Historically Speaking John J

Historically Speaking John J. Pershing at 150 eptember 13 marks the 150th birthday By BG John S. Brown After the Spanish-American War, Per- Sof General of the Armies John J. Persh- U.S. Army retired shing organized the Office of Customs ing, the highest ranking soldier to have and Insular Affairs within the War De- served in the U.S. Army. He is perhaps best known for lead- partment, which oversaw occupation forces in Cuba, Puerto ing the American Expeditionary Forces to victory in World Rico, Guam and the Philippines. In 1899, he was assigned to War I. To accomplish that monumental task, he redesigned, the Department of Mindanao and Jolo while operations to retrained and reequipped a huge Army on the cusp of battle secure the Philippines were heating up. Pershing served in in France. Returning from that success, he consolidated several Philippine postings through 1903, fighting against America’s transformation to a mobilization-based Army, lay- the Moros and again being cited for bravery, once for actions ing the groundwork for even more gigantic accomplish- along the Cagayan River and once for fighting near Lake ments in World War II. Pershing cemented the roles of the Lanao. Returning to the United States, he served briefly as Chief of Staff and the Army General assistant chief of staff to the Southwest Staff, establishing precedents that re- Division before attending the Army main with us today. In 1923, he was ap- War College. He was assigned as mili- pointed to the newly formed American tary attaché to Tokyo and served as a Battle Monuments Commission and military observer during the Russo- was soon elected as its chairman. He Japanese War. served in this capacity until 1948, en- President Theodore Roosevelt took a suring that the soldiers he had so ably personal interest in this promising offi- led—and those who followed them— cer, while at the same time railing were properly memorialized. against the strict seniority system with- Pershing was born near Laclede, Mo., out effective retirement that rendered in 1860, and worked on his father’s the Army’s senior leadership too aged farm while growing up and attending and infirm to match his vision of an school. He received an appointment to “Army for empire.” In a move that enter the U.S. Military Academy at West shocked the military establishment, Point in 1882 and graduated as First Roosevelt gained congressional appro- Captain four years later. Assigned to the val for Pershing’s promotion from cap- 6th Cavalry Regiment, he participated tain to brigadier general, bypassing in the final campaigns of the Indian three ranks and more than 860 senior Wars. He was cited for courage fighting officers. Pershing served as a military against Geronimo and the Apache and Army U.S. observer in the Balkans and then com- rode in the operations against the Born in Missouri in 1860, John manded again in the Philippines from Lakota (Sioux) that climaxed at Wound- Joseph Pershing graduated from 1909 through 1912, including acting as ed Knee. Pershing taught military tac- the U.S. Military Academy in 1886. the governor of the contentious Moro tics at the University of Nebraska from Province. Returning to the United 1891 through 1895, availing himself of the opportunity to States, he assumed command of the 8th Cavalry Regiment. earn a law degree while there. He established and trained a He also suffered a devastating personal tragedy in 1915 celebrated drill team at the University of Nebraska that came when his wife and three daughters perished in a house to be called the Pershing Rifles, the prototype for similarly fire. Only his six-year-old son, Warren, survived. trained and named drill teams around the country. In 1895, The 8th Cavalry Regiment was posted to Fort Bliss, he assumed command of a troop of the 10th Cavalry Regi- Texas, with security responsibilities along the Mexican bor- ment, the famous African-American Buffalo Soldiers. Persh- der. Revolutionary turmoil in Mexico bubbled across the ing was cited for gallantry serving alongside these soldiers in border on March 9, 1916, when followers of Pancho Villa the fierce battles for Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill in the Span- attacked Columbus, N.M. Troops of the 13th Cavalry Regi- ish-American War. His association with the Buffalo Soldiers ment successfully defended themselves and drove off led to the nickname Black Jack, which was picked up by the Villa’s men with losses, but not before a number of Ameri- press and became popular with soldiers and civilians alike. cans had been killed and much of the town burned down. Pershing served briefly as an instructor at West Point, The United States responded with the Punitive Expedition where he proved unpopular with cadets because of his strict- into Mexico, commanded by BG Pershing. Pershing’s ness as a disciplinarian. columns thrust