Pershing, PUR shihng, John Joseph (1860-1948), commanded the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in Europe in World War I (1914-1918). The A.E.F. was the first United States army ever sent to Europe. Pershing trained and led in battle an army that grew within 18 months from a small group of regulars to almost 2 million men. After the war, he received the highest rank ever given an American Army officer, General of the Armies of the United States. But Congress granted the same title to George Washington in 1976, so that no other general, past or present, would outrank him.