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1、
In addition to Washington, the U.S. Army has a six-star general who has a perfect career as a horseman.
When it comes to American generals, what comes to everyone's mind is MacArthur, Eisenhower, and other "five-star generals" who made great achievements in World War II.
However, in fact, there are still "six-star generals" in the US military, but the number is very rare. With the exception of Washington, the "Father of the United States," only one general in the U.S. Army has received this honor.
He is today's protagonist - John Joseph Pershing. Speaking of which, Pershing is indeed a character, he grew up watching artillery fire, but when he became an adult, he was able to command thousands of troops and horses, and the whole world was peaceful.
How did Pershing get the rank of six-star general, the only one in the US Army? How many battles did he win in his life? In addition to fighting, what other legendary experiences did he have?
Click to pay attention and watch General Pershing's fierce life together!
In 1886, white Americans formed an army to advance to the west, and there was a fierce conflict with the local indigenous Indians, and a major war was about to break out.
At this time, Pershing happened to have just graduated from West Point and entered the 10th Cavalry Regiment, and then he participated in the western operation with the large army.
Due to historical reasons, there are many blacks in the United States, but their social status has always been low, and blacks who join the army rarely have the opportunity to be promoted.
However, in order to fight for a good future, blacks tend to be braver and more loyal in battle, and Pershing, who was only a junior officer at the time, saw all this in his eyes.
Therefore, Pershing is very different from other white people, not only does he not discriminate against black soldiers, but he is also willing to communicate with them, and will fight for the legitimate interests of black soldiers at critical moments.
Because of this, black soldiers were particularly close to Pershing, and Pershing's name as "Black Jack" began, which was also the beginning of his fame in the American military circles.
Pershing then participated in the battles in Cuba, the Philippines and other places, and won the favor of his superiors with his excellent skills, including the later US President Theodore Roosevelt.
Especially in 1902, after the United States won a great victory in the Philippine War, Pershing became a hot figure in the American military circles, and was directly transferred to the staff in Washington.
More importantly, Pershing not only won the appreciation and trust of the high-level military circles at that time, but also sat on a "rocket" in terms of rank promotion, basically all the way up.
In 1906, under the promotion of Theodore Roosevelt, who had already become president, Pershing directly crossed nearly 1,000 military seniors and became a temporary brigadier general in one fell swoop, which is also a unique miracle in the history of the American military.
This also means that Pershing has successfully risen to the top of the US military circles at this time. And while his status is rising, he has more and more opportunities to show his strength on the battlefield.
Theodore Roosevelt was succeeded by Wilson, but Wilson trusted Pershing more than Roosevelt Sr. Whenever he encountered a military problem, the first thing that came to his mind was Pershing.
Therefore, after Wilson came to power, Pershing was not only a high-ranking general of the US military, but also had the status of a "royal" military adviser to the president, and was a veritable confidant of the president.
You know, the president of the United States is not only the leader of the political circles, but also the supreme commander of the US military, so Wilson's trust is tantamount to a tiger for Pershing.
It was precisely by virtue of Wilson's weight that Pershing also became the first general in the history of the US military to command a modern army, and the first use of automobile transportation, aircraft reconnaissance, and field radio stations were all completed in his unit.
However, it is a pity that Pershing, a hero who should be high-spirited, also has many unsatisfactory results, the most cruel of which is the tragic death of his wife and daughter.
It was when Pershing was battling with the Mexican thieves when he was fighting on the battlefield when a fire broke out at his San Francisco residence, killing his wife and three daughters.
Although a son survived, the incident still dealt a big blow to Pershing, and his already ruthless personality was further aggravated by it.
But as a commander with great achievements, he could not fall at such a time, because as the First World War intensified, the U.S. government and the people wanted him to lead his troops to fight in Europe.
So Pershing put away his grief, regrouped, and marched to Europe with the American Expeditionary Force.
It was on the battlefield in Europe that Pershing completed his "Battle of the Gods", what kind of results did he achieve?
2、
After the end of World War I, Pershing was awarded a six-star general in the U.S. Army, what did he do in the European theater?