deep into Mexico, making use of airplanes September 2010 I ARMY 93 pation in World War I. President Woodrow Wilson selected Pershing to command the American Expeditionary Forces in France and dispatched him to determine the size of the force that would be required. After consulting with the Allies, sur- veying the posture of British and French forces, and refining strategic objectives, Pershing returned with his thoughtful General Organization Project in July, requiring more than a million men in France by December 1918. Even this number proved too small in light of Allied failures in 1917, German successes in 1917 and 1918, and the withdrawal of Russia from the war in November 1917. Over time, Pershing revised his figures upwards to a requirement for 3 million men by May 1919, of whom about 2 million had actually arrived by the time of the Armistice in November 1918. he task of organizing and training this massive Army Twith so few experienced cadre to draw upon was daunting, and much of it fell to Pershing. Congress passed a Selective Service Act in May 1917, but it took several months to get the system up and running. Officers’ training camps churned out 80,000 newly commissioned officers as “90-day wonders,” and these joined several hun- dred experienced soldiers in each of the new divisions of the National Army. The Regular Army and National Guard were only somewhat better off, and their organization into DoD/William Fox DoD/William divisions from regiments was improvised. Divisions aver- In 1916, then-BG Pershing, with his aide outside aged four to six months of training before arriving in the headquarters of the American forces in Colo- France, much of it basic and devoid of the artillery and nia Dublan, Mexico, led the Punitive Expedition other heavy equipment required on the Western Front. All in search of revolutionary leader Pancho Villa. of the tanks, virtually all of the heavy artillery and most of the planes used in combat were provided by the British for scouting, wireless telegraphs for communications and and French. Pershing established elaborate unit-training automobiles for transportation. Although most movement facilities in France to bring newly arriving divisions up to was by horse or on foot, this experimentation with modern the standards required, and supplemented these with technology proved useful preparation for events to come. schools for various individual specialties. Allied veterans Pershing’s men killed or captured scores of Villa’s men participated as training cadre, and the cycle ideally in- and a few of Villa’s lieutenants, but Villa himself eluded cluded the commitment of constituent units to quiet sec- capture through hundreds of miles of pursuit. Pershing’s tors of the front. The 1st Division, for example, hastily cob- freedom of action was limited by diplomatic considera- bled together from four infantry regiments and the first to tions, and the approaching American involvement in World arrive in France, trained from July 1917 through January War I dictated a withdrawal of American forces before Pan- 1918 before taking over its own sector of the front. During cho Villa could finally be run to ground. His followers had that time, it drilled progressively at Gondrecourt, incorpo- been decimated, however, and his standing among factions rated artillery and other heavy equipment, rotated battal- vying for control in Mexico was irreversibly compromised. ions under French supervision on a quiet sector of the In 1914, the active U.S. Army numbered less than 100,000. front, and reconsolidated at Gondrecourt to retrain in light By the time the United States declared war on Germany in of its practical experiences. Given the press of events, not April 1917, it had doubled—in part because of the difficulties all divisions received such comprehensive in-theater train- with Mexico—but was still far too small for serious partici- ing, but enough training occurred to convert the American Expeditionary Forces from an untrained mass to a capable BG John S. Brown, USA Ret., was chief of military history at the combat organization. U.S. Army Center of Military History from December 1998 to As famous as Pershing should be for training his Army, he October 2005. He commanded the 2nd Battalion, 66th Armor, is best known for winning with it. From the outset, Pershing in Iraq and Kuwait during the Gulf War and returned to was determined that the American Expeditionary Forces Kuwait as commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Divi- would fight as a whole. He came under considerable pres- sion, in 1995. He has a doctorate in history from Indiana Uni- sure from the British and French to allow Americans to be versity. His book, Kevlar Legions: Army Transformation used as individual or small-unit replacements to reinforce 1989–2005, is forthcoming.

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