Liveblogging World War I: June 21, 1916: Battle of Carrizal
The Battle of Carrizal occurred on the June 21, 1916. It was a major skirmish between United States Army troops of General John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition and Carrancista troops fought at the town of Carrizal in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
In June 1916, Gen. Pershing was informed that Pancho Villa could be taken at Carrizal, west of Ahumada.[4] When he sent Captains Boyd and Morey to investigate with C and K troops of the 10th Cavalry, they were confronted by Mexican Army troops, not Villa's men.[3] Boyd ordered the men to attack anyway.[citation needed] In the resulting battle, the American attack was repelled.
By legend Villa supposedly watched with delight as his two enemies fought it out with each other. However, this story is of doubtful veracity as Villa was badly injured at the time and being pursued by both the American Army and the federal Carrancistas. The cavalry lost two officers (Charles T. Boyd and Henry R. Adair) and ten men killed and 23 taken prisoner. The Mexican forces lost 45, including the commanding officer, Gen. Félix U. Gómez. This clash caused enough tension that war between the US and México seemed possible. The simultaneous deterioration of German-American relations while World War I raged made any escalation in México undesirable and so negotiations followed.
