Pershing Expedition of 1916-17

Pershing Expedition of 1916-17

 

an armed intervention in Mexico by troops of the USA commanded by General J. J. Pershing.

The USA sought to paralyze the Mexican Revolution, which had begun in 1910, and strengthen the position of the American monopolies in the country. A border conflict provoked by the USA served as the excuse for the intervention. The invasion on Mar. 15, 1916, of the US Army, with 12,000 men, prompted an upsurge in the popular anti-imperialist movement in Mexico. The US government was forced to abandon its plans for expanding the intervention because of the armed resistance against the interventionists, anti-American demonstrations in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, and the USA’s preparations to enter World War I. The evacuation of American troops began in January 1917 and was completed on February 5.