Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1914-03-26
v|LLAFORCED OUT
OF GOMEz'PALAC|O
Federals Show Strength by
Recapturing Town From
Rebels.
TERRIBLE S ETBACK.
Huerta Claims TO Have Enemy Sur
rounded and Promises to Recoup
His Losses in Past.

Juarez, March ga message re-
ceived from the constitutional army
attacking Torreon, states that fed
eral movement in force against the
center of Villas rebel army resulted
in the recapture of Gomez Palacio
and the repulse of 1000 rebels at Ell
Virjel, six miles north, General
Villa, however, said he had Gomez
Palac:on surrounded and would re-
take the suburb. He ordered 5000
hary; ;grenades and more amIrunition
rushed to him at once in order to re-
new the fighting.
The rebel repulse is believed to
have been inflicted by the fresh troops
which have been rushed to Torreon
from Mexico City. The attack on Co.
mez Palacio has not interferred with
the fighting by Benavides on the LETT
wing, and his men still are pounding
away at the steel cars which are be-
ing used as breastworks by the Fed
erals inside Of the town. Two-thirds
of the rebel army l;2,s been fighting on
the left wing, and only small third
Of the total force participated in the
first defeat of the campaign, the re-
capture of Gomez Palacio and the
railroad roundhouse by the FederalS,
who marched across Nazas river in the
face of heavy rifle and machine
gun fire, attacked and ,etook the lit
tie town, which hovers against hill
to the northwest Of Torreon
Villas order for retreat was the
first he had given since he retreated
from Chihuahua after he had been
given a decisive defeat by the feder
ais within that town. He withdrew
to El Veriel to reorganize his attack,
arr sent his men back to the fight late
this evening. Gomez Palacion is not
of especial Importance in itself, but
it commands the approach to torreon
from the north and would permit the
Federals to execute ?, thanking move
ment against the main cdr4nand of
rebels unless it be retaken
Two hundred Federals are said to
have paid the price of victory late
yesterday evening, when they were ex-
ecuted by rebels after they had been
hustled back to the rear when the re-
new attack of the rebels on Torreon
started. The Fe:erals hal been sent
out to repulse the Zaragossa brigade
in it's attacks on Cercens, the poor
quarter of Torreon, after the gerer-
al attack on the town was renewed,
and were surrounded and captured.
The two separate engagements OF
the day divided the attacking army of
Villa into two coluIrns. One, under
his personal command and with Gen
eral Torbio Ortega directing the
frontal attack, was fighting aroun;.
Gomez Palacio, retreating slowly and
stulioornly before the slate-colored
soldiers Of Huerta, who shuffled
over the remaining spans of the rail-
road bridge and under cover of the
machine guns and artillery on the
Sierra De La Pelar. The attack came
from the south and southwest, where
Villas forces were least expecting it,
and had the federals followed up their
victory, they could have flanke3 and
captured many of the rebels.
Ell Paso, March 26.-Miguel Die
bold, of the Mexican Federal consular
service, said that he had been Off
ciallv informed that the rebels were
rcpulsed with heavy loss at Torreon,
and that some of them were driven
back 20 miles. Other advices from
the front were laiixed in character,
but, out of the medley, schooled oD-
servers here I;rew the conclusion that
the rebels met at Torreon and Go
mez Palacio an enemy in no wise in
ferior, and that thei r attack had
been checked at the outset of the bat
tie DroDer