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Padlet Board - Who is Pershing and Why Should He Matter to Us Today

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Padlet Board - Who is Pershing and Why Should He Matter to Us Today

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Name :Paul Beitling
Date: 10-18-2020
Course ID: HS315

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This post is intended to offer a brief overview of United States Army General John J. Pershing to include his leadership strengths and weaknesses, military accomplishments and failures, and what lessons learned from his performance can be applied today.

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Adas, M. (2014). Ambivalent Ally: American military intervention and the endgame and legacy of World War I. Diplomatic History (Vol. 38, Issue 4).

Gabel, C.R., Willbanks, J.H. (2012). Great Commanders. Combat Studies Institute Press.

Zabecki, D.T. (2018). Racing headlong. Military History.

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Analysis: Why Studying the Leader is Important Today

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Analysis: Why Studying the Leader is Important Today

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It is important to look at the leadership performance of Pershing to better guide future leaders. Pershing showed great understanding and commitment to the political motivations involved in his assignment to the AEF. Unfortunately, it seems that he put most of his energy into that one facet of his assignment. Pershing's performance shows us the importance of being able to adapt, having vision for the battlefield, and using all available resources to achieve victory based on their merit and not your personal feelings.

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Pershing was successful in his military assignments prior to the "Great War". Those assignments were conducted through the use of open warfare and did not have the advantages of the military innovations created during the "Great War". This seems to have set Pershing's foundation for open warfare that he would attempt to apply unilaterally in the "Great War". Pershing was able to maintain a strong political position through his command of the AEF but it seems it was at the cost of thousands of his soldiers. Pershing's battlefield planning was mediocre at best with no reasonable explanation on why he willingly ignored the dangers and benefits of the new weapons of war.

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Pershing's assignment in Mexico was cut short due to rising tension between the United States and Germany. France, Britain, and other allied nations   had been locked in a violent war with Germany since 1914 where the United States was able to stay mostly neutral. Hostilities from Germany toward the United States forced the United States to enter the "Great War". Pershing was selected to command the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) due in large part to his political prowess. Pershing's assignment came with the clear expectations that the United States would field an independent military force to increase the United States' negotiating power in establishing terms of surrender at the conclusion of the war. The United States was forced to dramatically increase the size of their military in a short time period which led to inexperienced, poorly trained enlisted and officer personnel being rushed to the front. Pershing's perforce in the war achieved mixed results with shocking numbers of United States casualties, slow or limited achievement of mission goals, and decent political footing.

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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 was a highly disciplined person with high expectations for those under his command. This gave him the reputation of being rather cold and difficult to connect with. Pershing excelled in political matters and understood the value of putting forth the effort to understand the political motivations behind his assignments. Pershing was surprisingly accepting of critical feedback from subordinates that could sufficiently articulate their grievance. One of Pershing's greatest flaws was his rigidness. Pershing's view that the "Great War" would be won through American Exceptionalism and open warfare set him down the path of discounting the importance of the valuable experience the other allied nations had gained through fighting the war for nearly three years before his arrival. Pershing demonstrated arrogance and obstinacy at the cost of the lives of his subordinates. Pershing didn't have great vision for the battlefield as he pushed his troops toward battleground that clearly gave the Germans a defensive advantage and ignoring the value of supporting roles of tanks and aircraft. Pershing's ability to adapt to the new style of warfare was seriously insufficient.

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Pershing was born on September 13, 1960 in Laclede, Missouri. Pershing attended the North Missouri Normal School (now Truman State University) and the United States West Point Military Academy. Pershing had initially sought a career as a teacher but later moved toward military service. Pershing gained a reputation for strict adherence to military standards and discipline, political prowess, and a strong affection for "open warfare". Pershing gained military operational experience through fighting the Apache to secure the American West, service in Mindanao (a large island in the Philippines), and his deployment in and around Mexico in the pursuit of Pancho Villa and his army. Pershing would later receive the nickname "Black Jack" Pershing for his time spent serving with the African American 10th Calvary.

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Pershing was a great leader that demanded excellence, discipline, adherence to military protocol, and excelled in political prowess. Pershing's weaknesses of rigidity, lack of vision for the battlefield, and lack of obvious care or concern for his troops cast a great shadow over his performance in th "Great War". Pershing may have been able to meet the political expectations of his mission but it was paid for by the lives of many of his soldiers. Pershing would have been far more effective if he would have exploited the experience and knowledge from allied troops to benefit and accelerate the training of his inexperienced force.