In fact, after the start of World War I, the United States ostensibly pursued a policy of neutrality, but in fact it wanted to sit on the hill and watch the tiger fight, and by the way, recklessly reap a windfall from the war.
When the money on the side of the United States is enough, the national strength of those traditional powers in Europe will be almost consumed. So in 1917, the United States finally decided to send an expeditionary force to fight in Europe.
At this time, Pershing had already experienced a hundred battles and had accumulated high military prestige in the United States, so it was expected that he should lead his troops into the war.
Coupled with the support of President Wilson, Pershing really became the final candidate to lead the expeditionary force to the European battlefield, and the peak of his career as a horse also followed.
Interestingly, the first thing Pershing did after taking the expeditionary force to Europe was to pay homage to the Marquis of Lafayette.
This Marquis de Lafayette is indeed not an ordinary person, whether it is the American Revolutionary War or the French Revolution, he has done his best.
However, in front of the mausoleum of the former hero, Pershing opened his mouth and said something quite meaningful: "Lafayette, here we come." ”
In 1976, it was Lafayette who fought the American Revolutionary War with Washington. Now in 1917, it has become Pershing and the British and French forces to fight against the German invaders, but there is an unreal sense of time and space travel.
In fact, long before Pershing landed in Europe, everyone in Europe had already learned of his arrival, and many media spontaneously created momentum for him, making him like a "god" who saved the world in the eyes of Europeans.
Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, Pershing's cold and resolute military demeanor is indeed good, coupled with his subsequent achievements, it really makes him a veritable "god of war" in the world.
But at the beginning, Pershing did not immediately send troops to the front line of the war, but concentrated on training soldiers.
This is mainly because although the United States was the world's largest economic power at that time, it did not reach the point of invincibility militarily, and there were not many standing armies.
Even fewer were incorporated into the expeditionary force, so that in addition to a few capable officers, Pershing brought to Europe at that time was only a group of "rabble" who might have just begun to shoot.
Therefore, in order to ensure that the United States could win the opportunity to become famous in the world, Pershing went to Europe and began to train soldiers strictly.
Previously, these soldiers did not have much combat experience except for the "Mexican thieves", and it was a fantasy to use the kung fu of these three-legged cats against the heavily armed German army.
With a wave Xi of his hand, not only did the soldiers strengthen their training, but even his capable generals began to learn how to command modern large-scale operations, such as planes, tanks, and other coordinated operations.
Not only that, Pershing also expanded the ranks of the American army in Europe, and by the time the army was almost trained, the number of American troops under his command had exceeded two million.
His training methods were so harsh that the American soldiers gave him a new nickname - "Fierce Black Jack".
However, it was precisely by relying on such training methods that Pershing was able to successfully lead the US military to fight a world in Europe.
In September 1918, Pershing commanded 550,000 American troops and 110,000 French troops to launch a fierce attack on the German army at Saint-Miel, and advanced weapons such as tanks were also sent to the battlefield.
Through this battle alone, Pershing led the successful extermination of more than 5,000 German troops, and captured more than 10,000 prisoners, so that the whole of Europe saw the power of him and the American army.
After that, Pershing continued to deliver successes, and in the end, it only took him more than six months to defeat the German army together with the British and French forces, and the United States became one of the victorious countries in World War I.
As far as the United States is concerned, this not only means that it has obtained the "admission ticket" to seize the fruits of victory after the war, but also represents that the United States has also stepped into the forefront of the world militarily, which is of great significance to the strategic ambition of the United States to "dominate" the world.
As far as Pershing is concerned, after the victory in World War I, his military career ended perfectly, and he also trained MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower and other generals for the United States, and firmly established an unshakable position in the US military circles.
It's a pity that the years are not forgiving, at this time Pershing is already close to the age of six, but his legendary life is not over, so what did he do in his twilight years?
3、
In 1948, the American six-star general Pershing died, and countless generals said goodbye, how good was he?
In September 1919, the U.S. Congress issued a decision to confer on Pershing the rank of "Army Superior General", which is commonly known as the "six-star general" rank.
Before Pershing, only Washington had received the honor in 1799, when his term as president had ended, but he remained commander of the U.S. Army.
