Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-03-31 | Page 1 | Chihuahua City is Attacked by Villa

CHIHUAHUA CITY 15 ATTACKER BY VILLA Bandit Driven Back With Loss of 500 Prisoners and 350 Killed or Wounded. CHIHUAHUA CITY, Mexico, March 30. Franriero Villa, at the hen3 of a cavalry force of 3500 men, made a determined deter-mined attempt today to capture Chihuahua Chihua-hua City, but was driven back with the loss of 500 prionera and 350 In killed and wounded. The attack, which had been expected by the garrison force, was launchM at 5:30 o'clock this morning: in the direction of Qulnta Carolina, north of the city, and spread rapidly to the Panta Nino railway rail-way station, the storehouses of the Pierre Oil company and the abandoned city cemetery. The baUery on Santa P.osa. hill, the key to the city, which Villa took by a rush in his surcspfu attack last November, opened fire on the attackers, aided by a cleverly placed buttery at the Central railway station. General K. Hernandez, by executing a flank movement, broke up one end of the Villa, line and took '-"0 prisoners. Colonel Mora. Inlrenehed in The ol.-i cemetery, repulsM three ehreep by the enemy troops. The Villa prison'T" taken tnere raifd the total to F,iv. l-'.es-.des this, over 2'fl saddle hors-. three niacune c::ns and a quantity of i-r, s were capture"!. From an or-ler of the day found on a prisoner, v-.lla'p expedition is piiown to (Continued on Pago rive.) CIUH1 CITY IS MM BY VILLA (Continued from Pago One.) have numbered 3600 men. all cavalry, which was only half the flzo ot the defending de-fending Carranza forces, whose losses in dead and wounded amounted to the comparatively com-paratively email number of ISO men. The Carranxa officers her do not assert as-sert that the victory was decisive, al-thovsh al-thovsh It caused the enemy to flee in disorder. dis-order. Villa was reported to b In personal command of the attack, but remained at a safe distance from the scene of fire. Villa's men were well provided with ammunition, but lacked food and clothing cloth-ing and suffered on the battlefield from need of wa.ter, a all of the streams ar dried up at this season of the year. General Francisco MurRiiia kept up a constant personal inspection of the line and outposts in his motor car during' the, haltle and Is now taking- every precaution ae-Rlnst any further attempt against th city. , i f All snloons and stores were closed today to-day and the sale of liquor forbidden by penalty of death. Good order has been maintained throughout. Anions: the Villa prisoners was the former for-mer constitutionalist ffenwal, Miguel Saa-vedra. Saa-vedra. a native of these parts, who wjut hanged to a tree at the entrance of the Santa Nino bridge immediately after capture. cap-ture. The Carranza forces report the death In action of Colonel Antonio Oaxl-ola Oaxl-ola and Captain Ramon Gonzales. Colonel Ma 1 1 os wa s wou n d ed . The garrison offifPra all testify as io the fury of the Villa attack, which wns broken only by the strength of the fire returned. Much r.redit Is trlven to tho artillery, ar-tillery, which wns commanded by General Gen-eral K. Barm, aided by Major ,1. Coro-nado Coro-nado and Captain Sandoval. Knowing Villa's determination, ss he-captured he-captured the city the last time after a.n apparently heavy defeat, every precaution Is observed tonight by outposts and patrols. ' The. pasaenfrer train which left for Tuaroz this morning was called bark. Telegraphic communication with the border bor-der town was also out of commission for some time, but was restored bv night.