil since the War of 1812. General Francisco “Poncho” Villa raided and torched the city.1 Washington responded by sending Brigadier General John “Black Jack” Pershing, which lead the “Punitive Expedition” into Mexico.2
Fidel Castro, Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse-tung, “Che” Guevara, Osama bin Laden and others have professed unique qualifications as innovators and practitioners of Guerrilla warfare. However, in our relatively short military history, we have periodically had to use or defend against irregular warfare. During the French and Indian Wars as well as the Revolutionary War, we were the guerrillas. In the Civil War, there were the partisan operations of Mosby, Forrest and the outlaw Quantrill, who played a key role in the Confederacy’s ability to wage effective war against the numerically and industrially superior Union for over four years. It is often forgotten, that regular forces require a ratio of ten to one to prevail against a partisan operating on their native soil3. Nevertheless, one thing remains constant: the adaptability and courage of the American Soldier under the harshest of circumstances continues to allow them to prevail.
History
The Mexican Revolutionary Poncho Villa was born on June 5, 1878, in San Juan Del Rio, Durango. His original name was Jose Dorotero Aurango. He was born as a peon and worked with his family on farmland, which belonged to an aristocrat. Villa became head of his household at age 15, when his father died. After coming in from the fields, he walked into the hacienda to discover t...
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... issues in the dark and pushed 20,000 rounds, repelling what could have been a gruesome attack.
Villa’s ineffective reconnaissance teams lead him into a garrison of 357 well-trained and equipped Soldiers. His willingness for revenge on the Revel brothers kept his men searching well after the looting requirements. Allowing time for the H and F troop to set up effective kill zones. The decision to light the town on fire resulted in increased visibility making Villa’s men easy targets.
The American Soldiers showing courage in the face of adversity during the raid has been evident throughout the research of this paper. From Cooks throwing boil pots of water, to Soldiers fighting with no shoes and half clothed. The adversary having planned and executed was not allowed to extract a devastating blow. This is a testament of the American Soldiers adaptability and courage.
The relationship between conventional and guerilla operations was a key element of the Vietnamese communists’ “Dau Tranh” strategy to fight and win the Vietnam War. A brief description of the Dua Tranh (meaning struggle) strategy is appropriate since it was the basis for North Vietnam’s success. The strategy consisted of an armed struggle and a political struggle. The armed struggle began with Stage One hit and run guerilla tactics to “decimate the enemy piecemeal and weaken then eliminate the government’s administrative control of the countryside...
This book by Otis A. Singletary deals with different aspects of the Mexican war. It is a compelling description and concise history of the first successful offensive war in United States military history. The work examines two countries that were unprepared for war. The political intrigues and quarrels in appointing the military commanders, as well as the military operations of the war, are presented and analyzed in detail. The author also analyzes the role that the Mexican War played in bringing on the U.S. Civil War.
Made famous by Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer Rough Rider’s and the Buffalo Soldiers, the Battle of San Juan Hill (July 1, 1898), also known as The Battle of San Juan Heights, was the bloodiest battle of the Spanish American War. After landing on the beachhead, the US V Corps under the command of Major General William Shafter fought their way west toward the port town of Santiago. After an indecisive clash at Las Guasimas on June 24, Shafter readied his men to take the strategic heights around the city, while Cuban insurgents blocked any Spanish reinforcements arriving on the roads to the north, in what would be one of the most decisive battles of America’s “Splendid Little War.” 1
The Battle of the Wilderness was a very unusual battle because it was fought in the woods. The terrain and the trees wouldn’t allow for the smoke to clear and it was dark anyway because of the trees. The men described it as eerie. Both sides fired blindly because of the smoke. Artillery was abandoned because they could not transport it through the woods. So those soldiers became...
Thinking historically while conducting counterinsurgency in the 21st century poses questions regarding how to develop political and strategic plans. This bibliographic essay will examine the political and military aspect of fighting counterinsurgent warfare by 20th century theorists Galula’s, “Counterinsurgency Warfare Theory and Practice” and Trinquier’s, “Counterinsurgency Warfare Theory and Practice”. Strategy in fighting guerilla wars will be discussed by comparing conflicts in battles and ideologies from the past to current day. Moreover, ways to avoid the one size fits all war mentality when combating modern day insurgents will be recommended.
