US ResearchConflictsIndian Wars and Frontier ConflictsIllinoisAmbush of Johnny Torrio
Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts

Ambush of Johnny Torrio

1925
Illinois
Era
Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts
Year
1925
Location
Illinois
Status
Verified engagement
The Battle

History & Significance

Ambush of Johnny Torrio was a Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts engagement fought in Illinois, 1925.

In reprisal for O'Banion's death, North Side gunmen led by Hymie Weiss and George Moran ambushed syndicate chief Johnny Torrio outside his South Side apartment. As Torrio returned from shopping with his wife, the attackers riddled him and his car with pistol and shotgun fire, wounding him severely in the chest, arm and jaw. Torrio survived after weeks in a guarded hospital room, but the near-fatal attack convinced him to retire and hand control of the Chicago outfit to his lieutenant Al Capone. The ambush marked a decisive generational shift in the city's organized crime and confirmed that the beer war between the North Side gang and the Torrio-Capone organization would be settled by open violence rather than the negotiated territorial divisions Torrio had favored.

Forces engaged
Torrio gravely wounded; survived

Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Ambush of Johnny Torrio take place?
Ambush of Johnny Torrio took place in 1925.
Where was Ambush of Johnny Torrio fought?
Ambush of Johnny Torrio was fought in Illinois, United States.
What was the significance of Ambush of Johnny Torrio?
In reprisal for O'Banion's death, North Side gunmen led by Hymie Weiss and George Moran ambushed syndicate chief Johnny Torrio outside his South Side apartment. As Torrio returned from shopping with his wife, the attackers riddled him and his car with pistol and shotgun fire, wounding him severely i
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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
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The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
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The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Literature
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More from this era

Other Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts Engagements

Assassination of Dion O'Banion
1924
Illinois
Murder of Angelo Genna
1925
Illinois
Genna gang and police gun battle; death of Mike Genna
1925
Illinois
Murder of Tony Genna
1925
Illinois
Assassination of Samuzzo 'Samoots' Amatuna
1925
Illinois
First submachine gun attack of the beer wars (McErlane on Spike O'Donnell)
1925
Illinois
Machine-gun killing of William McSwiggin at Cicero
1926
Illinois
Hawthorne Inn motorcade attack
1926
Illinois
Assassination of Hymie Weiss
1926
Illinois
Assassination of Antonio Lombardo
1928
Illinois
All battles in IllinoisIndian Wars and Frontier Conflictsconflicts ›Historic sites in Illinois
Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Wikipedia source.

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