*** Welcome to piglix ***

General Pershing

John J. Pershing
General John Joseph Pershing head on shoulders.jpg
Birth name John Joseph Pershing
Nickname(s) "Black Jack"
Born (1860-09-13)September 13, 1860
Laclede, Missouri, U.S.
Died July 15, 1948(1948-07-15) (aged 87)
Walter Reed General Hospital
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Buried Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1886–1924
Rank General of Armies insignia.svg General of the Armies
Service number O-1
Commands held 8th Brigade
Mexican Expedition
American Expeditionary Force
First United States Army
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Battles/wars

Indian Wars

Spanish–American War

Philippine–American War

Russo-Japanese War
Mexican Revolution

World War I

Awards Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom)
Légion d'honneur (France)
Signature John J Pershing Signature.svg

Indian Wars

Spanish–American War

Philippine–American War

Russo-Japanese War
Mexican Revolution

World War I

General of the Armies John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948) was a senior United States Army officer. His most famous post was when he served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front in World War I, 1917–18.

General Pershing rejected British and French demands that American forces be integrated with their armies, and insisted that the AEF would operate as a single unit under his command. Although some American divisions fought under British command, and he also allowed all-black units to be integrated with the French army.

American forces first saw serious battle at Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Soissons. To speed up the arrival of the doughboys, they embarked for France leaving the 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, which the Argonne fighting was part of, 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 the German militarism.


...
Wikipedia

...