Pershing is the only six-star general in American history, and even more than Washington, Pershing has contributed more to the U.S. military, especially the U.S. Army.
【General Pershing】
But Pershing is also a controversial figure in American history, because in the southern part where he lived, Pershing's family chose to support President Lincoln's decision to abolish slavery, which made him considered a traitor by Southerners.
Pershing's background
At the start of the Civil War, the Pershings were living in the pro-slavery South, which made them the target of public criticism, but the timely intervention of the Northern Army saved the lives of the Pershing family.
Little Pershing also made a good impression of the military, and he hoped that when he grew up, he would be a soldier to defend the safety of other American families.
【Civil War】
After the end of the Civil War, the United States entered a stage of rapid development, and the United States began to catch up with the old capitalist countries in Europe, but the rapid economic development left huge hidden dangers.
In 1873, there was an outbreak in the United States, and the Pershing family, who were running a farm, were also unable to escape the disaster, and Pershing should have gone to college, but the bankrupt family could no longer afford the high tuition fees.
【General Pershing】
Pershing had no choice but to interrupt his studies and go to a lower level of education to support his family.
After several years of teaching, Pershing saved up a sum of money, and he soon waited for his own opportunity, passed the entrance exam at West Point, and entered this prestigious military academy.
At that time, the main combat mission of the U.S. Army was to fight the Indians, and as a white officer, Pershing was rarely able to treat his black soldiers equally, which gave him unparalleled prestige in the army.
【General Pershing】
But any American veteran will tell you: don't think of Pershing as a simple good old man, whether white or black, they all give Pershing a nickname: the terrifying Black Jack.
This is because, compared to other officers, Pershing's requirements for military discipline have reached the point where he has not committed any crimes. The officers and men were also deeply in awe of this, because Pershing was not the kind of person who was strict with others and lenient with himself, he always regarded himself as the benchmark of the troops, and he did everything in a straightforward manner, and he was extremely strict in governing the army from top to bottom.
The combat effectiveness of such an army was naturally quite amazing, and Pershing began to emerge on foreign battlefields and gradually became a rising star of the US Army at that time.
【General Pershing】
But to really send Pershing to the altar, it was actually the outbreak of World War I, which was not only an opportunity for the United States to greatly increase its national power, but also the beginning of Pershing's legend.
American Hero
The United States went through two phases in World War I, the first of which was when the United States watched the fire from across the strait, watching the old European powers fight each other, and by the way, made a lot of war profits.
But soon Europe did not want to leave the United States alone, and in 1917 it pressured the United States to enter the war and sent 2 million troops to Europe.
[World War I U.S. Army]
At this time, the United States entered the second stage, although it inevitably participated in the Great War, but because the main battlefield was not in the homeland, the United States still became richer and richer, and the First World War also became one of the important events for the United States to achieve the primitive accumulation of capital.
The commander-in-chief who led 2 million American heroes to Europe was General Pershing, and in 1918, the U.S. Army made its debut in the Battle of the Marne.
The U.S. division in the main battle even won the prestige of the Marne Rock in this battle, and cooperated with the British and French armies to annihilate more than 100,000 German troops in total, which was a large-scale victory at the end of World War I.
[World War I U.S. Army]
The US Army's actual combat performance is so good thanks to Pershing's peacetime management of the army, and even before the war, Pershing insisted that the troops should receive a full set of complete military training.
He believed that because such soldiers were of no value for victory. It was this kind of thinking that allowed the U.S. military in World War I to show military qualities that far surpassed those of other belligerent countries, and Pershing also became famous in the world.
Pershing not only led troops, but also was a master of tactics, during the First World War, all countries actually began to invest in the air force, a new branch of the military, but in the development of the application of the air force, other countries are not as unique as Pershing's ideas.
【World War I Air Force】
Pershing directly changed the administrative structure of the US air force at that time, and its administrative efficiency was greatly improved, and it also recruited a lot of talents for the new air force, which greatly promoted the construction of this new force.
Moreover, Pershing has been consciously learning Xi from the advanced experience of the old British and French armies, and the US military not only defeated a strong enemy on this expedition to Europe, but also learned from the strengths of many schools and used the advanced experience of actual combat to make the US military a famous and powerful army in the world in one fell swoop.
After the end of World War I, the US military turned from an unknown army into a powerful army that no country dared to take lightly, and its combat effectiveness and force size were second to none in the world at that time.
[End of World War I]
Interestingly, Pershing chose to retreat bravely after World War I, and he did not even have the intention of serving as an idle position in the U.S. Army, and officially discharged his armor and returned to the field in 1924.
After the outbreak of World War II, Pershing has been the main war faction, believing that the United States cannot be immune to such a global war, and must help the Allies resist Nazi aggression.
In 1944, in recognition of Pershing's outstanding contributions to the U.S. military, Pershing was awarded the very special rank of six-star general in the army, making him the second six-star general after Washington.
The U.S. commemoration of Pershing doesn't stop there, the most famous line of tactical missiles in the United States during the Cold War was named Pershing.
【Pershing 2 Missile】
Whether it is China or the Soviet Union, all enemies of the United States have been targeted by Pershing missiles, and this may be the greatest glory that the US military has given Pershing.
Sources:
【1】John J. Pershing Facts．Britannica [引用日期2021-12-30]