John J. Pershing, täielikult John Joseph Pershing, perekonnanimega Black Jack, (sündinud 13. septembril 1860 Lacledes, Missouris, USA - suri 15. juulil 1948 Washingtonis), USA armee kindral, kes juhtis Ameerika ekspeditsioonivägesid (AEF)) Euroopas I maailmasõja ajal.
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Pershing lõpetas 1886. aastal New Yorgis West Pointi osariigis USA sõjaväe akadeemia. Temale määrati teine leitnant ja määrati 6. ratsaväkke, mis seejärel viis läbi operatsioone edelas Geronimo ja Chiricahua Apache vastu. 1890. aastal osales Pershing kampaanias Ghost Dance liikumise ja ülestõusu mahasurumiseks Dakota territooriumil asuvas Sioux'is, kuid tema üksus ei osalenud haavatud põlve veresaunas. 1891. aastal sai temast Lincolni Nebraska ülikooli sõjateaduse juhendaja. Seal teenis ta ka õigusteaduse kraadi (1893). Ta määrati 1897. aastal West Pointi taktikaliseks instruktoriks.
Hispaania-Ameerika sõda andis Pershingule võimaluse kiireks edutamiseks. Ta teenis Kuubas Santiago kampaania (1898) kaudu ja määrati ordumeeste ohvitseriks vabatahtlike majorina. Juunis 1899 tehti temast kindral-adjutant. Ta korraldas sõjaosakonnas saareasjade büroo ja oli mitu kuud selle büroo juhataja. Pershing saadeti Filipiinidel Mindanao osakonna üldjuhiks 1899. aasta novembris. Ta määrati 1901. aastal tavalise armee kapteniks ja viis kuni 1903. aastani läbi kampaaniat Morose vastu. 1905 saadeti ta Jaapanisse sõjaväeatašeeks. USA saatkonna ja Vene-Jaapani sõja ajal veetis ta mitu kuud vaatlejana Jaapani armeega Mandžuurias. Tunnustatuna teenistusest Filipiinidel, USA presidendiks.Theodore Roosevelt ülendas Pershingi brigaadikindraliks kapteniametist 1906. aastal, tehes seda üle 862 kõrgemale ohvitserile. Pershing naasis Filipiinidesse ja püsis seal kuni aastani 1913, täites Mindanao osakonna ülemat ja Moro provintsi kubernerit. Järgmisena pälvis ta tähelepanu Mehhiko revolutsionäär Pancho Villa vastu suunatud karistusliku ekspeditsiooni ülemana, kes ründas 1916. aastal New Mexico osariiki Columbust. Pärast kindralmajor Frederick Funstoni surma 1917. aastal sai Pershing tema ülemaks USA-s. - Mehhiko piir.Järgmisena pälvis ta tähelepanu Mehhiko revolutsionäär Pancho Villa vastu suunatud karistusliku ekspeditsiooni ülemana, kes ründas 1916. aastal New Mexico osariiki Columbust. Pärast kindralmajor Frederick Funstoni surma 1917. aastal sai Pershing tema ülemaks USA-s. - Mehhiko piir.Järgmisena pälvis ta tähelepanu Mehhiko revolutsionäär Pancho Villa vastu suunatud karistusliku ekspeditsiooni ülemana, kes ründas 1916. aastal New Mexico osariiki Columbust. Pärast kindralmajor Frederick Funstoni surma 1917. aastal sai Pershing tema ülemaks USA-s. - Mehhiko piir.
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).
