Why Gen. John Pershing avoided trench warfare during World War I?

Question

Well,trench warfare is that bad but gotta more reasons?

Answer 1

He knew it was a dead end strategy, when the U.S. entered the war it had already been going on for basically 2 years. The French and the British wanted to use his troops to replace their loses in the trenches and he knew that it would just use up his men. So he kept the Expeditionary Force together as a unit as much as possible to make sure they wouldn't be misused.

Answer 2

The trenches were like a massive black hole that sucked in men and materiel. In the years of trench warfare, the lines hadn't moved more than 25 miles, even with massive battles and at the cost of millions of casualties.

Pershing had no intention of using US troops as trench fodder, to support what he knew to be a flawed & outmoded way of fighting a war.

Answer 3

WE had no real standing army before the war only a few trained men mostly national guards men, who had chased Pancho Villa around but never caught him. the French and English Commanders thought that Americans were unfit and untrained for combat, and so wanted to use them as replacements in the trench positions. In that way they would be backed up by seasoned troops. But Blackjack Pershing refused to allow American unit to be broken up and wanted them to fight as an army ( with him in overall command)he lobbied for breakout positions that allowed American troops avoid static defense positions in favor of relative open areas. First battle for American troops was Beallue woods
with US attacking the woods while the French and Brits attacked on the flanks thus the Americans would be covered by seasoned troops on both sides and might press home the attack. Both the French and Brits were forced back with heavy losses, the Americans although given the order to retreat pressed the attack and cleared the woods, suffering heavy losses. but showed that they were over there to fight.

50,000 men died everyday for 5 years average. 9 million men
and the peace only lasted twenty years.

Answer 4

By the time the USA entered WW1 it had been going for three years and had already demonstrated the futility of trench warfare.