Pershing John

Pershing's Map of the Western Front at the End of World War I Illustrating His Strategic Planning


This map of northeastern France and the German territory of Alsace-Lorraine includes a bold red line that identifies the western front, including the Saint-Mihiel Salient, the sections of the front defended by the French II Army, VII Army, VIII Army, and the 1st U.S. Army. Black and red shapes on the map indicate the locations of U.S. and French Divisions and French Cavalry Divisions behind the front lines.


[JOHN J. PERSHING.] Printed Emendations on Printed Base Map, used in the planning of the St. Mihiel Offensive, September 1918. Base Printing Plant, 29th Engineers, U.S. Army, 1918. Scale 1:600,000. 1 p., 22.5" x 15.75". Expected folds, some edge folds. This map originates from the estate of General Robert C. Richardson, who served on Pershing's staff and was crucial in the planning of the attack.


Historical Background

In 1914, in an attempt to take the French stronghold of Verdun, German forces captured the town of Saint-Mihiel on the Meuse River in northeastern France. German control of Saint-Mihiel formed a salient inside the French lines, blocking direct communications between Allied troops in Verdun and those in Nancy fifty miles to the southeast.


By the fall of 1918, General John Pershing believed that a successful Allied attack in the region of St. Mihiel and Verdun would have a significant impact on the German army, allow the allies to capture the railroad center of Metz, and permit offensives into Germany itself. Pershing relied on a young Major George C. Marshall to move tens of thousands American troops effectively and on the new tank battalions that Lieutenant Colonel George S. Patton had recently finished training. The U.S. Army Air Service also provided 40 percent of the nearly 1,500 Allied aircraft participating in the operation, in what was the largest air operation of the war.


The offensive began on September 12 with American and French forces attacking the southern and western faces of the salient. By the afternoon of the second day, American forces had captured all objectives in the salient, and Pershing halted further advances, so that American units could participate in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive from September 26 until Armistice Day on November 11, 1918.


One of the keys to American success at St. Mihiel was General Pershing's thoroughly detailed operations orders. His orders included detailed plans for penetrating the German trenches. The other key was the initiative of unit leaders like Lieutenant Colonel Patton on the battlefield. Commanding personally, they could minimize the chaos of battlefield conditions and adjust to meet the strategic goals Pershing had designed. This map illustrates part of the planning process that went into Pershing's detailed plans.



John J. Pershing (1860-1948) was born in Missouri and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1886. He joined the army and served with the cavalry in the West. He taught military science at the University of Nebraska from 1891 to 1895 and at West Point from 1897 to 1898. Because of his command of the 10th Cavalry, consisting of African American "Buffalo Soldiers," students gave him the nickname "Black Jack," which remained with him through the rest of his career. He fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War of 1898, actions for which he received the Silver Star, and in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War of 1899 to 1902. In 1905, he married Helen Frances Warren, the daughter of a powerful U.S. Senator, with whom he had four children. After service in Tokyo and the Balkans, Pershing returned to the Philippines from 1909 to 1913. Known both for his stern discipline and effective leadership, Pershing took command of the 8th Brigade at the Presidio in San Francisco at the end of 1913 and was deployed to Texas to patrol the border with Mexico. In August 1915, a disastrous fire at the Presidio killed his wife and three young daughters, leaving only his six-year-old son. In May 1917, President Woodrow Wilson placed Pershing in command of the American Expeditionary Force, bound for Europe during World War I. Pershing largely received credit for American successes during the war, and he became very popular. In 1919, Congress authorized the President to promote Pershing to General of the Armies of the United States, the highest rank in the U.S. armed forces, created especially for Pershing. Pershing served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1921 until his retirement from active military service in 1924. In 1931, he published his two-volume memoir, which received the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for History.



Richard C. Richardson, Jr. (1882-1954) was an American Army general, Commanding General of the Hawaiian Department, Military Governor of Hawaii, and commanded all Army personnel in the Pacific Ocean Areas and Mid-Pacific. During World War I, Richardson acted as Liaison Officer for G.H.Q. Allied Headquarters and with American Armies, Corps, and Divisions during the combat operations of 1918. Richardson was one of the chief planners of the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives, reporting directly to Pershing.



This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.


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