Battle of Guerrero

Overview

The Battle of Guerrero, or the Battle of San Gerónimo, in March 1916, was the first military engagement between the rebels of Pancho Villa and the United States during the Mexican Expedition. After a long ride, elements of the American 7th Cavalry Regiment encountered a large force of Villistas at the town of Guerrero in the state of Chihuahua. In what has been called the "last true cavalry charge," the Americans assaulted the town and routed the defenders, inflicting over seventy-five casualties on the Mexicans with the loss of only five men wounded.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Guerrero was the first direct military engagement between United States forces and Villista rebels during the Punitive Expedition into Mexico. Fought after a long ride by elements of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, the action resulted in the rout of a large Villista force at Guerrero, Chihuahua, with over seventy-five Mexican casualties against only five Americans wounded. The outcome demonstrated that U.S. forces could locate and engage Villista units on Mexican soil, lending early operational credibility to the expedition. The engagement has since been noted as what observers called the last true cavalry charge in American military history, marking it as a transitional moment in the conduct of U.S. ground operations.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)