Unlikely Friends

The Episode

Welcome to this edition of “Now & Then at Dodona Manor.”

In this episode, we will learn about the unlikely friendship between General of the Armies, John J. Pershing, and young George Marshall during World War I. 

Both Pershing and Marshall served at the forefront of decisive battles that led to victory in 1918, and they later recorded their experiences in published memoirs. Pershing and Marshall developed a mutual and abiding friendship that shaped Marshall’s leadership principles the rest of his life. 

Questions for Thought and Discussion

In 1915, before the United States had engaged in the First World War, Marshall was still a first lieutenant. He had merited praise and decorations, but he had not been presented with an opportunity for promotion. As America’s involvement in the war deepened, however, the U.S. army promoted Marshall to the rank of captain.

After America declared war on Germany, he was selected to assemble training camps for new soldiers. Marshall was tremendously discouraged by the lack of practical military knowledge and experience these raw recruits had. He was resolved, however, to make do with what he had. His ability to carry out this resolve did not go unnoticed, and he was soon named assistant chief of staff of the First Infantry Division (“The Big Red One”) and was shipped out to France. 

As he was departing on the RMS Baltic, Marshall immediately realized just how poorly prepared the U.S. military was. In his memoir he wrote, “There was certainly a demonstration of complete and utter unpreparedness such as I’ve never dreamt of in my life.” Marshall was the second man ashore when the first Americans landed in France on June 26, 1917. After three years of bloody stalemate, six million soldiers had died in the trenches and the allies could not push past the German defenses. 

Now General John Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, enters the scene.

Pershing graduated from West Point, and like Marshall, achieved the rank of first captain at his school. His early military career began in 1886 with the 6th U.S. Cavalry in the New Mexico Territory. He fought Native Americans, became an expert marksman, and was assigned as the Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1897, he was appointed to the West Point tactical staff as an instructor, where he earned his nickname “Blackjack” because of his service with the all-African American 10th Cavalry.

In 1916, General Pershing was sent on an expedition to capture the notorious Mexican revolutionary, General Francisco “Pancho” Villa, who had escaped during the nine-month incursion into Mexican sovereign territory to which he had retreated. The mission ended abruptly when the United States entered World War I and Pershing was recalled to Washington, D.C., for an interview with President Woodrow Wilson. On May 10, 1917, Wilson selected Pershing to command the national army, later called the American Expeditionary Force (AEF).

As the AEF commander, Pershing assumed the unprecedented responsibility of organizing, training and supplying the 27,000 unexperienced men into three combined professional and draft Army and National Guard forces. By the time the war ended, this army totaled over two million strong.

Pershing had a reputation for being quick to anger and slow to forgive when in command. He refused to commit troops to combat before he felt they were ready, and when he visited the First Division in France to watch training maneuvers, he was unimpressed by what he saw. He erupted and began berating the division commander in front of his subordinates, including Major George Marshall.

Marshall records that Pershing gave everybody a “beat down.” He felt sure, however, that this was no way to treat an officer. Despite his trepidation, Marshall stepped forward to object to the General’s arguments. When Pershing attempted to walk away without lending an ear, Marshall put his hand on his arm and forced him to listen.  

Marshall let loose a torrent of facts and figures, explaining that Pershing’s headquarters had not communicated effectively and that the men were doing their best with what they had. Pershing stormed away, leaving all of Marshall’s fellow officers convinced that Marshall had just put an end to his career. Pershing, however, recognized a strong leader when he saw one, and he appreciated Marshall’s candor and courage. From then on, Pershing took counsel with Marshall on battle maneuvers and logistics. 

In this way, the unlikely pair became close friends until Pershing’s death in 1948. Marshall had hoped that this trust and recognition would win him a combat command. Pershing, however, assigned him to a desk job back at headquarters as chief of operations, plans, and training.

At this time Marshall demonstrated his talent for planning large-scale battles such as the offensives at Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse Argonne, earning him the nickname the “wizard.” He moved 220,000 French troops out of the front line and moved in 600,000 Americans, along with 3,000 big guns and 900,000 tons of supplies, all in total secrecy. It was a logistical feat of unprecedented proportions, and a turning point in the war. Marshall earned a reputation as a brilliant military strategist, but he always regretted that he was not able to lead troops in battle like his contemporaries Douglas MacArthur and George S. Patton.

On November 11, 1918, World War I came to an end, and 116,000 Americans had died in the conflict. Marshall would later say, “There is nothing romantic or satisfying in war. It is horrible and profoundly depressing.” On board the SS Leviathan on the way back from Europe, Marshall was named Pershing’s aide-de-camp. In September of 1919, Congress recognized Pershing’s distinguished service during World War I by authorizing the president to promote him to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, the highest rank possible for any member of the U.S. armed forces, a rank that had been created especially for him. By 1921, Pershing had risen to Army Chief of Staff with Marshall still as part of his staff. Marshall had gained an influential mentor; Pershing would introduce him to the offices of the government, congress, the press, and provide an example that would significantly his future leadership. 

In the early 1920s, Marshall recorded these experiences in his book, Memoirs of My Services in the World War, 1917-1918. Although written in the 1920s, the manuscript was not published until the 1970s. It had been hidden away until Marshall’s stepchild, Molly Brown Winn, discovered it some twenty years later. 

Why did Marshall choose not to publish his memoirs himself? At the time, many famous generals and politicians were writing about themselves and their war stories. Many criticized the fact that the market was flooded with far too many stories vying for public consumption. Because Marshall had lived his life in selfless service and did not want his writing to be seen as self-serving, he had stashed his manuscript away.

Molly discovered the original manuscript in the 1940s while searching through an old footlocker in the attic here in Dodona Manor. She was preparing a scrapbook of pictures and news clippings for her stepfather’s birthday. When she asked him about it, Marshall explained that he had written it while stationed in Washington, D.C. just after the First World War when his impressions of the conflict were still fresh in his mind. In 1934, Marshall had been in contact with Houghton Mifflin about the possibility of publishing the book, but the manuscript needed more work. Before editing for publication could begin, however, Marshall was sent to China for duty with the 15th Infantry Division, and his manuscript fell into obscurity.

After Marshall’s death, his widow told his biographer, Dr. Forrest Pogue, that Marshall had asked that the manuscript be destroyed, and she was under the impression that his wish had been carried out. It is thought that a publisher copy had been burned and the original papers discovered by Molly in the 1940s were overlooked until she rediscovered them in the 1970s.

A copy of General Pershing’s memoirs, My Experiences in the World War, is in Dodona Manor’s library and was owned by Marshall. Pershing said quite bluntly on the cover that “the American people know practically nothing of what really happened Over There [Europe] – I tell them frankly in my book.” In these volumes, Marshall is mentioned several times. Pershing’s memoir was honored with the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for History.

We hope you have enjoyed discovering these books and the story of the relationship between these two great leaders. Their unlikely friendship and shared leadership shaped the world in both war and peace.

The next time you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to remember leaders like these and let them inspire your story, too.