Few American military figures are more revered than General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing (1860–1948), who is most famous for leading the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The only soldier besides George Washington to be promoted to the highest rank in the U.S. Army (General of the Armies), Pershing was a mentor to the generation of generals who led America's forces during the Second World War. Though Pershing published a two-volume memoir, My Experiences in the World War, and has been the subject of numerous biographies, few know that he spent many years drafting a memoir of his experiences prior to the First World War. In My Life Before the World War, 1860–1917, John T. Greenwood rescues this vital resource from obscurity, making Pershing's valuable insights into key events in history widely available for the first time. Pershing performed frontier duty against the Apaches and Sioux from 1886–1891, fought in Cuba in 1898, served three tours of duty in the Philippines, and was an observer with the Japanese Army in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. He also commanded the Mexican Punitive Expedition to capture Pancho Villa in 1916–1917. My Life Before the World War provides a rich personal account of events, people, and places as told by an observer at the center of the action. Carefully edited and annotated, this memoir is a significant contribution to our understanding of a legendary American soldier and the historic events in which he participated.

My Life before the World War, 1860–1917: A Memoir (American Warrior Series)

Biographies & Memoirs

Pershing, John J.

Leaders & Notable People

University Press of Kentucky

This memoir with diary excerpts is a concise record of General Pershing's experiences in his role in WWI, providing insight into the war told from the American perspective. It tells of his early life as a soldier, and events leading up to this war while the world sleepwalked its way into a catastrophe of indescribable proportions. No doubt, Pershing's insights after this war helped shape the thinking of future American generals."MY primary purpose in writing this story of the American Expeditionary Forces in France is to render what I conceive to be an important service to my country. In that adventure there were many lessons useful to the American people, should they ever again be called to arms, and I felt it a duty to record them as I saw them."J.J. Pershing

My Experiences in the World War

Independently published

note--two volume set--1989---vol. one and vol. two--both 1989--new mint copies--aa61

My Experiences in the World War Volume 2

History

Military

Frederick A. Stokes

Return Of Body Of Unknown American Who Lost His Life During World War: Hearings Before The Committee On Military Affairs (1921)

Literature & Fiction

Lejeune, John A.

Fish Jr., Hamilton

Literary

Kessinger Publishing, LLC

Punitive Expedition Report

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

BiblioGov

On 6th April 1917 the United States declared war on Germany. By the May 1918 there were over one million American troops stationed in France and making their way to the front-lines under the leadership of General John J. Pershing. World War One had been a stalemate for the previous three years as both sides had become bogged down in trench warfare. The impact that the American Expeditionary Force made to the outcome of the First World War can never be underestimated. By the summer of 1918 American troops were providing the knockout blow in a series of fierce battles, such as at Château-Thierry, Belleau Wood, Saint-Mihiel and Argonne Forest. Although the American Expeditionary Forces had been inexperienced at 1917, by the end of the war Pershing had shaped it into a modern, efficient, and combat-tested army. Indeed, in the last of offensive of the war, known as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Pershing commanded his men to break-out of the confines of trench warfare and succeeded in recovering over 200 square miles of French territory from the German army. Pershing’s brilliant account of this period My Experiences in the World War was a Pulitzer Prize Winner for History in 1932 and should be essential reading for anyone interested in the American involvement of the First World War. The first volume of the memoir covers the period from Pershing’s selection as commander of the A. E. F. through to the 1918 German Spring Offensive. The second volume follows on from this and covers all of the A. E. F.’s major engagements through until their victory parade in Paris in November 1918. These two volumes have been combined and sold as one book to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One. John J. Pershing served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in World War One. He asserted that the American forces should not be incorporated into other Allied armies but would operate as a separate unit. He was the only American to be promoted in his own lifetime to General of the Armies rank, the highest possible rank in the United States Army. His book My Experiences in the World War was first publishing in New York in 1931. He passed away in 1948.

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