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Show 4 - . t 111 -1 y , it (VILLA BANDITS SURPRISED BY COL DODD, RETREAT TEN MILES, LOSING THIRTY KILLED ! 1 1 VILLA WOUNDED IN FIGHT WITH SEVENTH AND TENTH CAVALRY Colonel Dodd Makes Smashing Drive of Fifty-five Miles and I Goes Into Action Immediately Villa Forces Soon Break II for Cover, Break Up Into Small Bands and Disapear ' Along Mountain Trails Making Further Pursuit I Impossible Saddles, Rifles and Other I Equipment Left Behindc f Columbus, N. M., March 31. A message from Lieutenant-Colonel D. B. Cabell, General Pershing's chief of staff, said Villa was carried away in a carriage after the battle, ! wounded and with his hip permanently disabled. El Paso, Texas, March 3 1 . The American expeditionary force into Mexico in search of Francisco Villa has fought and won its first battle and first blood lost by American troops has been spilled at San Geronimo in the Guerrero district, according accord-ing to official Mexican reports received here today. El Paso, Texas, March 3 1 . Mexican Consul Garcia an-nnouced an-nnouced today that he had been informed by General Gavira, Carranza commander at Juarez, that the latter had received word that the American troops had been engaged in battle with Villa's forces. According to General Gavira's information, which was supplied in a telegram from Lieutenant-Colonel Refugio Davila at Casas Grandes, the fight took place on March 30, at San Geronimo, between the Seventh cavalry and 500 Villistas, the ' latter losing their commander, Eladeo Fernandez, and thirty men and the Americans suffering several wounded. Colonel Davila also wired General Gavira, according to a Consul Garcia, that confirmation had been received that Villa had been wounded in the leg in the last fight with the Car-ranistas Car-ranistas and now is hiding in the north of Guerrero. a Colonel Davila's telegram to General Gavira said that he 9 had received his information through the chief of staff of the B American expeditionary force at Tres Alamo camp, under & instructions from General Pershing. m Official Statement. 9 The announcement from Consul Gar- m cla read: J "Lieutenant-Colonel Refugio Davila 4 has wired from Casas Grandes to Gen-s Gen-s eral Gavira at Juarez as folows: " 'Chief of staff of American expedi- tlon at Thes Alamo camp, Instructed I by General Pershing, has Informed S me that the Seventh cavalry on March 'k 30, at San Geronimo, fought a Vllllsta 5 column composed of 500 men under 1 Eliseo Fernandez. Villistas lost Fer-'t Fer-'t rtandez and thirty men. American J t forces had several -wounded.. Confor- -f ' Jnatlon received that Villa was wound- i ed at last fight with Constitutionalists i Guerrero.' " 1 General Funston at San Antonio today to-day said he had information that Villa troops were reported to he on the r- Ban Geronimo ranch or the "Que- I taada" ranch, and that the American II and Carranzista troops were closing I In on them. This evidently is the San I Geronimo referred to In Colonel Da- , "Vila's dispatches. II American reports received here this II afternoon stated that General Luis Herrera was advancing westward from Chihuahua with 100 soldiers to t oppose the Villistas. Ill San Antonio, Texas, March 31. j Villa's force, e'stlmated at five hun-I hun-I dred, was severely defeated at Guer-I Guer-I rero on March 29 by Colonel Dodd, according ac-cording to a report from General Pershing Per-shing to General Funston sent from the San Geronimo ranch. ., The Villa loss was placed at thirty ! ! Wiled and the Americans at four ; ; "wounded. Among the Villa wounded ' "wan an officer named Lopez, who Gcn-1 Gcn-1 eral Pershing thought might bo Pablo Lopez, who led the band that murder-j murder-j . ed seventeen Americans at Santa Ysa- Ibel. General Eliseo Fernandez was among the Villa dead. No Americans Seriously Hurt, None of the American wounded was seriously Injured. Villa was not present pres-ent at the fight General Pershing said that what "Was regarded as confirmation of the report that he was suffering from a -g broken leg had been received. His i xact whereabouts had not been learn-X learn-X ed. 1 Colonel Dodd led his Seventh and t Tenth cavalry in a smashing ride from the .north towards Guerrero hen. he learned of the presence there r of the Villa forces, covering the fifty- J Jle miles In 17 hours. General Per- Ik -hlng Bald ho arrived there at six 1 )'ciock, going into action immediately, 1 out whether It was six In the morning -! r in the afternoon the report did not M falcate. fl It was a complete surprise to the " V. L force8r which had entered Into Hi HW H ! -ii-L- a celebration of its -victory over the Carranza garrison the day before. Soon after the action began, the Mexicans were breaking for cover and beginning to disappear along the trulls that lead to the mountains northeast of the railway. For ten miles the running fight that began at Guerrero was continued and abandoned abandon-ed only when the division of the retreating re-treating force into small bodies made pursuit Impossible. Two Machine Guns Captured. Colonel Dodd reported that ho had captured two machine guns nnd a considerable number of saddles and rifles. Tho fleeing bandits left behind be-hind several Carranza soldiers who said they had been held by Villa for execution. They were released by the