Pancho Villa Expedition

The Pancho Villa Expedition, also known as the Punitive Expedition, was a U.S. military operation from 1916 to 1917 aimed at capturing Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa after he attacked U.S. border towns. U.S. forces, primarily led by General John J. Pershing, crossed into Mexico without official permission to pursue Villa, who was resisting the Mexican government and opposing U.S. interests. The expedition marked a rare armed incursion into Mexico and involved significant troop movement and combat firefights, ultimately ending without Villa’s capture but demonstrating U.S. military readiness and influencing future expeditionary strategies.