The only six-star general in American history: Patton's teacher, Pershing

On July 15, 1948, a famous American general died. Senior U.S. military officials attended his funeral. He was pershing, the first six-star general in the history of the U.S. Military. As his coffin moved slowly down the streets of Washington, D.C., a group of senior U.S. generals silently followed behind. However, it suddenly began to rain, and pedestrians began to agitate. Some senior generals consider taking a ride to Arlington National Cemetery. Among them, General Eisenhower asked the Army chief of staff next to him, General Bradley, "Bradley, it's raining, what to do?" Bradley replied, "For General Pershing, I think it would be more appropriate for us to send off in the rain. ”

The young mind casts the shadow of war

General Pershing was born in 1860. At that time, the contradictions between the North and the South in the United States were quite acute, the South wanted to maintain black slavery, and the North wanted to develop capitalism, forming a sharp confrontation between the two social systems. After Lincoln, who opposed slavery, was elected president, the South began to plot to break away from government control. In 1861, the southern states declared independence one after another, formed the "Confederacy of the South", and began to declare war on the north. This is known as the Civil War. Pershing grew up in social conflict. One day, the war finally reached his home, and his family was almost destroyed. It was 1864, and he was a 4-year-old child when he was suddenly frightened. On 18 June, a southern irregular force, led by Captain Holtzclaw, stormed general Pershing's father's office in Lin County, Missouri. It turned out that General Pershing's father, John, supported the Lincoln administration by providing aid to the Northern Army in Missouri. Now, John's shop was the target of looting. When the bandits rushed in, John, seeing that the situation was not right, quickly left to get his double-barreled shotgun. The bandits escorted the rest of the shop to the compound and began to lecture on their toes. John retrieved his gun and prepared to fight the bandits. His wife was horrified and strongly opposed him to hard work. It just so happened that the government troops from the north arrived quickly, and the bandits fled, and the danger was defused.

Life is tough

Pershing began a basic schooling. Sometimes, he worked on his father's farm. However, the family soon suffered misfortune. In 1873, there was a great economic panic in the United States, and his father went bankrupt. At that time, Pershing was trying to go to college, and everything was in vain. With no financial resources left, Pershing had to earn his own living to support the family's normal living expenses. He came to an elementary school to teach and teach black children. However, this was not his ideal, and teaching was only a transitional means of making a living. His dream is to become a lawyer and do justice for society.

Admitted to the Military Academy at West Point

Life is often a departure from ideals. He amassed some money and went to State Normal School in Kirksville for 3 months. At this time, West Point began to enroll. He felt that it was also a great blessing to be able to study in such a school. Therefore, he had the mentality of trying it out and went to register. As a result, the entrance examination was passed. In 1882, he became a cadet at West Point. He began to receive a good military education, learning a variety of basic military techniques and tactics. However, he did not want to be a soldier in his heart. Studying at military school allowed him to develop good habits. His philosophy is: if something is worth doing, then it should be done well. His studies are very good, he is also very good, and he is liked by his classmates. Soon after, he became the squad leader. Later, he became the captain of the cadet team. His motto is: We strive to reach what we are working towards.

Participate in a series of battles

In 1886, he graduated from the Military Academy at West Point and began operations in the West. At that time, white Americans were advancing westward, clashing violently with the Indians who had lived there for generations. He served in the 10th Cavalry Unit, many of whom were black. Blacks lived at the bottom of society, and even when they served in the army, they were discriminated against and had difficulty promoting to officers. Therefore, in order to show themselves in battle, black soldiers are quite brave, tenacious, loyal and dedicated. All this left a deep impression on Pershing. Because of his easy-going nature, the black soldiers liked him more. So he had a close relationship with the black soldiers. Some people jokingly called Pershing a "pirate flag". The "pirate flag" is generally dominated by black, so Pershing has become synonymous with black soldiers.

In April 1898, the United States and Spain went to War for Cuba in the Caribbean, and Pershing went to Cuba to participate in the war. After about 4 months of fighting, the Americans defeated the Spanish army and occupied Cuba. There, Pershing met Theodore Roosevelt, who would later become President of the United States (1901-1908). At the time, Theodore Roosevelt was undersecretary of the U.S. Navy. At about the same time, in April 1898, the war between the United States and Spain for the Philippines began. In May, the American fleet eliminated the Spanish fleet. On June 12, the Filipino bourgeoisie declared independence, but was suppressed by the U.S. military. In 1899, U.S. forces attacked the National Armed Forces of the Philippines. Pershing became an officer on an expedition to the Philippines after completing his combat mission in Cuba. In 1902, the War in the Philippines ended with the victory of the American army, with 600,000 Filipinos killed and more than 6,000 U.S. troops lost and spent $600 million. The Philippines became a colony of the United States. In 1903, Pershing gained the favor of the top brass of the U.S. Military and went to the general staff in Washington, D.C.

