him to divert his attack to a coal-mining town because the southern army needed more coal.
Angered by what he saw as Carranza trying to deprive him of the glory of taking the capital, Villa cut ties with him and declared his movement independent. It was a bold move, and one that would cost him dearly. Previously, Villa had been something of a folk hero on both sides of the border, and many of his band of raiders were English-speaking American volunteers attracted by the romance of the lifestyle and the idea of freeing Mexico from a dictatorship. That image began to fade as news of the violence and excesses not only of his men, but Villa himself, became known. A meeting with General John Pershing convinced the Americans that Villa was the wrong horse to backâfor years he had enjoyed moral and material support from the U.S., but the U.S. now chose to side with Carranza.
Most of the American volunteers went back home. With great losses in manpower, supplies and ammunition, Villa's men were routed by forces loyal to Carranzaâwho had taken over as president after defeating Huertaâat the Battle of Agua Prieta. With just 500 followers left, mostly wandering the desert and foraging for food, Villa decided to launch a raid on the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico.
At about 4:00 a.m., Villa launched a terror attack with his horsemen shooting and shouting. They began to loot and burn private homes. One of Villa's scouts had told him that there were only 30 soldiers garrisoned in Columbus, but there were actually 330 with machine guns. The residents of the town were also well-armed, and Villa sounded the retreat after about 90 minutes of bloodshed.
Villa had lost about half of his men and gained nothing but the ire of the Americans. Pershing led a 10,000-man force into northern Mexico to find him, but had to cut the search short when it became obvious the Americans were going to enter World War I. Villa had some contact with the Germans, who may have been hoping to use him in an effort to open a North American front in their European War, but nothing substantial came of it. Friendless, Villa eventually retired.
The fall of the PRI
Another old ally of Carranza's who had turned foe was Zapata. A Mestizo who is said to have spoken Nahuatl fluently, Zapata split with the Constitutional cause and had his own armyâofficially the Liberationalist army, but popularly known as the Zapatistasâwho rallied under his phrase: âIt's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.â Less disciplined even than Villa's men, in the early part of the revolution, Madero asked him to disarm, but he refused and split with his old ally. As he shot and looted his way through village after village, it has been argued that Zapata's men were more like a gang of bandits than revolutionaries.
They were powerful, particularly in the south. While successive governments (and even Villa) tried to defeat Zapata's army, they had failed, so Carranza's Constitutionalists came up with a cunning plan. General Pablo González (Garza) and his second-in-command, Colonel Jesús Guajardo (Martinez), sent word that they wanted to join Zapata. He was suspicious of their motives, and asked them to prove their loyalty before he would meet face to face with them. González then sent Guajardo to ambush an unsuspecting Constitutionalist convoy. When Zapata saw that Guajardo's men had killed 57 government soldiers, he agreed to a meeting. When Zapata arrived in Chinameca on April 10, 1919, Guajardo's men shot him with dozens of bullets.
Without their charismatic leader, the Zapatistas faded away, although many of his followers later became peacefully involved in Mexican governments.
Back in 1917, Carranza had written a socialist-leaning constitution with the primary goal of decentralizing the power of the church and military, while easing out foreign land ownership. He didn't stay in power long enough to put his plans into
Angered by what he saw as Carranza trying to deprive him of the glory of taking the capital, Villa cut ties with him and declared his movement independent. It was a bold move, and one that would cost him dearly. Previously, Villa had been something of a folk hero on both sides of the border, and many of his band of raiders were English-speaking American volunteers attracted by the romance of the lifestyle and the idea of freeing Mexico from a dictatorship. That image began to fade as news of the violence and excesses not only of his men, but Villa himself, became known. A meeting with General John Pershing convinced the Americans that Villa was the wrong horse to backâfor years he had enjoyed moral and material support from the U.S., but the U.S. now chose to side with Carranza.
Most of the American volunteers went back home. With great losses in manpower, supplies and ammunition, Villa's men were routed by forces loyal to Carranzaâwho had taken over as president after defeating Huertaâat the Battle of Agua Prieta. With just 500 followers left, mostly wandering the desert and foraging for food, Villa decided to launch a raid on the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico.
At about 4:00 a.m., Villa launched a terror attack with his horsemen shooting and shouting. They began to loot and burn private homes. One of Villa's scouts had told him that there were only 30 soldiers garrisoned in Columbus, but there were actually 330 with machine guns. The residents of the town were also well-armed, and Villa sounded the retreat after about 90 minutes of bloodshed.
Villa had lost about half of his men and gained nothing but the ire of the Americans. Pershing led a 10,000-man force into northern Mexico to find him, but had to cut the search short when it became obvious the Americans were going to enter World War I. Villa had some contact with the Germans, who may have been hoping to use him in an effort to open a North American front in their European War, but nothing substantial came of it. Friendless, Villa eventually retired.
The fall of the PRI
Another old ally of Carranza's who had turned foe was Zapata. A Mestizo who is said to have spoken Nahuatl fluently, Zapata split with the Constitutional cause and had his own armyâofficially the Liberationalist army, but popularly known as the Zapatistasâwho rallied under his phrase: âIt's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.â Less disciplined even than Villa's men, in the early part of the revolution, Madero asked him to disarm, but he refused and split with his old ally. As he shot and looted his way through village after village, it has been argued that Zapata's men were more like a gang of bandits than revolutionaries.
They were powerful, particularly in the south. While successive governments (and even Villa) tried to defeat Zapata's army, they had failed, so Carranza's Constitutionalists came up with a cunning plan. General Pablo González (Garza) and his second-in-command, Colonel Jesús Guajardo (Martinez), sent word that they wanted to join Zapata. He was suspicious of their motives, and asked them to prove their loyalty before he would meet face to face with them. González then sent Guajardo to ambush an unsuspecting Constitutionalist convoy. When Zapata saw that Guajardo's men had killed 57 government soldiers, he agreed to a meeting. When Zapata arrived in Chinameca on April 10, 1919, Guajardo's men shot him with dozens of bullets.
Without their charismatic leader, the Zapatistas faded away, although many of his followers later became peacefully involved in Mexican governments.
Back in 1917, Carranza had written a socialist-leaning constitution with the primary goal of decentralizing the power of the church and military, while easing out foreign land ownership. He didn't stay in power long enough to put his plans into
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