El Centauro del Norte
Pancho Villa
June 5, 1878 – July 20, 1923
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Doroteo Arango became the commander of the División del Norte (Army of the North); he started as a bandit making raids on wealthy cattle ranches in northern Mexico.
Although his birth name was Doroteo Arango, he took the name Pancho Villa to honor a fallen bandit leader. Villa’s men were mostly miners from the north. His men are known as dorados ‘golden ones’ because of their golden hued uniforms and rode into battle crying Viva Villa! Viva la Revolucion! They were famous for their cavalry charges which were often led by Villa himself.
Villa tried to give each soldier a horse to make his army more mobile. Legendary as a cavalry commander and nicknamed El Centauro del Norte (The Centaur of the North), he was defeated by Obregon who used WWI tactics in the decisive Battle of Celaya in 1915. He fought the Revolution for Land reform and equal education. After killing some Americans and conducting raids into the United States, he caused the United States, under General Pershing, to invade Mexico. He was never caught. He was assassinated in 1923 after retiring.
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