Creating An American Army - John J. Pershing I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1? (Pode 2024)
John J. Pershing, na íntegra John Joseph Pershing, sob o nome Black Jack, (nascido em 13 de setembro de 1860, Laclede, Missouri, EUA - faleceu em 15 de julho de 1948, Washington, DC), general do Exército dos EUA que comandava a Força Expedicionária Americana (AEF)) na Europa durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial
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Pershing se formou na Academia Militar dos Estados Unidos em West Point, Nova York, em 1886. Foi comissionado um segundo tenente e designado para a 6ª Cavalaria, que estava conduzindo operações contra Geronimo e o Chiricahua Apache no sudoeste. Em 1890, Pershing serviu na campanha para suprimir o movimento da Dança Fantasma e uma revolta entre os Sioux no Território de Dakota, mas sua unidade não participou do massacre em Wounded Knee. Em 1891, tornou-se instrutor de ciências militares na Universidade de Nebraska, Lincoln. Enquanto lá, ele também se formou em Direito (1893). Foi apontado como um instrutor nas táticas em West Point em 1897.
A guerra hispano-americana deu a Pershing uma oportunidade de promoção rápida. Serviu em Cuba através da campanha de Santiago (1898) e foi nomeado oficial de ordenança com o posto de major de voluntários. Em junho de 1899, tornou-se ajudante geral. Ele organizou o Departamento de Assuntos Insulares no Departamento de Guerra e atuou como chefe desse departamento por vários meses. Pershing foi despachado para as Filipinas como ajudante geral do departamento de Mindanao em novembro de 1899. Foi feito capitão do exército regular em 1901 e conduziu uma campanha contra os Moros até 1903. Em 1905, foi enviado ao Japão como adido militar a embaixada dos EUA e durante a Guerra Russo-Japonesa, ele passou vários meses como observador do exército japonês na Manchúria. Em reconhecimento ao seu serviço nas Filipinas, US Pres.Theodore Roosevelt promoveu Pershing ao general de brigada do posto de capitão em 1906, passando por mais de 862 oficiais mais graduados. Pershing retornou às Filipinas e permaneceu lá até 1913, servindo como comandante do departamento de Mindanao e governador da província de Moro. Em seguida, chamou a atenção como comandante da expedição punitiva enviada contra o revolucionário mexicano Pancho Villa, que invadira Columbus, Novo México, em 1916. Após a morte do major-general Frederick Funston em 1917, Pershing o sucedeu como comandante nos EUA. -Fronteira mexicana.Em seguida, chamou a atenção como comandante da expedição punitiva enviada contra o revolucionário mexicano Pancho Villa, que invadira Columbus, Novo México, em 1916. Após a morte do major-general Frederick Funston em 1917, Pershing o sucedeu como comandante nos EUA. -Fronteira mexicana.Em seguida, chamou a atenção como comandante da expedição punitiva enviada contra o revolucionário mexicano Pancho Villa, que invadira Columbus, Novo México, em 1916. Após a morte do major-general Frederick Funston em 1917, Pershing o sucedeu como comandante nos EUA. -Fronteira mexicana.
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).
