Intervention!: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1917 - Softcover

Eisenhower, John S. D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393313182 ISBN 13: 9780393313185

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995

Synopsis

Powerful and compelling. . . Eisenhower is not only an accomplished military historian, he's also a storyteller in the tradition of Bruce Caton and Shelby Foote." -Steve Neal, Chicago Sun-Times In May 1916, six American soldiers led by Lieutenant George S. Patton, Jr., surrounded a building near Rubio, Chihuahua. When the occupants burst out of the door, guns blazing, Patton and his men cut them down. A month later seventy American troopers charged into a strong Mexican position at Carrizal; ten were killed and twenty-three taken prisoner. In 1914, a powerful American naval force seized Mexico's principal seaport, Veracruz, and occupied the city for six months. Yet, all the while, Mexico and the United States were technically at peace. The United States began its involvement in the Mexican Revolution in 1913 with President Woodrow Wilson's decision to remove Victoriana Huerta, leader of a military junta that overthrew and murdered Mexico's president, Francisco Madero. Diplomatic actions failing, Wilson occupied Veracruz, cutting off Huerta's supplies of arms from abroad. When in 1916 the legendary bandit Pancho Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico, Wilson sent General John J. Pershing into Chihuahua to capture him. This story leads readers to increased respect for the people of Mexico and its revolutionary leaders-Zapata, Obregon, Carranza, and Pancho Villa. It shows that, while American troops performed well, U.S. intervention had no effect on the outcome of the Mexican Revolution. The American army had a taste of battle and Pershing went on to become the greatest American hero of the First World War.

About this title

Review:

This history of the United States's meddling in Mexican affairs features a cast of characters who don't make either side look very good. President Woodrow Wilson regularly misapprehends the situation to his south, prompting two violations of Mexican sovereignty: a naval occupation of Veracruz and an aggressive search by the American military for the bandit Pancho Villa, who raided a town in New Mexico. The Mexican politicians were hardly exemplars of democratic enlightenment, but the American response to their shenanigans sparked an enormous amount of national indignation in Mexico that still hasn't entirely vanished. Brigadier General John J. Pershing, the man charged with hunting down Villa, comes across as an upright soldier and one of the book's few noble figures; he's the central character in Eisenhower's most entertaining section.

About the Author:

John Eisenhower is the author of several books, including The Bitter Woods, Allies: Pearl Harbor to D-Day, and So Far From God. He lives in Trappe, Maryland.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0393313182
• ISBN 13: 9780393313185
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 416