Americans. General Pershing reported taht it was probable that Villa would endeavor endeav-or to reassemble his forces somewhere along tho head waters of the Santa Maria river. He Is moving his forces in such manner as to prevent, if possible, new concentration of Villistas or to reengage re-engage any force that does not make a stand. He regarded as probable the elimination elim-ination from active developments of Villa for some time on account of his San Antonio, Texas, March 31. General Funston today awaited news that fighting between American troop? and a Villa force had begun along the Mexico Northwestern railroad rail-road between Madeira and Chihuahua, Information, that he styled -unofficial reached headquarters yesterday that a considerable force of Villa's men had concentrated in that region and that the American cavalry was moving mov-ing forward In strength. Carrnnza's troops also were reported report-ed nreparlng to resist Villa's men who" were said to bo assuming the offensive ..The exact position of none of the three organizations was given out, but Villa's outpost, farthest from the American lines, was said to have been within fifty miles of Chihuahua yesterday. The information that reached General Gen-eral Funston indicated that Villa's men and the de facto government troops already woro in contact Villa Visits Wrath on Foreigners. Villa has been concentrating In that part of Chihuahua within the past few days and tho forces he has gathered along the railroad not fnr from Minaca Min-aca where he was reported to have visited his wrath on some of the rest-dents rest-dents is to be greater than any heihoa commanded since he began his flight from the bordor almost a month ago. Col. Dodd, with the Seventh and Tenth cavalry has been moving steadily stead-ily south and west since the division of the forces at Galaena and it was learned unofficially that the general movement of the punitive force has been towards the district where army officers now are convinced Villa is preparing to make a stand. The total strength of the Americans is not so ?reat as that of Villa, but no apprehension appre-hension as to the outcome was manifest mani-fest at General Funston's headquart ers. The Mexican consulate here received receiv-ed a message today from the Mexican Consul Garcia at El Paso saying that General Gavira had received a telegram tele-gram from Queretaro which said that General Cavasos had engaged in a skirmish with Villa forces at Guerrero. Gavira, he said, had requested a more detailed report of the skirmish. Villa Recruits Forces. El Paso, Texas, March 31 The brigand Villa has recruited his forces to normal numbers in his flight before be-fore the pursuing columns of American Amer-ican cavalry, it is reported, and if cornered, will be in a position to give stout resistance. Advices received here today -by Mexican officials stated stat-ed that Villa and his men had soundly sound-ly whipped the Carranza garrison nt Guerrero, under the command of General Gen-eral Cavasos, whose forces were said to number only fifty soldiers. Villa, according to the Information obtained by Mexican Consul Garcia, still occupied oc-cupied Guerrero. Reports that Villa was headed northward toward his old headquarters headquar-ters at San Andres were current today. to-day. If the bandit has turned east or north, the American troops may be nble to encircle him and cut off a further retreat to the south while General Gutierrez operating toward the west with the Carranza troops from Chihuahua would be in a position posi-tion to confront Villa and force him to give battle Strengthening Motor Service. "While final details of the shipment of supplies to Casas Grandes are being be-ing worked out every effort Is being made by the army to strengthen the motor truck service operating south from Columbus, N. M. Twenty-seven . additional trucks passed through here today for Columbus. Co-lumbus. The total number of troops now in service on the Columbus-Casas Grandes trail approximates 200. Of these 174 have been purchased sinco the expeditionary movement began. be-gan. In other words six new supply companies, each with 27 freight carrying carry-ing trucks, one repair car and one tank car. have been organized. Purchases of horses and mules increase in-crease the columns animals to approximately ap-proximately 7,000 Most of these have been assigned as remounts for the bordor pitrol but a large proportion have been sent to tho front to tako tho place of disabled animals. Troops Ready for Quick Dash. Field Headquarters, American Expeditionary Ex-peditionary Force, Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, March 28, by motor to Columbus, N. M, March 31. Troops, munitions and supplies Intended for use either in a quick dash for Villa or for a long chase, are constantly moving out of the headquarters' camp When these movements are on foot, all other military work gives way. The officers refuse to talk of the chances of overtaking Villa, but the visible evidence is overwhelming that the expeditionary force is piling up, somewhere bouth of this base, a formidable for-midable machine for trapping him. Among the known elements of this movement is a body of picked men equipned to travel with all necessary supplies for an indefinite length of time. Field Headquarters American Expedition Ex-pedition Column. Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Chi-huahua, March 27, by motor to Columbus, Colum-bus, N. M., March 31. A complete chain of aviation relays from the American border to the front where the American forces are close on Villa's Vil-la's trail have been established. The main base Is at field headquarters. Tho main advantage of the relay is that it enables the planes to travel with fairly light loads from one station sta-tion to the next It also serves in part to overcome tho problem of altitude alti-tude which the aviators have faced by lightening the load of fuel. At present pres-ent the machines perform Important messenger sen-ice, carry malls and occasionally a few emergency supplies. sup-plies. One of them took a small hand mirror more than 100 miles for important work. It was carried along with a bushel basket full of emergency supplies. Prepare for Vital Work. All this preparation by the aero squadron is for vital work which may cal tho men out to risk their lives at any time. The aero squadron already has done some of tho most important work accomplished by the field divisions. divi-sions. All of tho men feel that they have an opportunity to participate in actual chase of Villa. Despite their numerous adventures to date, the airmen have not been sent aloft recklessly. reck-lessly. There Is no good to bo accomplished ac-complished by the Iobb of an aviator's life so long as the sacrifice gains no real benefit for the expedition. "But," the flying men say and always al-ways with emphasis, "if the big chance comes we will go up somehow, no matter what it costs." Aviators Want Big Machines. One of the aviators today expressed express-ed the wish for a special type of mountain flying machine which could bo driven to an altitude of 15,000 feet, carrying an observer and a military mili-tary load. "With such machines," he said, "the circumstances might readily arise into in-to which we could go into the mountains moun-tains nnd locate Villa in a very few hours. No aviators can beat our men In skill, but it would require a special type of machine for work at extremo nit Itnrlps " Numbed by Cold. One of the aviators returning today from a very cold flight lost all sense of feeling in his fingers and hands. However, he retained enough vitality In his wrists that, by pressing them againBt the steering wheel, he could feel the touch of the wheel, and he maintained control of the plane. This aviator said that for two days after his fingers tingled. The cold and other oth-er endurance tests to which the aero squadron have been put does not seem to have impaired their vitality or in the least affected their health. So far as the aviators know none of them have been shot at In any of their flights. One aviator reported a shot had been fired at him while he was on a hike doing topographical work after landing with his machine some distance dis-tance away from tho Americans. This man did not see where the shot came from and it was not repeated. Columbus, N. M., March 31. Colonel Colo-nel Cabell in his 'message confirmed tiie report that American troops, under un-der Colonel George A. Dodd, had de-qshely de-qshely defeated 500 Villistas, killing 31, including General Eliseo Fernandez. Fernan-dez. Pablo Lopez, Villa's lieutenant who was reported to have been killed kill-ed in the Columbus raid, is statedto have been seriously wounded. Colonel Dodd attacked the Villa camp with 400 members of the Seventh Sev-enth and Tenth cavalry at dawn, completely com-pletely surprising the Mexicans and forcing them immediately on the defensive. de-fensive. A" five-hour running fight followed and last reports from Colonel Colo-nel Dodd were that the American troopers were close behind the Villistas, Vil-listas, who were fleeing further into the mountains. (Continued on Page 7.) no CAVALRY IN BATTLE (Continued from Page 1.) Columbus. N. M., March 31. It was intimated that tho Mexican forces .were somewhere northwest of the railroad at the last reports to General Pershing's headquarters. Before the battle, tho American forces marched throughout the late day and all night, making a march of fifty-five miles through the chill of the mountain night in 17 hours. The Villa flight after tho engagement engage-ment was an utter rout, arms and "equipment being thrown away by the Mexicans in their haste. The dead and wounded Villastas were lying about tho field over which the Americans fought and Colonel Dodd's reports said that perhaps the estimate of thirty killed was low. Later reports indicate that Villa had separated his 500 men into small bands, each fleeing in a different direction di-rection and that tho bandit himself, with a few chosen followers, was -being jolted over mountain roads in a light carriago in an attempt to reach a hiding place. While new details were given in the dispatches, it was asserted that, despite tho arduous mountain march of the Americans, the advance guard crept up through arroyos byond the Villa outposts before they were discovered dis-covered and that the American Springfield rifles mowed tho Mexicans Mexi-cans down as they sprang from their pallets. Villa himself was in a little tent un a knoll in the rear of the encamp-mont encamp-mont and it was asserted took no active ac-tive part in the engagement, leaving the direction of his troops to General Fernandez. |