Pershing’s memoirs are very reticent regarding Marines. As a result, one military warfare history instructor claimed, “his actions would become an outward and visible sign of an inward and seething resentment.” 1 If the Corps ever had a bête noir, it seems it was General Pershing. As the AEF commander, Pershing is often accused of being personally responsible for all of these affronts and is said to have become “furious” when forced to accept the Marines into the AEF.

The accusations of Pershing denying Marines any meaningful role in the AEF usually include: trying to subsume their unique culture into the Army’s by forcing them to wear Army uniforms and use Army equipment sidelining their participation by using them for labor parties relieving the 4th Brigade of its Marine Corps commander and replacing him with an Army general envying the glory and recognition garnered by the Marines following their victory at Belleau Wood, attempting to prevent them from achieving even greater glory by limiting their participation in future battles and, finally, preventing the creation of a Marine division. Butler, Brigadier General Eli Cole, Belleau Wood, Marine replacement strength Lejeune, Brigadier General Charles Doyen, Brigadier General Smedley D. Pershing, American Expeditionary Forces, AEF, Marines in World War I, anti-Marine sentiments, inter-Service rivalry, all-Marine AEF division, 4th Brigade of Marines, 5th Brigade of Marines, Fifth Regiment, Major General George Barnett, Colonel John A. This article attempts to seek the truth of how Pershing’s purported attitudes toward Marines affected his decisions regarding Marine employment in the AEF. However, while Pershing’s personal views about Marines can only be surmised, his decisions on their employment in the AEF indicate that he was guided by the demands of war and military logic rather than personal pique. If the Corps ever had a bête noir, it seems it was General Pershing. While there is no evidence that Pershing advocated against using Marines, other than his opposition to creating an all-Marine division, there is little direct evidence that he let his preference for the Army override his professional judgment in employing Marines in the American Expeditionary Forces. Pershing are often cast as being vehemently opposed to Marines being assigned to frontline units or actively participating in combat. Abstract: It is widely believed that the Marine Corps’ participation in World War I was only grudgingly allowed.

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