Evening star., 1932-08-28

S the A E. F. increased in size,
n Gen. PerShing'S inability to
n function in teamwork with his
4 \ legal and authorized Superiors
increased until it reached
| point where he refused to obey Marshal
Foch's orders. and August II, 1918, ne
. wrote Secretary Baker, behind my back,
saying in substance that While we
seemed to have sufficient energy it was
badly directed, and that better results
would be obtained If an officer from his
own staff were in charge Of the War
Department general staff.
He wanted rubber stamp for a CHIEF
of staff at home so he could be entirely
independent of supervision or control
OF course, the Secretary did not pay
the slightest attention to this extraor-
binary proposal While the Secretary,
at times, gave me Gen. Pershing's let
ters to read, unfortunately did not
know about this particular letter until
after the war There certainly would
have been showdown If I had.
Gen. Pershing's attitude in this mat
ter and his inability to work with men
like Gems. Goethals, Leonard Wood, ST.
bert and Bliss was a direct result OF his
career in the Army. He was appointed
brigadier general from the grade OF
captain by the impulsive Theodore
Roosevelt, who had just previously made
his doctor an admiral in the Navy. One
result of these appointments was that
Congress limited the power of the Presi-
dent in time of peace to selection from
colonies for appointment to brigadier
general. The effect on Gen. Pershing
of his appointment was very marked.
Captain Commands 100.
! A captain of Cavalry. which he was
when appointed brigadier general, is in
command of one troop of Cavalry, at
| that time less than 100 men. In regu-
| lar course of promotion his next grade
/ would have been major, where he would
| have acquired the experience OF han
ding a squadron of Cavalry. He then
would have passed to lieutenant colo
mel, where his command would have
been a regiment when the colonel was
| absent, or one or two SquadronS when
| the colonel was present. When ne
| reached the grade of colonel and had
regiment at his command his expert
ence In handling larger bodies of men
would have increased with hts increase
| in rank.
During this entire period he also
would have been available for detail as
major, a lieutenant colonel and a
colonel on the general staff, if found
qualified by the General Staff Boards,
and would thus have had an opportu-
nifty of broadening his experience and
becoming proficient in general staff
work.
! Gen PerShing lost all this training by
being jumped over all these grades, and
this experience is the very foundation
of complete knowledge of the art Of
war and of the command of men. The
career of every great general in the
World War was based upon a thorough
knowledge of all the elements of his
command, acquired by long service in
all grades. and Gen. Pershing had no
opportunity to acquire this knowledge
Differed With Foch.
His refusal to have Goethals and
Wood in his command, his sending of
Gen. Sibert back to the United States
and his attempt to get rid of Gen. Bliss
as the American representative in the
Supreme War Council at Versailles
showed clearly a marked fear of men
whom he recognized as men of great
ability. 1t may be said that these -four
men represented a higher average oi
ability than any other four men in the
United States Army at that time. MY
attitude toward the men was precisely
the opposite of Gen. Pershing'S, and ]
was not only eager to have their Serv-
ices, but found them, as might have
been expected, getting results for mt
whenever 1 used them.
Gen. PerShings attitude toward Mar.
shall Foch was precisely the same. Ir
his war book PerShing tries to tell u!
Foch was lIere strategist, as if thu
| knnWlGHOp nf ctratoUu q Gicr,to1if
cation. Foch's place in history is fixed
, and any American who reads the mar
shalS own account of his dealings will
Gen. Pershing, and Gen. Pershing's &C
, count of the same events, cannot fail Il
conclude Foch was really big and JUS
, the man for commander in chief O
the allied forces. He had the complet
backing and confidence of Presiden
Wilson, who finally reached the poin
= where he would ask us to tell Bliss t
= get Foch's opinion on any internationa
/ military question put up to him by an,
g of the allies, before he would act on il
Gen. Pershing's differences will
z Foch during the war were accentuate,
p By profound ignorance of the Frencl
o military policy, curious in a regula
= officer of such high rank, and peculiarl
e unfortunate in one whose position, whicl
= brought him into daily association
e with French military leaders, demande,
o the most exact knowledge of ever
phase of the French military effor
: and character.
vi Says Pershing Opinion Wrong.
e I refer to the statement in his boo
e in which he ascribes to the French
military defensive" policy. which h