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Elijah Strobel
5/19/2021
HS315

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General John J. Pershing was a 4 Star General during WWI and was named the General of the Armies.

Pershing spent 38 years in the military and worked his way up and developed himself along the way. Starting with a poor reputation for being overly strict. Being a person that saw things very black and white, he developed later on in his career an ability to listen and respect those that would stand up to him when it needed to be done.

With a look at his career, we can learn valuable lessons on leadership and apply them to leadership development courses and programs.

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General Pershing started out as a schoolmaster and felt as though he could further " expand his opportunities and horizons, accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy."(Gabel & Willbanks, 2013) Pershing did not stand out in the academy and was known to be a rather mediocre scholar. He was however known for his great leadership and military skills. During his time at the academy, he was known for having an unbending view of discipline that did not translate to great relationships with the 'citizen soldiers' that were drafted and sent to Europe to serve in the AEF which earned him the name 'Black Jack' which referenced some time he spent with the African American 10th Calvary.

He would spend the earlier half of his career in Cuba, on the Mexican Border, and teaching at the University of Nebraska. Again, not known for his extraordinary military savvy, he did however possess a phenomenal understanding of the political side of war and that would prove to lead him to continuous promotions up to 4-Star General. We will look at some of his strengths, weaknesses, failures, and successes.

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Pershing's Leadership Attributes and Flaws

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Pershing's Leadership Attributes and Flaws

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Pershing's greatest leadership attribute is his great consciousness of the politics that relate to war. He knew that no longer does a great military commander lead from the front lines, but from a distance to maximize the ability to better coordinate all the resources at hand.
During his time in Cuba, he actually took the time to try and understand the Mero culture which earned the respect of those people.
Later on in his career, he developed the ability to be accommodating or unbending depending on the situation and not just the strict black and white leader he once was.

Some flaws did stem from the early portion of his career where that strict follower of discipline did not lead to great relationships with comrades. It also translated later on in a certain level of fear to where people were afraid to approach him.
During his time as commander of the AEF, he had no issues removing officers from their positions if he felt they were not performing to the appropriate level which lead to them over-managing their own troops for fear if one of them messed up, it would cost them their ranks.

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Pershing's accomplishments are not the level of what we have seen in class with Alexander, Napoleon or Admiral Nelson, but he was able to do great things with the circumstances he had. He made relationships with important political figures and earned his way to Generalship through his understanding of the politics associated with war. He was entrusted by President Wilson to make sure that American Forces were key in the victory in Europe during WWI. With the troops that he was supplied, they were very under trained, and under developed, yet he still was able to reach victory although, again, it was not the overwhelming use of his superior military mind to defeat his enemies. He knew that he had to develop these troops in order for them to reach the level he thought they should be. Pershing was also able to grow the military profoundly and with his work after WWI, which might be his greatest contribution to U.S. Forces, he studied what was successful in WWI and started building up the weaknesses that he saw during the Great War.

Reading the text, I feel as though his greatest failure as a leader would be the way officers serving under him felt. Knowing that not even his friends were safe from being sent to Blois and reviewed, or even demoted. That lead to the micromanaging of troops and the hinderance of development and growth. Rather than fostering an environment for development, he unintentionally destroyed it.

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John and Frances Pershing pose with Helen, Ann, Warren, and the family cat
Library of Congress

The foremost military leader of his time, General John "Black Jack" Pershing (1860-1948) served in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, the Mexican Intervention and World War I.

During his next assignment in Washington, Captain Pershing met Helen Frances Warren, a recent graduate of Wellesley College and daughter of United States Senator Francis E. Warren of Wyoming.

Though twenty years her senior, Pershing charmed Miss Warren. In describing a social gathering, she wrote, "Danced every dance but one, and have lost my heart to Captain Pershing irretrievably."

The courtship lasted a year, sustained by traditional wooing and love letters. The two were married in a wedding attended by President Theodore Roosevelt just days before Pershing shipped out to Tokyo, Japan, where he served as a military attaché and observer of the Russo-Japanese War.

Captain Pershing's brilliance continued to be recognized. In 1906, he was promoted to Brigadier General, skipping over 862 senior officers.

After Japan, Brigadier General Pershing was sent back to the Philippines to command Fort McKinley. During this time, Pershing once again worked with the Moros in their development of a constitution and organization of a local government. In 1913, Pershing successfully led troops to overtake outlaw Moros in the Mount Bagsak campaign, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

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John Pershing - Success and Tragedy - Presidio of San Francisco (U.S. National Park Service)

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The foremost military leader of his time, General John "Black Jack" Pershing (1860-1948) served in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, the Mexican Intervention and World War I. During his next assignment in Washington, Captain Pershing met Helen Frances Warren, a recent graduate of Wellesley College and daughter of United States Senator Francis E.

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This article by Lt. Gen. Aundre F. Piggee illustrates the lessons that had been learned in the 100 years following WWI and the improvement in effective roles in the military including leadership.

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What 1918 Can Teach Us About 2028.: EBSCOhost

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General Pershing provided a great example of the new kind of leader necessary in the dynamic world of war. Tactics were changing, resources were becoming more effective at longer ranges, armies were reaching members in the millions and warfare was starting to go hand-in-hand with politics. He also showed a great intellect that Clausewitz references in the chapter 'Genius of War' that is required to be a great leader. More so, the time he spent after the wars examining and studying this change of war sets the example that one must be studious in every thing they do in order to be as successful as possible. Had the powers at be at the time not sit down and work out the political aspects of the war, and had not changed the strategies and ways wars were fought, we might be sitting on the other side of history right now with a much different looking world.

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Clausewitz, G. C. (2006). On War. Gutenburg.

Gabel, C. R., & Willbanks, J. H. (2013). Great Commanders. Vij Books.

National Park Service. (2015, February 28). John Pershing: Success and Tragedy. Retrieved from National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/historyculture/john-pershing.htm

Piggee, A. F. (2018). What 1918 Can Teach Us About 2028. Army Sustainment, 3-4.

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I do think that General Pershing was a great leader but in a different way than what we have studied. In my short adult life, I have discovered there are generally three classifications of leaders. One that will be all about the troops, one that will be all about the mission and sees little advantage into having relationships with the troops, and one that tries to find that middle ground. General Pershing seems as though he saw little advantage in relationships with the troops. The black and white lens through which he saw the world can cover most of life's problems, but there are many circumstances that can fall in that gray area. As cited in Great Commanders, Pershing developed a small sense of this when he started to respect those that would stand against him when he was wrong. He then took time to study the war afterwards and spend that time to develop new tactics and best practices which would help during WWII. Although lacking the interpersonal skills and the great mind for combat, he showed a resounding understanding towards the changes in war and he adapted appropriately.