John J. Pershing
When American forces began to arrive at the front in Western Europe the French and British generals wanted to insert the American units into the line as replacements for their own depleted divisions, under their control. Their opinion was that such an arrangement would be beneficial to the American officers, who lacked combat experience, and to their own troops, exhausted by nearly four years of fighting. Many of the weapons to be used by the Americans were supplied by the French and British, including artillery, tanks, and aircraft, the French especially wanted to keep these under their control.
The commander of the American Expeditionary Force, John J. Pershing, would have none of that. Pershing demanded that his troops receive extensive training in the United States before deploying to France, delaying the American arrival, and few troops reached the front before the end of 1917. By May of the following year American troops were arriving in France at the rate of 10,000 a day. They were supplemented by US Marines which operated under the AEF. Pershing had risen in the Army which promoted officers based mainly on length of service rather than merit but by 1917 he had both.
In his career Pershing fought the Apache in New Mexico, the Sioux in Iowa, and the Spanish in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. He commanded a troop of the Tenth Cavalry, black soldiers led by white officers, which became famous as the Buffalo Soldiers. He served as an instructor at West Point, where his rigid adherence to discipline made him unpopular with many of the young men who would later serve under him. During the Philippine – American War which followed the ouster of Spain from the Philippines, Pershing served as Adjutant General and received numerous citations for bravery under fire.
Pershing’s character was such that when he was recommended for consideration to be awarded the Medal of Honor he wrote to the board and requested that the recommendation be withdrawn. Similarly, when he was serving as Army Chief of Staff a recommendation that he be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (for the same action for which he previously was recommended the Medal of Honor) came to his attention and he ordered it quashed. Throughout his career his reputation for fairness was tempered by a martinet’s attention to discipline.
The troops he trained and led to France earned a reputation as highly capable fighters, and the American Expeditionary Forces fought with distinction. Once the Americans began arriving in large numbers the Germans could no longer contain them. Fighting alongside the French, the Americans helped halt the last German offensive and initiated one of their own, leading to the depleted Germans requesting an armistice. Although Pershing did not make the famous comment, “Lafayette, we are here,” (one of his aides did) it was his insistence on independent American command of well-trained troops which secured the American contribution to Allied victory.