Creating An American Army - John J. Pershing I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1? (Mayo 2024)
Si John J. Pershing, sa buong John Joseph Pershing, na pinangalanang Black Jack, (ipinanganak Setyembre 13, 1860, Laclede, Missouri, US — namatay noong Hulyo 15, 1948, Washington, DC), heneral ng US Army na nag-utos sa American Expeditionary Force (AEF) sa Europa noong World War I.
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Si Pershing ay nagtapos mula sa Militar Academy ng Estados Unidos sa West Point, New York, noong 1886. Siya ay inatasan ng pangalawang tenyente at itinalaga sa ika-6 na Cavalry, na noon ay nagsagawa ng mga operasyon laban kina Geronimo at sa Chiricahua Apache sa Timog-kanluran. Noong 1890 nagsilbi si Pershing sa kampanya upang sugpuin ang kilusang Ghost Dance at isang pag-aalsa sa mga Sioux sa Dakota Teritoryo, ngunit ang kanyang yunit ay hindi lumahok sa masaker sa Wounded Knee. Noong 1891 siya ay naging isang tagapagturo sa agham militar sa Unibersidad ng Nebraska, Lincoln. Habang doon din siya nakakuha ng isang degree sa batas (1893). Siya ay hinirang bilang isang tagapagturo sa mga taktika sa West Point noong 1897.
Binigyan ng Digmaang Espanyol-Amerikano ang Pershing ng isang pagkakataon para sa mabilis na pagsulong. Nagsilbi siya sa Cuba sa pamamagitan ng kampanya ni Santiago (1898) at itinalagang opisyal ng ordenansa na may ranggo ng mga pangunahing boluntaryo. Noong Hunyo 1899 siya ay ginawang adjutant heneral. Inayos niya ang Bureau of Insular Affairs sa Digmaang Digmaan at kumilos bilang pinuno ng bureau na iyon nang maraming buwan. Si Pershing ay ipinadala sa Pilipinas bilang adjutant general ng kagawaran ng Mindanao noong Nobyembre 1899. Siya ay ginawang kapitan sa regular na hukbo noong 1901 at nagsagawa ng isang kampanya laban sa Moros hanggang 1903. Noong 1905 siya ay ipinadala sa Japan bilang military Atté sa ang embahada ng US, at sa panahon ng Russo-Japanese War ay gumugol siya ng maraming buwan bilang isang tagamasid sa hukbo ng Hapon sa Manchuria. Bilang pagkilala sa kanyang paglilingkod sa Pilipinas, si US Pres.Itaguyod ni Theodore Roosevelt si Pershing sa brigadier heneral mula sa ranggo ng kapitan noong 1906, na pumasa sa 862 na mas nakatatandang opisyal sa paggawa nito. Bumalik sa Pilipinas si Pershing at nanatili roon hanggang 1913, na nagsisilbing kumander ng kagawaran ng Mindanao at gobernador ng Lalawigan ng Moro. Kasunod niya ay nakakuha ng pansin bilang pinuno ng punitive ekspedisyon na ipinadala laban sa rebolusyonaryong Mehiko na Pancho Villa, na sumalakay sa Columbus, New Mexico, noong 1916. Pagkamatay ni Maj. -Mga hangganan ng Mexico.Kasunod niya ay nakakuha ng pansin bilang pinuno ng punitive ekspedisyon na ipinadala laban sa rebolusyonaryong Mehiko na Pancho Villa, na sumalakay sa Columbus, New Mexico, noong 1916. Pagkamatay ni Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston noong 1917, si Pershing ay nagtagumpay sa kanya bilang komandante sa US -Mga hangganan ng Mexico.Kasunod niya ay nakakuha ng pansin bilang pinuno ng punitive ekspedisyon na ipinadala laban sa rebolusyonaryong Mehiko na Pancho Villa, na sumalakay sa Columbus, New Mexico, noong 1916. Pagkamatay ni Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston noong 1917, si Pershing ay nagtagumpay sa kanya bilang komandante sa US -Mga hangganan ng Mexico.
After the United States declared war on Germany (April 1917), Pres. Woodrow Wilson selected Pershing to command the American troops being sent to Europe. The transition from the anti-insurgency campaigns that had characterized much of Pershing’s career to the vast stagnant siege of the Western Front was an extreme test, but Pershing brought to the challenge a keen administrative sense and a knack for carrying out plans in spite of adversity. With his staff, Pershing landed in France on June 9, 1917, and that month he submitted a “General Organization Report” recommending the creation of an army of one million men by 1918 and three million by 1919. Earlier American planning had not contemplated such a large army. Having assumed that the AEF could not be organized in time to support military operations on the Western Front, the Allies had asked only for financial, economic, and naval assistance. Pershing’s recommendations regarding the numbers and disposition of troops prevailed, however, especially after Allied fortunes worsened during 1917. By early 1918, American plans had called for concentrating an independent army on the Western Front, which Pershing hoped would spearhead a decisive offensive against Germany.
The exhaustion of the Allies, stemming from the setbacks of 1917, increased their dependence on U.S. arms. It also engendered pressure on Pershing to condone the “amalgamation” of small units of American troops into European armies, as the Allies desperately wanted replacements for their depleted formations to resist expected attacks. From the start, Pershing insisted that the integrity of the American army be preserved, making a firm stand against French tutelage and the French desire to infuse the new American blood into their ranks. Pershing also opposed proposals to divert some U.S. troops to secondary theatres. The Supreme War Council, an institution established to coordinate the political-military strategy of the Allies, continually recommended amalgamation and that diversionary operations be conducted elsewhere than in France, but Pershing remained unmoved. If Pershing’s stance imposed a strain on the exhausted Allies, it was justified by the oft-cited warning against “pouring new wine into old bottles.” Pershing also felt that such an arrangement would represent an unprecedented sacrifice of national prestige. He argued that the fielding of an independent American army would be a serious blow to German morale and provide a permanent uplift to American self-confidence.
The disasters of early 1918 seemed to demonstrate the great risk that had been taken in pursuit of Pershing’s ideal. The Germans, their Western Front armies having been strongly reinforced because of the armistice recently concluded between the German-led Central Powers and Russia, embarked on a fresh wave of attacks designed to break the Allies’ will before the Americans could deploy in strength. At the Second Battle of the Somme, German armies advanced 40 miles (64 km) and captured some 70,000 Allied prisoners. When the German offensives of March–June 1918 threatened Paris, Pershing placed all his resources firmly at the disposal of French Marshal Ferdinand Foch. These pressures subsided when the Allies assumed the offensive during the summer, however, and Pershing reverted to his previous policy.
Pershing’s army never became entirely self-sufficient, but it conducted two significant operations. In September 1918 the AEF assaulted the Saint-Mihiel salient successfully. Then, at Foch’s request, later that month Pershing quickly regrouped his forces for the Meuse-Argonne offensive, despite his original plans to advance toward Metz. Though incomplete preparations and inexperience slowed the Meuse-Argonne operations, the inter-Allied offensive in France destroyed German resistance in early October and led to the Armistice the following month.
Pershing was criticized for operational and logistic errors, but his creation of the AEF was a remarkable achievement. He returned home with a sound reputation, and, on September 1, 1919, he was given the rank of general of the armies of the United States. Pershing’s nickname, “Black Jack,” derived from his service with a black regiment early in his career, had come to signify his stern bearing and rigid discipline. His determination and dedication had gained him the respect and admiration of his men, if not their affection. Eschewing politics, Pershing remained in the army, serving as chief of staff from 1921 until his retirement three years later. Pershing’s memoirs were published as My Experiences in the World War, 2 vol. (1931).