John Keegan, the author of “The Face of Battle” is allowing the reader to view different perspective of history, from the eyes of the soldier. Although by his own account, Keegan acknowledges, “I have never been in a battle. And I grow increasingly convinced that I have very little idea of what a battle can be like.” Keegan scorns historians for pointing the finger of failure after an evolution occurs and not examining the soldier’s point of view while the battle is transpiring.
Patrick M. Malone, the author of the his research book “The Skulking Way of War: Technology and Tactics among the New England Indians,” served as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War, where he experienced the opposition forces using guerrilla tactics, such as hiding and using the environment as their advantage and stealthy raid during night time when is completely dark in the jungles of Vietnam. Patrick M. Malone quoted about what Neil Sheehan said of the U.S. military advisors in Vietnam in 1962 all agree on one desire: “They hoped that the guerillas would one day be foolish enough to abandon their skulking ways and fight fairly in a stand-up battle” (Malone 6). The origin meaning of the term “skulking way of war” was primarily to describe
A Texan, William B. Travis and a small group of Texans attacked a squad of Mexican troops in Anahuac with the motive that “taxes should not thus be collected from them to support a standing army in their own country” (SOS 1) and soon drove them back. Travis retreated to San Felipe and were assisted to Bexar. Skirmishes and the threat of war with Mexico soon followed.
“In 1913, a bloody civil war in Mexico brought the ruthless general Victoriano Huerta to power. American President Woodrow Wilson despised the new regime, referring to it as a “government of butchers,” and provided active military support to a challenger, Venustiano Carranza. Unfortunately, when Carranza won power in 1914, he also proved a disappointment and Wilson supported yet another rebel leader, Pancho Villa.”
Hostilities started on April 24th, 1846, 2000 Mexican cavalry crossed the Rio Grande and attacked an American troop of 63 men. This was called the Thornton Affair, 11 troopers were killed and the rest were captured. After that, the Mexicans started bombing Fort Brown, the United States sent General Zach Taylor with 2400 men to relieve the fort. The Mexican general Mariano Arista with 3400 men rushed out to meet them. When the congress heard of the news, they declared ¡§American blood has been shed on American soil¡¨ and they declared war on Mexico. The Americans used a new artillery method called flying artillery, in which mobile light artillery was mounted on horse carriages and the cannoneers were mounted too, in addition, the shells exploded on impact, devastating the Mexican artillery, the Arista tried to route the Flying Artillery with the Mexican Cavalry but did not succeed. The American Artillery demoraliz...
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And, when he reached his destination he killed, raped and enslaved innocent natives. Was Columbus a villain? The answer to that question, in my opinion, would be yes. Christopher Columbus was a cruel, self-centered, delusional man who does not deserve to be praised for the discovery of America.
The men were thinking about using the Lem but it would burn because it was to thin. So they had to be calm and find a way to survive
Some may ask the question as to why these men charged to their inevitable death. One answer is what is stated in an 1835, Volume II, edition of the Southern Literary Messenger. It states that “duty requires obedience, and it would be dishonorable to disobey.” Obedience is defined as the compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority, and to these men, backing down from a fight, even with a predicted, unfortunate outcome, would ...
'We Fought a military war; Opponents our Fought a political one. We sought physical attrition, Opponents Aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the process, we lost sight of one of the cardinal maxims of guerilla war. The guerilla wins if he does not lose, the conventional army loses if it does not win. The North Vietnamese used their forces the way a bullfighter uses its cape - to keep us lunging into areas of marginal political importance. ' (Kissinger, 1969, 214)
Beginning in 1845 and ending in 1850 a series of events took place that would come to be known as the Mexican war and the Texas Revolution. This paper will give an overview on not only the events that occurred (battles, treaties, negotiations, ect.) But also the politics and reasoning behind it all. This was a war that involved America and Mexico fighting over Texas. That was the base for the entire ordeal. This series of events contained some of the most dramatic war strategy that has ever been implemented.