General John Pershing (Maig 2024)
John J. Pershing, íntegrament John Joseph Pershing, amb el nom de Black Jack, (nascut el 13 de setembre de 1860 a Laclede, Missouri, EUA, va morir el 15 de juliol de 1948, Washington, DC), general de l'exèrcit dels Estats Units que comandava la Força Expedicionària Americana (AEF) a Europa durant la Primera Guerra Mundial.
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Pershing es va graduar a l'Acadèmia Militar dels Estats Units a West Point, Nova York, el 1886. Va ser comissionat a un segon tinent i assignat a la 6a Cavalleria, que aleshores conduïa operacions contra Geronimo i la Chiricahua Apache al sud-oest. El 1890 Pershing va servir en la campanya per suprimir el moviment Ghost Dance i un aixecament entre els sioux al territori de Dakota, però la seva unitat no va participar a la massacre a Wounded Knee. El 1891 es va convertir en instructor en ciències militars a la Universitat de Nebraska, Lincoln. Durant allà també va obtenir el títol de dret (1893). Fou nomenat instructor de tàctica a West Point el 1897.
La guerra hispanoamericana va donar a Pershing l'oportunitat de promocionar ràpidament. Va servir a Cuba a través de la campanya de Santiago (1898) i va ser nomenat oficial d'ofici amb el rang de gran voluntari. El juny de 1899 se li va fer adjutant general. Va organitzar la Oficina d’Afers Insulars al Departament de Guerra i va exercir de cap d’aquest gabinet durant diversos mesos. Pershing va ser enviat a Filipines com a adjutant general del departament de Mindanao el novembre de 1899. Va ser capità a l'exèrcit regular el 1901 i va dur a terme una campanya contra els Moros fins al 1903. El 1905 va ser enviat al Japó com a adjunt militar a l'ambaixada dels Estats Units i durant la guerra ruso-japonesa va passar diversos mesos com a observador de l'exèrcit japonès a Manxúria. En reconeixement al seu servei a Filipines, la presidenta dels Estats Units.Theodore Roosevelt va ascendir a Pershing al general de brigada des del rang de capità el 1906, passant per sobre de 862 oficials més grans a fer-ho. Pershing va tornar a Filipines i va romandre allà fins al 1913, exercint com a comandant del departament de Mindanao i governador de la província de Moro. A continuació, va obtenir atenció com a comandant de l'expedició punitiva enviada contra el revolucionari mexicà Pancho Villa, que havia atacat a Columbus, a Nou Mèxic, el 1916. Després de la mort del general Gener Frederick Funston el 1917, Pershing el va succeir com a comandant als EUA -Frontera mexicana.A continuació, va obtenir atenció com a comandant de l'expedició punitiva enviada contra el revolucionari mexicà Pancho Villa, que havia atacat a Columbus, a Nou Mèxic, el 1916. Després de la mort del general Gener Frederick Funston el 1917, Pershing el va succeir com a comandant als EUA -Frontera mexicana.A continuació, va obtenir atenció com a comandant de l'expedició punitiva enviada contra el revolucionari mexicà Pancho Villa, que havia atacat a Columbus, a Nou Mèxic, el 1916. Després de la mort del general Gener Frederick Funston el 1917, Pershing el va succeir com a comandant als EUA -Frontera 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).
