John J. Pershing
General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing GCB (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior American United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I from 1917 to 1920. In addition to leading the AEF to victory in World War I, Pershing notably served as a mentor to many in the generation of generals who led the United States Army during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Lesley J. McNair, George S. Patton, and Douglas MacArthur.[3][4]
John J. Pershing
John Joseph Pershing
"Black Jack"
Laclede, Missouri, U.S.
July 15, 1948
Washington, D.C., U.S.
United States
1877–1924
O-1
Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom)
Legion of Honour (France)
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Helen Frances Warren(m. 1905; died 1915)
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Micheline Resco(m. 1946)
4, with Helen
During his command in World War I, Pershing resisted British and French demands that American forces be integrated with their armies, essentially as replacement units, and insisted that the AEF would operate as a single unit under his command, although some American divisions fought under British command, notably in the Battle of Hamel and the breaching of the Hindenburg Line at St Quentin Canal, precipitating the final German collapse. Pershing also allowed (at that time segregated) American all-Black units to be integrated with the French Army.
Pershing's soldiers first saw serious battle at Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, and Belleau Wood on June 1–26, 1918, and Soissons on July 18–22, 1918. To speed up the arrival of American troops, they embarked for France leaving heavy equipment behind, and used British and French tanks, artillery, airplanes and other munitions. In September 1918 at St. Mihiel, the First Army was directly under Pershing's command; it overwhelmed the salient – the encroachment into Allied territory – that the German Army had held for three years. For the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Pershing shifted roughly 600,000 American soldiers to the heavily defended forests of the Argonne, keeping his divisions engaged in hard fighting for 47 days, alongside the French. The Allied Hundred Days Offensive, of which the Argonne fighting was part, contributed to Germany calling for an armistice. Pershing was of the opinion that the war should continue and that all of Germany should be occupied in an effort to permanently destroy German militarism.
Pershing is the only American to be promoted in his own lifetime to General of the Armies, the highest possible rank in the United States Army.[Note 1] Allowed to select his own insignia, Pershing chose to continue using four silver stars.[5]
In 1937, Pershing created a custom full dress uniform to attend the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, denoting his rank with four gold stars embroidered on each sleeve.[6]
Some of his tactics have been criticized both by other commanders at the time and by modern historians. His reliance on costly frontal assaults, long after other Allied armies had abandoned such tactics, has been blamed for causing unnecessarily high American casualties.[7]
Pershing was also criticized by some historians for his actions on the day of armistice as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force. Pershing did not approve of the armistice, and despite knowing of the imminent ceasefire, he did not tell his commanders to suspend any new offensive actions or assaults in the final few hours of the war.[8] In total, there were nearly 11,000 casualties (3,500 American), dead, missing, or injured during November 11, the final day of the war, which exceeded the D-Day casualty counts of June 1944. For instance, allied casualties on the first day of the D-Day invasion were 4,414 confirmed dead.[9]
Pershing and several subordinates were later questioned by Congress;[8] Pershing maintained that he had followed the orders of his superior, Ferdinand Foch; Congress found that no one was culpable.[10]
Early life[edit]
Pershing was born on a farm near Laclede, Missouri, on September 13, 1860,[11] the son of farmer and store owner John Fletcher Pershing and homemaker Ann Elizabeth Thompson.[12] Pershing's great-great-grandfather, Frederick Pershing, whose name originally was Friedrich Pförsching, emigrated from Alsace, leaving Amsterdam on the ship Jacob, and arriving in Philadelphia on October 2, 1749.[13] He had five siblings who lived to adulthood: brothers James F. (1862–1933) and Ward (1874–1909), and sisters Mary Elizabeth (1864–1928), Anna May (1867–1955) and Grace (1867–1903); three other children died in infancy.[14][15][16] When the Civil War began, his father supported the Union and was a sutler for the 18th Missouri Volunteer Infantry; he died on March 16, 1906.[17] Pershing's mother died during his initial assignment in the American West.[17]
Pershing attended a school in Laclede that was reserved for precocious students who were also the children of prominent citizens, and he later attended Laclede's one-room schoolhouse.[9] After completing high school in 1878, he became a teacher of local African American children.[9] While pursuing his teaching career, Pershing also studied at the State Normal School (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri, from which he graduated in 1880 with a Bachelor of Science degree in scientific didactics.[18][19] Two years later, he competed for appointment to the United States Military Academy.[20] He performed well on the examination, and received the appointment from Congressman Joseph Henry Burrows.[21] He later admitted that he had applied not because he was interested in a military career, but because the education was free and better than what he could obtain in rural Missouri.[20]
Early career[edit]