However, because Washington died soon after, he was not officially knighted. More than 100 years is a long time, but only Pershing has won this honor again, and its gold content is self-evident.
What is puzzling is that after the end of World War I, although Pershing ended his military career because of his advanced age and no major battles, he did not enter politics after retirement.
This is relatively rare in the United States, because many high-ranking American generals will shine in the political arena after retirement.
Truman, Eisenhower, and several other US presidents were also influential figures on the battlefield.
But after Pershing retired, he did not have any political position, but calmed down and wrote his memoirs. Although Pershing later rose to the top of the American military, he almost died in a war in his early years.
In 1861, the southern states of the United States became independent one after another, and the "Southern Union" declared war on the North immediately after its formation, and the great Civil War in the United States officially began.
Pershing was only a year old at this time, but as the war intensified, the war almost destroyed his home when he was four years old. It was June 1864, and armed forces belonging to the American South stormed his home.
This was largely due to his father's support of the Lincoln administration and, like the Northern Army in the Missouri area, who had come to his aid, and was retaliated against by the South.
If it weren't for the timely arrival of the northern army, I'm afraid their whole family would not have escaped their fate. Although the crisis was eventually resolved peacefully, it left a psychological shadow on the still young Pershing.
Coincidentally, Pershing was admitted to the famous West Point Military Academy in one fell swoop when he grew up as an adult, and at this time he finally got the opportunity to control his own destiny, at least he would no longer wait for death to come when the war came.
Since then, Pershing has made his motto "We strive to achieve what we are working towards", which has inspired him to go further and further, and gradually brought him to the top of his life.
may also be because he has seen too much life and death on the battlefield, so in his later years, Pershing instead returned his life to peace and devoted himself to writing his memoirs in the United States.
After the memoirs were almost completed, he returned to France, and met with the French Marshal Petain, who had fought side by side with him, and had a good time.
In August 1939, Pershing went to France again, but by this time the German Nazis had already begun to recruit troops aggressively, and his intuition made Pershing realize that something was wrong.
Finally, half a month before the Nazi blitzkrieg on Poland, Pershing really felt that Europe was not suitable for a long time, so he hurried back to the United States. Soon after, the flames of World War II mercilessly ignited Europe.
However, in the face of the Nazis' rampant behavior, the Petain government signed an armistice with them after coming to power, which made Pershing on the other side of the Atlantic heartbroken.
But at this time, Pershing was indeed in his twilight years, and he could only fight stubbornly against the disease, while firmly believing that the fascist forces would eventually perish.
It was not until the fascist forces gradually gained the upper hand that the United States found that they had to intervene to contain the fascist forces, and almost all the generals sent to the battlefield by the United States were trained by Pershing.
It is worth mentioning that it has always been difficult for the United States to reach a consensus on the selection of commanders in the "Overlord" campaign. Seeing this situation, Pershing, who had been bedridden for a long time, sent a direct letter to the President of the United States to give advice.
Eventually, Roosevelt, then president of the United States, took his advice, left Marshall in Washington, and sent Eisenhower to Europe. Both of them were his subordinates, and their influence is evident.
In the end, the anti-fascist alliance lived up to Pershing's hopes, and he received the good news of the defeat and surrender of the fascist forces.
Unfortunately, two or three years later, Pershing still fell at the hands of the sick demon and passed away forever. His funeral was extraordinarily pompous, and the streets of Washington were filled with people who came to see him off.
A number of high-ranking American generals also slowly followed behind his coffin, as loyal as they were when they followed Pershing to the battlefield. It's just that the sky is not beautiful, and it suddenly rained when bidding farewell to Pershing.
But as the then Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Bradley, said: "For General Pershing, I think it would be more appropriate for us to see off in the rain." It's as if God is also crying for the fall of the "God of War".
Bibliography:
[1] Wu Zhifei.The only six-star general in American history: John Pershing[J].Military Digest,2017,(07):75-77.
[2] Major.“ American God of War"——General Pershing[J].Tank and Armored Vehicles,2016,(03):41-45.
[3] Wu Anning.The highest military rank in the United States——Six-star general[J].International Issues Data,1986,(01):22-23.
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