John J. Pershing, v plnom znení John Joseph Pershing, menom Black Jack, (narodený 13. septembra 1860, Laclede, Missouri, USA - zomrel 15. júla 1948, Washington, DC), generál americkej armády, ktorý velil americkej expedičnej sile (AEF)) v Európe počas prvej svetovej vojny
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Pershing promoval na Vojenskej akadémii Spojených štátov v West Point v New Yorku v roku 1886. Bol poverený druhým poručíkom a bol pridelený k 6. kavalérii, ktorá potom viedla operácie proti Geronimovi a Chiricahua Apache na juhozápade. V roku 1890 Pershing slúžil v kampani na potlačenie hnutia Ghost Dance a povstania medzi Siouxom na území Dakota, ale jeho jednotka sa nezúčastnila na masakre na zranenom kolene. V roku 1891 sa stal inštruktorom vojenských vied na univerzite v Nebraske v Lincolne. Tu tam tiež získal právnické vzdelanie (1893). V roku 1897 bol vymenovaný za inštruktora taktiky v West Point.
Španielsko-americká vojna poskytla Pershingovi rýchlu povýšenie. Pôsobil na Kube v kampani v Santiagu (1898) a bol vymenovaný za dôstojníka munície s hodnosťou hlavných dobrovoľníkov. V júni 1899 bol generálnym riaditeľom. Zorganizoval Úrad pre ostrovné záležitosti na vojnovom oddelení a pôsobil niekoľko mesiacov ako vedúci úradu. Pershing bol vyslaný na Filipíny ako generálny pobočník ministerstva Mindanao v novembri 1899. V roku 1901 sa stal kapitánom pravidelnej armády a do roku 1903 vykonával kampaň proti Morosom. V roku 1905 bol poslaný do Japonska ako vojenský atašé do Veľvyslanectvo USA a počas rusko-japonskej vojny strávil niekoľko mesiacov ako pozorovateľ v japonskej armáde v Manchúrii. Po uznaní za svoju službu na Filipínach USA.Theodore Roosevelt povýšil Pershinga na brigádneho generála z hodnosti kapitána v roku 1906, keď tak urobil cez 862 vyšších dôstojníkov. Pershing sa vrátil na Filipíny a zostal tam až do roku 1913, kde pôsobil ako veliteľ oddelenia Mindanao a guvernér provincie Moro. Ďalej získal pozornosť ako veliteľ trestnej výpravy poslanej proti mexickej revolučnej Pancho vile, ktorá v roku 1916 zaútočila na Columbus v Novom Mexiku. Po smrti majora gen. Fredericka Funstona v roku 1917 ho Pershing nahradil ako veliteľ USA - Mexická hranica.Ďalej získal pozornosť ako veliteľ trestnej výpravy poslanej proti mexickej revolučnej Pancho vile, ktorá v roku 1916 zaútočila na Columbus v Novom Mexiku. Po smrti majora gen. Fredericka Funstona v roku 1917 ho Pershing nahradil ako veliteľ USA - Mexická hranica.Ďalej získal pozornosť ako veliteľ trestnej výpravy poslanej proti mexickej revolučnej Pancho vile, ktorá v roku 1916 zaútočila na Columbus v Novom Mexiku. Po smrti majora gen. Fredericka Funstona v roku 1917 ho Pershing nahradil ako veliteľ USA - Mexická hranica.
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).