Pershing reported for active duty on September 30, 1887, and was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U.S. Cavalry stationed at Fort Bayard, in the New Mexico Territory. While serving in the 6th Cavalry, Pershing participated in several Indian campaigns and was cited for bravery for actions against the Apache. During his time at Fort Stanton, Pershing and close friends Lt. Julius A. Penn and Lt. Richard B. Paddock were nicknamed "The Three Green P's," spending their leisure time hunting and attending Hispanic dances. Pershing's sister Grace married Paddock in 1890.[30]
Between 1887 and 1890, Pershing served with the 6th Cavalry at various postings in New Mexico, Arizona, and South Dakota.[31] He also became an expert marksman and won several prizes for rifle and pistol at army shooting competitions.[32]
On December 9, 1890, Pershing and the 6th Cavalry arrived at Fort Meade, South Dakota where Pershing played a role in suppressing the last uprisings of the Lakota (Sioux) Indians.[33][34] Though he and his unit did not participate in the Wounded Knee Massacre, they did fight three days after it on January 1, 1891, when Sioux warriors attacked the 6th Cavalry's supply wagons.[35] When the Sioux began firing at the wagons, Pershing and his troops heard the shots, and rode more than six miles to the location of the attack.[35] The cavalry fired at the forces of Chief War Eagle, causing them to retreat.[35] This was the only occasion on which Pershing saw action during the Ghost Dance campaign.[35]
In September 1891, he was assigned as the professor of military science and tactics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, a position he held until 1895. While carrying out this assignment, Pershing attended the university's College of Law,[36] from which he received his LL.B. degree in 1893.[37] He formed a drill company of chosen university cadets, Company A. In March 1892, it won the Maiden Prize competition of the National Competitive Drills in Omaha, Nebraska. The Citizens of Omaha presented the company with a large silver cup, the "Omaha Cup". On October 2, 1894, former members of Company A established a fraternal military drill organization named the Varsity Rifles. The group renamed itself the Pershing Rifles in 1895 in honor of its mentor and patron.[38] Pershing maintained a close relationship with Pershing Rifles for the remainder of his life.[39][40]
On October 20, 1892,[41] Pershing was promoted to first lieutenant and in 1895 took command of a troop of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments composed of African-American soldiers under white officers. From Fort Assinniboine in north central Montana, he commanded an expedition to the south and southwest that rounded up and deported a large number of Cree Indians to Canada.
Spanish– and Philippine–American wars[edit]
At the start of the Spanish–American War, First Lieutenant Pershing was the regimental quartermaster for the 10th Cavalry. His duties as quartermaster had him unloading supplies at Daiquiri Cuba on 24 June. He missed the Battle of Las Guasimas that was fought that same day but arrived at the battle site late in the afternoon of 24 June. He fought on Kettle and San Juan Hills in Cuba, and was cited for gallantry. Theodore Roosevelt, who also participated in those battles, said that "Captain Pershing is the coolest man under fire I ever saw in my life.”[47] In 1919, Pershing was awarded the Silver Citation Star for these actions, and in 1932 the award was upgraded to the Silver Star decoration. A commanding officer here commented on Pershing's calm demeanor under fire, saying he was "cool as a bowl of cracked ice."[48] Pershing also served with the 10th Cavalry during the siege and surrender of Santiago de Cuba.[49]
Pershing was commissioned as a major of United States Volunteers on August 26, 1898, and assigned as an ordnance officer. In March 1899, after suffering from malaria, Pershing was put in charge of the Office of Customs and Insular Affairs which oversaw occupation forces in territories gained in the Spanish–American War, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. He was honorably discharged from the volunteers and reverted to his permanent rank of first lieutenant on May 12, 1899. He was again commissioned as a major of Volunteers on June 6, 1899, this time as an assistant adjutant.
When the Philippine–American War began, Pershing reported to Manila on August 17, 1899, was assigned to the Department of Mindanao and Jolo, and commanded efforts to suppress the Filipino Insurrection.[50] On November 27, 1900, Pershing was appointed adjutant general of his department and served in this posting until March 1, 1901. He was cited for bravery for actions on the Cagayan River while attempting to destroy a Philippine stronghold at Macajambo.
Pershing wrote in his autobiography that "The bodies [of some Moro outlaws] were publicly buried in the same grave with a dead pig."[51][52] This treatment was used against captured juramentado so that the superstitious Moro would believe they would be going to hell.[53] Pershing added that "it was not pleasant [for the Army] to have to take such measures".[51][54] Historians do not believe that Pershing was directly involved with such incidents, or that he personally gave such orders to his subordinates. Letters and memoirs from soldiers describing events similar to this do not have credible evidence of Pershing having been personally involved.[55][56] Military historian B.H. Liddell Hart wrote that, on the contrary, Pershing's conduct toward the Moros was notable for its "unexpected sympathy," and for the fact that, because of Pershing's conscious effort to interact with and understand them, "he could negotiate with the Moros without the intervention of an interpreter."[57]
On June 30, 1901, Pershing was honorably discharged from the Volunteers and he reverted to the rank of captain in the Regular Army, to which he had been promoted on February 2, 1901. He served with the 1st Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines. He later was assigned to the 15th Cavalry Regiment, serving as an intelligence officer and participating in actions against the Moros. He was cited for bravery at Lake Lanao. In June 1901, he served as commander of Camp Vicars in Lanao, Philippines, after the previous camp commander was promoted to brigadier general.[58]
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