Tag Archives: Punitive Expedition

Introducing Captain Patton

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This notable oath, via the 1,572-page Official Military Personnel File for George S. Patton Jr., digitized in the National Archives, was signed some years 106 ago today.

When his promotion was announced officially on 17 May, Patton, who had only a few months before had been on detached duty from the 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment to serve as an aide to Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing for the Punitive Expedition against Villa in the Northern Mexican desert regions, was, much to his dismay, detailed to Front Royal, Virginia, to oversee horse procurement for the Army. After all, for a noted horseman that had represented his country in the 1912 Olympics and had designed the final U.S. martial cavalry saber (the M1913) after becoming a Master of the Sword at the French cavalry school at Namur, it seemed like a good fit. 

However, as old “Black Jack” had recently been promoted himself to major general and named Commander of the nascent American Expeditionary Force upon the unexpected death of General “Fighting Fred” Funston, Capt. Patton would soon be leaving his horses behind for the steel cavalry in France.

The long walk back from Chihuahua

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US infantrymen in Mexico during the hunt for Pancho Villa. January, 1917. Image via The Great War 1914-1918

US infantrymen in Mexico during the hunt for Pancho Villa. January 1917. Image via The Great War 1914-1918

100 years ago today, the end of the Punitive Expedition:

In the image above, a column of 6th and 16th Infantry regiments, are shown en route back to the States, between Corralitos Rancho and Ojo Federico, Jan 29th, 1917. Co. A, 16th Inf. in the foreground. Note the “Montana” campaign hats and Springfield 1903s.

This was the longest hike of the return march, 28 miles.

The longest “march” in one day on the way down was actually a lighting fast ride of the made by the artillery of the “Flying Column” consisting of Battery B of the 6th (horse-drawn) Field Artillery, who covered 145 miles in hours over March 15-16, 1916 including a blistering 88 on the first day alone.

As noted by Col. Frank Tompkins, who rode as a Major with the 13th Cav on the Expedition and later penned an excellent work on the subject, that rate of travel was unmatched by any artillery unit anywhere in prior military history.

Blackhorse on the move in style

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m48a1 blackhorse 11th acr vietnam

Troopers check map coordinates from the deck of their M48A1 Patton Tank just a few kilometers east of the Cambodian border in March, 1971. (11th Armored Cavalry Regiment photo by Mike Roch)

And yes, that does appear to be a captured NVA twin 14.5-mm ZPU-2 gun mounted on top of the beast, covered by a picnic table umbrella. What else?

Background on the regiment

The 11th ACR “Blackhorse” was one of the first horse cavalry regiments established in the regular army since the Civil War. During the 1916 Punitive Expedition against Villa, the 1st Squadron rode 22 hours straight to the rescue of United States forces besieged in Parral. Ditching their horses for tracks and wheels after WWI, they were in Europe in time for the Battle of the Bulge and the final push to Germany.

The regiment spent most of the period from 1945-1994 in West Germany first as combat troops in the end stages of WWII, then as constabulary troops, then holding the Fulda Gap for a pending Warsaw Pact invasion. The notable exception to this time period was 1966-72 when the Blackhorse went to Vietnam. Largely the only U.S. armor in the region, they were in large part a fire brigade rushed from place to place, seeing lots of heavy action. In 2009, the unit received a much delayed a Presidential Unit Citation for its Vietnam service.

Since 1994 the Blackhorse have served as the OPFOR at the NTC in Fort Irwin with two active squadrons, a round-out squadron (1/221 CAV) from the Nevada National Guard, and an artillery battalion (1/144) from the California Guard.