Become a general

In 1904, Japan and Russia fought a war for northeast China, which was the Russo-Japanese War that brought disasters to the people of northeast China. Pershing, as an observer sent by the U.S. government, traveled to northeast China for observation. He served in northeast China until 1906. When he traveled to northeast China, he was promoted to brigadier general and became a general. Subsequently, he served at the Philippine U.S. Military Command. In 1914, the beginning of World War I, the United States implemented the so-called neutral policy, which was actually "sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight". The United States began to sell arms to the belligerents, making a windfall in the war, and its military strength was unprecedentedly enhanced. When the two major groups in the European battlefield were fighting and losing both, the United States began to stir. In 1916, the United States sent troops to attack anti-American forces in Mexico. Prior to this, the United States annexed parts of Mexico in 1912, and those places formed New Mexico. After Pershing invaded Mexico with his troops, he hunted down and killed Vera, the leader of the anti-American forces. However, Vera was no ordinary figure, legendary, and supported by the people, so he adopted a strategy of avoiding the real and the virtual, and maneuvered with Pershing's troops. Pershing, though also scored some victories, failed to capture Vera. Nevertheless, Pershing was promoted to major general.

World War I produced the only six-star general

General Pershing has experienced many battles and has trained a wealth of combat experience. The United States saw that both sides were fighting on the European battlefield and began to clean up the mess. On April 16, 1917, the United States officially declared war on Germany and other Allied powers. To this end, the United States sent 2 million expeditionary troops to the European battlefield, and the commander-in-chief was naturally General Pershing. In order to show its great strength, and at the same time, in order to motivate General Pershing to fight, the United States specially appointed General Pershing as a six-star general of the U.S. Army that has never been seen in the history of the United States Army. On the European battlefield, the American army fought bravely and dealt a heavy blow to the German army. As the Germans had become the end of the crossbow, the Allies began to fall apart. Just over six months after the U.S. military entered the war, Germany officially surrendered on November 11, 1918. Naturally, the United States became an important victor in World War I and was able to share in the fruits of war victory. In this war, in addition to the 2 million expeditionary force, the United States also had some other auxiliary combatants. Thus, the actual number of Americans participating in World War I reached 4.73 million! Among them, the Army is 4 million, the Navy is more than 590,000, and the Marine Corps is 78,000. During the battle, the death toll of the US army was more than 110,000 (of which the number of battlefield deaths was more than 50,000), and the number of wounded was 200,000.

There is no mystery of politics

The end of World War I meant the end of General Pershing's military career. He became the only six-star general in American history. However, he subsequently retired. What is puzzling is that after many senior generals of the US military retire, they often enter politics and become prominent figures in the political arena. Among them, several presidents after the end of World War II participated in World War II, including Truman and Eisenhower. At the very least, some senior generals will seek a position in the government when they retire. However, after General Pershing retired from the military, he did not enter the political arena and did not have any political positions. After writing his memoirs in the United States, he went to France, where he had fought, spent some time with the French Marshal Pétain, who commanded the Battle of Verdun in World War I, and oversaw the construction of the World War I memorial building.

In August 1939, he visited France again. At this time, the Nazis began to prepare for war, and the war cloud once again shrouded Europe. Half a month before the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, Pershing felt that the situation was getting more and more tense and returned to the United States. After the Nazi invasion of Poland, it began to expand everywhere. On April 9, 1940, the Nazis attacked Norway. On 10 May, the Nazis attacked France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. On 16 June, Pétain came to power and immediately demanded an armistice. On 22 June, the Pétain government signed an armistice with the Nazis, and France was occupied by german forces. General Pershing was distraught when he learned of Pétain's non-resistance. It should be said that Pétain's betrayal of the country was a heavy blow to General Pershing. Although General Pershing was not in good health, he stubbornly insisted on living, believing that the world would eventually defeat fascism. A few years later, he finally waited in 1945 for the day of victory in World War II.

On 15 July 1948, General Pershing died of illness. His grandson went on to join the army, participating in the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Later, his grandson died in battle in the Vietnamese battlefield.

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