A 1915 Dodge of the sort used by Patton during the Punitive Expedition.

May 14 1916, Rubio, Chihuahua–One participant in the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa was a young 2nd Lt. George S. Patton, who served as Pershing’s aide during the expedition. In April, he was given his first combat command, in the 13th Cavalry. The Villistas were at this point in the campaign generally elusive however, and he did not have his first run in with them until May 14. He was leading a detachment of three Dodge touring cars, scouting nearby ranches for horse fodder and any hiding Villistas.

Patton had luck at the San Miguelito ranch, where he found Pancho Villa’s chief bodyguard and second-in-command, Julio Cárdenas along with two other Villistas. They tried to flee on horseback, but were cut off by the cars and killed in the resulting firefight. This was the first motorized attack in the history of the United States. Patton kept Cárdenas’ spurs and lashed his corpse to the hood of his Dodge. Despite this rather grisly act, the incident enhanced Patton’s reputation as a “bandit killer,” especially as Cárdenas was to be the highest-ranking Villista found during the expedition. Patton was promoted the next week.

Today in 1915: Exposé on Shell Shortage Appears in The Times of London



Sources include: Randal Gray, Chronicle of the First World War.