Soldiers digging a ditch for rain water to flow off. The Pancho Villa Expedition was a military operation conducted by the US Army against the forces of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa from March 1916 - February 1917, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villa's attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico. William Fox for Underwood & Underwood, 1916. NOTE: both the 10th Cavalry and 24th Infantry were involved in the Expedition, but the photographer made no indication which regiment these men belonged to.